glb19

Hi there,

Brand new to this forum and have been lurking a bit but can’t find a definite answer (there are a LOT of posts here!).

Bit of background: I am a Canadian citizen and have lived in England for 5 years. I’ve been living with my British boyfriend for the past 3 years, and I have now finally persuaded him to move to Canada. Understandably he doesn’t want to move without a job to go to, so he’s starting the search now.

Basically I’m just wondering what the options are for him entering Canada once he has a full time job offer? Of course EE would be ideal as he's eligible for FSW, however my concern is the whole proof of funds thing that I had never even noticed til the other day. We do not have the minimum amount for 1 person, and would probably take us at least a year to reach it (starting to regret owning a house now! ha). I think the thought of needing a certain amount of funds never crossed our minds as we’d just be moving in with my parents for a while til we saved up a bit more to get a place in Canada.

That said, are there any other options that don’t require proof of funds if he has a FT job offer? He wouldn’t qualify for CEC as he’s never lived in Canada before. I checked the ‘Do I Need to Provide Proof of Funds’ page for EE which says you don’t if you have a job offer AND is currently authorized to work in Canada, therefore I assume he would have to since he's not currently authorized.

Any information is greatly appreciated! Sooo confused already about the whole process.

christmasoompa

Hi, and welcome to BE.

Why not just sponsor him for PR? He could try and find a job offer from a sponsoring employer and go over on a Temporary Work Permit (no proof of funds required for that), but in all honestly unless he has VERY specialist skills, that's going to be tricky, plus then he'd only be moving on a temp basis rather than with the security of PR.

No proof of funds required for a spousal sponsorship application either, so that would be the way I'd go if I were you. He'll also be much more attractive to employer if he's already work authorised rather than them having to pay $1000 and wait months for him to start work, although do warn him that finding a job from the UK isn't going to be easy, he will probably find he has a lot more luck once he's actually on the ground in Canada and can job hunt in person.

HTH, good luck.

glb19

Thanks for your reply.

I briefly looked a sponsorship, but my main concern is that I have to prove that as I'm currently overseas, I'd have to prove that I'm moving back to Canada and living there when he moves there too. What would be considered as proof that I'm not just briefly going there and then coming back to the UK?

Also, what exactly does being sponsored give him? A work permit? PR as well?

christmasoompa

You just need to prove you intend to move back once he's got PR - have a look at our amazing Spousal FAQ Wiki article, but essentially something like a letter from your family stating you'll be living with them, plus proof of job hunting, would be fine.

And he'd get PR.

HTH.

DigitalGhost

Being sponsored as a spouse in Canada would give him auto-PR. Canada doesn't do probationary temp visas for spouses like the UK does.

Hurlabrick

Agree with Christmasoompa. Just go for spousal outland sponsorship. The link to the wiki help file about this is in my signature line below.

The wiki also has ideas for how you can 'prove' your intent to return to Canada if / when approved. I used this myself and managed to 'prove' my intent to return, despite not having lived in Canada for 40+ years (so it can be done)!!

glb19

So good to know, thank you all!

Although I just saw that the processing time is 12 months?! Is that correct?

Hurlabrick

Yes and no!

CIC say they will try (i.e. not guaranteed!) to process 80% of applications within 12 months of receipt. Some take longer (think: missing information, complex cases or PA's from non-Visa exempt countries that may require interviews etc.). Some may take less (think: straightforward, fully complete, PA's from visa exempt countries with complete documentation). My own took 6 months. So I would say likely somewhere between 7 - 10 months.

Take a look at the spreadsheet link in my signature line which tracks individual outland spousal sponsorship applications where the PA could expect to be processed by the London visa office (obviously the entries are those where people have volunteered their information and not a complete list of what London VO is processing!).

glb19

That wiki is amazing - thank you so much for mentioning it!

glb19

Ahh, still longer than ideal but it is what it is! Thanks for the info.

christmasoompa

Chances are it will still be quicker than going down the job offer/LMIA/TWP route though, and an EE would probably take longer by the time he's got his ECA, sat his IELTS exam, etc. So timescales wise it won't be hugely different any of the routes, but spousal sponsorship has a lot of advantages (no proof of funds, no job needed, no IELTS or ECA needed, no medical excess clause etc).

Best of luck with it.

glb19

Yeah, 100% agree with this. It's too bad that all routes seem to take so long, but will be worth it all in the end.

christmasoompa

Those of us that applied under the old system, when a PR app used to take 5 years or more, are laughing at the idea of 7-10 months being 'so long'.

glb19

Haha wow! Guess I'll quit my complaining

Going off topic now with a potentially silly question. Regarding the medical, I'm assuming it's the person you're sponsoring who has to do the medical and not myself as the sponsor?
Assuming that's the case, when my boyfriend was a teenager he very briefly had Lymphoma... was caught very early, treated quickly, and no problems since (10+ years). Is this something that would flag up on the application? Or is it even something that he would have to mention to them?

DigitalGhost

Only he would need it and normally only conditions within the last 5 years need to be declared.