g17han

hello

my partner and i are discussing the possibilty of emigrating to BC. We have been to the expo in Olympia and looked into a lot of sites on the web but i would really appreciate it if someone could answer the following questions for me:

- although we could go as common law partners we are thinking of getting married in the near future would this make our application any easier? b) if we got married whilst our application was 'in' what would happen?

- what would happen if we got pregnant during that time? would we be penalised by adding the baby to our application?

- we have had a meeting with an immigration consultant who we talked to at the Expo in Olympia - has anyone used one of these? if so what were the fees? any advice about companies?

i would really appreciate any answers / comments. thank you.

Judy in Calgary

Being married would make your application a little easier. The burden of proof is reduced for a married couple. If you submit an application as common-law partners, you have to submit evidence that you share your lives (share expenses, etc.).

You would need to send them an update and inform them of the change of status.

If the baby was born after you'd submitted your PR application, but before you'd been granted PR, the baby would have to be added to your application.

You would not be penalized for having a baby.

A potential complication is that, if the PR application process is sufficiently advanced that you are asked to get medical exams done while your partner / wife is pregnant, it potentially could delay your application for a while. Your partner / wife would have to decide if she'd have an X-Ray done with a shield in place to protect the baby or if she'd delay the X-Ray until after she has delivered the baby. If she delayed the X-Ray, that obviously would delay the processing of your PR application.

But your questions may be irrelevant. For almost all foreigners, a prerequisite for gaining entry to Canada is pre-arranged employment. Many people get job offers, apply for temporary work permits (TWPs), start working in Canada, and later apply for permanent residence (PR) visas.

Except for people who work with vulnerable population groups (sick people, children, etc.), most TWP applicants don't have to undergo medical exams. The medical exam usually is done near the end of the PR application process.

If you are working on a TWP and your employer offers you a permanent job, you can request that your PR application be expedited. See the Wiki article called Fast Track PR Application-Canada.

Another way to get into Canada is to apply via one of the Provincial Nominee Programs (PNPs). Each PNP is slightly different from the next. However, several of them also have a two step process built into them, that is, TWP first, followed by PR.

Opinions of immigration lawyers and immigration consultants on this forum are very mixed. I have seen all of these opinions:

• My immigration consultant was a godsend. He/she saved me from screwing up.
• My immigration consultant gave me peace of mind. I had confidence that all the i's were being dotted and all the t's were being crossed.
• My immigration consultant was competent but, if I'd found this forum before retaining him/her, I could have done everything myself. That money would have been better spent on another part of the migration process (e.g., another recce trip to Canada).
• My immigration consultant was incompetent. I had to intervene in my application process and undo the damage that he/she had done.
• My immigration consultant was a charlatan.

A straw poll conducted on the forum at the beginning of this year revealed that about 75% of the respondents had gone the do-it-yourself route, while about 25% of them had retained professional assistance.

I suggest you read the Wiki article called Immigration Consultants-Canada.

I also recommend that you go to the main Canada page of the British Expats Wiki and read the 4 articles to which there are links at the top of the screen. I believe that will help to close the gaps that still exist in your understanding of the immigration process. I'm not blaming you for those gaps. Immigration is a wide ranging topic, and it takes time to grasp all the implications.

Hope this helps.
x

TruckersWife

Don't know if this helps, but we have just been quoted £4,500 for a family of 3 with an immigration consultant.

This did not include 'small' visa fees, flights or PR application (that was another £1,200).

They would sort out the paperwork for us for a TWP and arrange some interviews and give us some advice on housing. Can't see from their longgggg email that they did anything else

If a job offer didnt materialize in the 2 weeks that they state we have to be there for, then we didnt have to pay about £1,300 of those fees.

Getting There

Wow...save the money if you can and spend it on beef for that BBQ you'll be throwing for the folk on here that help you!

E&J.

TruckersWife

Definately, going to need it as well, I've been watching a youtube video today about the cost of food out there

Getting There

Hi,

Do a search on Expats for past threads about food prices. It comes up as a topic quite frequently. Our personal experience is that we are not spending more on food than we were in the UK and if we could be bothered to cut out all the coupons and shop on the customer appreciation days (don't know how widespread they are...these are 15% off days at our local supermarkets) then we'd probably spend a bit less than the UK. Wine's costly though - doesn't bother me but makes Jan .

Eamonn & Janet.