Sammilc

My partner and I are planning to move together to Canada. We are not married, but we are commonlaw.

I have lived in Canada already previously for two years on an IEC visa. I will be applying for a skilled worker express entry visa, using my three years restaurant management experience for the past three years in the UK. Because I have accrued many points in the CRS, due to my university education, high IELTS score, having already lived in Canada and having a brother who is a Canadian citizen, I do not need a job offer to reach the points needed to qualify for EE.

My partner, however, would need a job offer to have enough points to qualify for EE (he also works in hospitality management, but doesn't have any family in Canada/ university education).

Since he is under 30 and hasn't lived in Canada before, we thought the easiest way for us both to make it out would be for him to move on an IEC visa, and get a job offer while he's there from the company he ends up working for, then apply for skilled worker from within Canada. He received his ITA three days ago

My question is this: since the IEC is not a path to immigration, and you are not technically supposed to enter with the intent to remain in the country, would it jeopardize his chances of making it through immigration of we travel together with me getting a skilled worker visa at the POE? Or does he run the risk of being turned away at the Port of Entry? Would it be safer for us to travel separately, perhaps entering the country weeks apart? With the IEC being two years long now I don't think it's possible to purchase a return flight for him that far in advance. Also bearing in mind we have two pet parrots who will be emigrating with us and so it would be hard to blag that we're not planning to stay more than a couple of years...not that we would try to!

Sorry for the long post and well done for making it to the end!

christmasoompa

I'm confused - if you're common-law, then why does he even need his own separate visa? Why isn't he just going on your PR app and getting PR with you?

Sammilc

Several reasons...
1. even if he was getting PR with me he would still need a job offer as his current qualifications are not enough in the CRS for him to have enough points to be eligible without one. Not impossible but my no means easy in our industry.
2. since I'm applying without a job offer I already need to provide proof of funds of $12,100 to be eligible; if we were both applying under one PR we would need $15,100 which we don't have
3. for some reason when i fill out the come to canada wizard singly, without him involved, it says I am eligible for the visa. But when I fill it out under the provisio of bringing another family member with me, it says I am not.

christmasoompa

1. But he doesn't need to score enough? Only you do, as the principle applicant. He has no requirement for any points as your spouse.
2. Fair enough, but you're aware that he'd have to show proof of funds for his IEC as well? Both proof of fund amounts, together with the visa/insurance cost for his IEC would work out more in total than the $15,143 you'd have to show for both of you to get PR, so it would actually be cheaper to do that. Particularly in the long run, to save you paying another few thousand for his own PR app later on. And would you not qualify for CEC if you've worked in Canada before? No POF required at all then.
3. No idea! That's really odd.
4. (I know you didn't have a 4, but I'm adding one anyway!). If you decide not to go with the easy (and I think much cheaper in the long run) option of getting him PR with you, then remember you absolutely must include him on your app anyway. To not do so would mean you could have your PR revoked at a later date for misrepresentation, plus you'd never be able to sponsor him if you needed to.

HTH.

Sammilc

That's a good point about the funds, I actually can't believe I never thought of that. But what about his ability to work in Canada if he was on my application? Would he be allowed to on entry, despite not having completed his own application? Would he also then need to take an IELTS test?

Is he allowed to continue with application for IEC if I also include him in my EE application? Would one not jeopardize the other? Should he not accept his ITA then, if I put him on my EE form?

Finally, say I got a job offer before applying for my EE...what would our proof of funds have to be then, if he didn't have a job offer?

Sammilc

also I don't qualify for CEC as I don't have management experience in Canada greater than 6 months (and the owner of that business has sold it on and is being cagey about providing any evidence that he doesn't own it any more...i wasn't even going to include that experience in my skilled worker app as I have enough management experience in the last three years in the UK without it)

christmasoompa

I think you're confused about applying for PR. You, as the principle applicant, must qualify for PR. Anybody that is on your application as a dependent (spouse or child) would also get PR with you. So he'd have all the rights of a PR just as you would, including being able to work.

As a dependent on the application, the only thing he has to do is pass the medical. He doesn't need to sit IELTS, or get an ECA (although you'll get extra points if he does have either or those - but neither are required for him), it doesn't matter what his education level is or what job he does. He could have left school as at age 15 and have never had a job and he'd still get PR, because it's only your job/education/language/points that matter.

He can apply for both, but tbh if you're sure you'd get an ITA and he'd definitely be your common-law spouse then I can't see why you'd bother. To save the money of the application fee I'd just withdraw his IEC app/let the ITA expire personally.

Nothing - as above, it's all about you and his job offer (or lack thereof) has no relevance whatsoever. But tbh, by the time you've got a job offer and LMIA (it must be an approved job offer to exempt you from POF), then you're 6 months or more down the line probably. I wouldn't risk waiting in case the points level goes up.

HTH.

christmasoompa

You don't need management experience for CEC.

You need skilled work experience for a year or more in Canada to qualify for CEC. Skilled means all sorts of jobs, management or otherwise. What was your NOC code and what proof do you have of the job? Payslips, employment contract etc?

Sammilc

omg I can't believe how much easier this would be. Okay so another question; he and I have been living together since around this time last year but he moved in to my apartment where only my name was on the lease. We didn't move in to a place together until August. However, when he moved in I did contact the council to let them know we were living together for council tax purposes (he was living with his parents before that) and he started making regular payments into my bank account for his half of the rent.

Would a letter from the council and evidence of his payment of rent into my account be enough to prove our conjugal living situation, or should I not even bother applying for my EE until August when we'll have been living together a year on the same lease?

and as far as approved job offers go- well this is a tough one because hospitality jobs almost exclusively advertise on craigslist but as I understand it, in order for it to be 'approved' for visa purposes don't I have to have applied through job bank?

Snowy560

You can't apply as single if you're in a common law relationship because you're not single so that wouldn't be true. You cannot lie.

Sammilc

Apart from the 6mo manageing the restaurant when I first arrived (I didn't have the foresight to keep my payslips but might have tax documents around somewhere) the rest of the time I was just working as a server because the money was better- not skilled work experience I don't think?

christmasoompa

The council tax or rent payment doesn't prove you're common-law. It simply shows you lived in the same house, but doesn't show you were living as husband and wife, you could have just been roommates. So yes, definitely wait until August imo. Although again that doesn't prove you're anything more than roommates so what other proof have you got that you've been living as husband and wife? Joint bank account? Wills naming each other as beneficiaries? Named drivers on each other's car insurance? Etc.

As for the job offer, there's no need to have applied via Job Bank, but you must have a LMIA for it to be deemed an approved job offer.

HTH.

christmasoompa

No, it's not so unfortunately you don't have the years skilled work in Canada to qualify under CEC and it'll have to be FSW.

You mention at the start of the thread that you'll score enough on the CRS to get an ITA, due in part to your work experience in Canada. But it seems that work wasn't skilled? Do you have skilled work experience in Canada from another time? If not, it won't count so do double check your points score.

Sammilc

We don't have wills at all, and no, no joint bank accounts. We could put all of those things together easily enough over the next couple of weeks but wouldn't that look somewhat contrived? We have photographs of us together through our relationship, we bought a parrot together (i know that's a weird one but I could get a statement from her breeder confirming that she sold her to us jointly)...in fact I don't really think we have any documentation except for our rental agreement and council tax bills really?

christmasoompa

Not contrived at all. For him to be deemed your CL spouse you need to show you're living as husband and wife and have 'combined your affairs'. Not sure a parrot counts somehow. You need proper documentation, so I'd get stuff like a joint bank account sorted asap just in case.