Hi everyone,

Just received loads of paperwork through the post from an Immigration company. They've gave me two options on how to immigrate to Canada.

1. Being the (fast track flexible study course pathway) which involves studying for 9 to 11 weeks followed by 1 to 3 weeks work experience with an employer to become either a plumber or electrician. (A little to expensive for me though)

2. Would be the (Family class pathway) with my Fiancee being a Canadian citizen. Which i cant apply for for another 2 months yet. (This option is alot cheaper)

What would be the timescale for a family class visa?

My Fiancce came to the uk on a working Holidaymakers visa, would it be worth me adopting the same approach to go across there and then eventually trying to apply for a work permit?

Ideally i would like to be in Canada by Feb time as thats when my Fiancees visa runs out so we both want to be going over there at the same time.

Any advice or information would be muchly appreciated.

Thanks in advance, Stew.

I'm not sure on the exact timeline, but I just submitted my Family class application this morning. We will be moving there on Dec 8th and I am crossing my fingers that I may have my PR by January and slot into a job there.

Why can't you apply for 2 months?

I think it has something to do with us not actualy living together for at least 12 months! Although we've been together for 2 years now. There was a couple of times when she had to go home for a couple of months at a time due to me moving around with my job etc so im guessing that must have affected the time we've been actualy living together.

I didn't want to lie on the application.

Go here:

http://www.itabc.ca/TrainingPrograms.php

and read PDF files for Certification Challenge or Equivalency Status to get into Red Seal or other certification needed to work as Plumber or Electrician in most Canadian provinces (if not all) if you don't have acceptable formal qualifications and experience as such. You'll see that required work experience is between 8,000 and 9,000 hours just to have a chance for obtaining required qualifications through ITA, which is a government agency. How on this planet you think you can get qualifications by "studying" for 11 weeks plus 3 weeks of work experience????

HRSDC is routinely refusing LMO applications lately for any apprenticeship position and for any Plumber or Electrician who doesn't have at least 8,000 to 9,000 hours of experience making him eligible to sit on Red Seal exam.

There is a catch somewhere in the offer you received and you won't find it until you pay huge fee and come to Canada to learn your lesson.

This is your best option once you meet definition of common-law partners.

hello and welcome to the forum

if you apply for common law or spouse ( if you marry in the meanwhile) the waiting times vary from out of canada or in Canada applications.

if you apply as out of canada you could be looking at around 6 mths waiting time, if you apply within Canada then you could be looking at around 6-7 mths for the first stage of approval which allows you to get a work permit and work for your choice of employer and then another 8-9 mths for the final stage which gives you your permanent residency.

also there are quite a few here at the moment who are doing OUT of Canada applications.( because it is quicker)...even tho they are In Canada......am i confusing yet..>?>

now those time lines can vary by CIC and also depending on how well you put your application together. leaving anything out or not signing it for example or waiting on police clearances things like that can also vary those times.

there is a lot of new recent threads on here to do with sponsoring a partner...which your Fiancee is the sponsor whilst you are the Applicant.

sponsorship from within Canada

Sponsorship Family Class CIC manuals!!

Out-land spousal apps sent August 1st, any news

Commom Law Visa questions

it may all seem a bit overwhelming at first..because you need to do a lot of raeding and a lot of research to find out which suits you best....but when you start to break it down it all starts to fall into place....

Sorry maybe i didn't word this correctly, im under no illusion that you can expect to do an 11 week course and walk away with a job as a Plumber or an Electrician. I know guys that have spent years training to get in to those sort of trades. I guess the Immigration company is stating that you could possibly be taken on as an apprentice after you finish your work experience!!! I wont be going down that route so i wont find out.

Thanks for your advice Maple Leaf, very helpful.

Hi Stew681,

Have you looked at coming over to Canada on a BUNAC visa yourself. That way you and your girlfriend can be together here, and build up the time and proof that you are in a common-law relationship, which might lead to her being able to sponsor you. It would also take the time pressure off.

The next round of BUNAC non-student visas comes out in December, and I think the earliest that you can get a visa is February. It is worth researching though, and as Maple Leaf said - just keep reading everything!

Have a look at this link and the threads below, and maybe phone BUNAC - they are really helpful. http://www.bunac.org/uk/workcanada/ One thing to note, is that although some of us have used BUNAC as a backdoor way into Canada, you are supposed to leave at the end. BUNAC require that you have a return flight to the UK. BUNAC are helpful but they play by the rules, so if you have any potentially dodgy questions then best to phone anonymously first to ask them!

http://britishexpats.com/forum/showt...ighlight=bunac

Pay particular attention to Andrew's attachment on conjugal relationshipshttp://britishexpats.com/forum/showt...ighlight=bunac

Good luck and start gathering evidence of your relationship!

Thanks Live to Ski,

Ive never even heard of a BUNAC visa, but ive just had a good look at their site and it looks good. Could i still apply for a common-law/spouse visa while i was across there then and hope not have to catch the return flight home? We both want to spend sometime living and working near the Mountains (we love Skiing and outdoor pursuits) so Vancouver would be the ideal place for us to fly in to.

Cheers, Stew.

Err - sorry, I'm afraid I am not too up on common-law sponsorship routes. I know there is a difference between applying in Canada and out of Canada (although I think you can still be in Canada).

Maple Leaf - any ideas??

But the more time you can prove living together and having joint finances etc. ie being common-law the better. We are both Brits but I am principal applicant and my boyfriend is my common-law partner. We have joint tennancy agreements for our apartment, joint bank account, benerficary on each others life insurance, bought all our furniture together with both our names on the receipts, joint utility bills, joint credit cards. Also there are other things such as holidays together, and flights being booked on the same credit cards.

Our example, is that we were here on BUNAC, but whilst here our employers sumbitted applications for us to stay on through the BC PNP route (form of skilled worker). So we are changing over from BUNAC visas to Work Permits and then on to PR. We haven't gone home between visas, although did have the orginal return flight to qualify for BUNAC, and for when we first arrived in Canada. (Cheap Fly Zoom one that we cashed in when we could stay).

If all your paperwork comes through in time then you could probably just stay in Canada and not have to return to the UK between visas / PR application, but be prepared to just in case, as you don't want to be here illegally as that would ruin everything.

If we were ever questioned about this 'back-door route' we would say that we only planned on coming for the year to gain overseas work experience, and have a gap-year post of MScs etc. but once here we realised how much we liked it as how valuable our career skills are to the BC economy. Probably not mention how awesome it is to be able to go skiing in Whistler every weekend too!

Just get your application to BUNAC in early as their non-student visas run out very quickly.

Let us know how you get on, and especailly whether BUNAC works out for you.

I must say that it has brightened my morning up, on this wet grey day in Vancouver, that I might have helped you 1) saved money from immigration company and 2) told you about a route to be with your GF that you didn't know about!

Can I be your fairy godmother please (sorry, getting carried away - that's going a bit far!!)

Also, we love the outdoors - skiing, sailing, hiking, scuba diving, mountain biking ........ all on our doorstep are the main reasons we moved here. I have only been briefly to a few other place in Canada, but in my opinion, Vancouver / BC is the place to be for the outdoor lifestyle. Vancouver especially if you want the balance of a city or need to be in one for work, but with the advantage of the more relaxed West Coast lifestyle.

But that is just my opinion so best do some reading yourself.

Ha Ha!!! You can take us under your wing if we ever get across there then!! Will defentley let you know what path we decide to go down. Vancouver sounds like the ideal place for us to settle in then for sure, her family live in Viking Alberta and Regina Saskatchewan but its a short flight compared to living in the uk.

Thanks Live to Ski

Stew.

hmmmm i do not know much about the BUNAC and other visas whilst here on that.

i would suggest perhaps start a new thread..titled something like..

BUNAC and spouse visa in Canada..??

something along that lines to grab people attentions who know what the requirements are etc....

but it all sounds pretty good, and i am sure i have seen a thread on here not that long ago...to do with just this...someone here on a bunac applying for a spouse visa...hmmmmmm..will have a bit of a search and see what i can find!

cheers!! and

karma to you~ live to ski!!!

Hi, I came over with BUNAC, worked for a year, submitted a Application to Change Conditions or Extend Your Stay in Canada as a Visitor (http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/informa...ns/visitor.asp) stating that I wished to continue to 'visit' (don't mention the word 'stay') with my partner with the intention of submitting a PR application. I was granted a 6 month extension with no problems. I have now submitted the PR application through Family Class (spouse) with another extension request - so fingers crossed!! I'll be happy to help you out with any information that you need the best that I can.

If you are going for Common-Law then keep everything you can - rental agreements, flight details of when you have visited each other, when you met each others friends/family, joint bank accounts and bills etc. Letters to each other (or emails) when you have been apart. Letters addressed to the both of you when you're living together (friends can help out with this). Also it's a good idea to join something as a couple - we have a couple membership to Grouse Mountain and a household membership to the Art Gallery but there are loads of things that will count. Magazine subscriptions are another way to go - put them in both your names. ... I could go on for ages but don't want to overwhelm you. Again, if you have any questions then I will do my best to help you out.

Stew681

L'il Bear and I seem to be giving out lots of tips on skiing in BC on this thread at the moment http://britishexpats.com/forum/showthread.php?t=481909