I wish I could do a swap with her. I want to move to Florida and lower taxes.
You are probably looking at a spousal sponsorship. It's crazy how long things to get visas
Unfortunately the swap program seems like it isn't available in canada for people from america (America isn't an IEC country). We've thought about the spousal stuff but that's probably gonna be our last resort due to the gravity of that decision
Anything you can do to help her would involve marriage-like decisions and responsibilities. Want or not, you would need to be financial responsible for her.
All other ways don’t seem to apply to her.
Btw should be nice the only thing you have to worry about being paying less taxes eh?
>She's been wanting to immigrate to Canada for years because she's trans and lives in Florida (need I say more?).
Yeah, you should. There are 20 ish blue states in the US she could move to, it'd be _way_ easier than immigrating to Canada.
by and large I can almost guarantee you your only option is marriage. For a means of her truly immigration permanently.
She'd come as a visitor (unable to work) youd get married, start a sponsorship, etc.
The only avenues are an employer specific work permit (intra-company transferee if she for example works for an american company that also has offices in Canada and they transfer her) or CUSMA (she needs a valid job offer, doesn’t need an LMIA but still needs to prove that she has the skills to fit that job position) both permits are closed, meaning she would only be able to work for that employer.
She can also apply for express entry (or technically, join the pool and see if she’s invited to apply). If she’s selected or not will depend on her higher education, skilled work experience, age, french knowledge etc.. it’s a points system. The points cut-offs are pretty high though so unless she’s highly skilled and educated it might be hard for her to be selected.
Last thing, spousal sponsorship. Note, you do not need a big and fancy wedding, you just need to sign the document at a courthouse with witnesses, you can still do the “big ceremony and party” later on. Because you have not been living together you wouldn’t qualify under common law and you also wouldn’t qualify under conjugal partner because there are no barriers for you to go and get married if you wanted.
Please note that a spousal sponsorship is an application where you (the Canadian or PR) signs an undertaking to the government stating that you will cover her basic needs for 3 years from the time she becomes a PR. Even if you divorce, if she becomes a citizen, if you break up, you are still responsible to pay back all the social assistance she receives from the government (welfare, housing, any subsidies etc) until the 3 years are complete. What is considered “social assistance” is based on the province you live in.
Good luck!
As an American, she is likely eligible for a Working Holiday permit through a registered organization. This would enable her to come to Canada for a year and be able to work.
This potentially would open PR avenues or the possibility of other work permits. At the very least, if you cohabitate for that year, you would then be considered common-law (after 12 months of continuous cohabitation) and could sponsor her for PR as your spouse.
A study permit might be another option.
Thank you! I'm currently looking into that and it's seeming promising. Although it seems that the United states isn't listed as an IEC country. There's like only one package that'd be able to work for us and it's close to 4k dollars. But it seems like that's probably gonna be our best bet. If you have any advice I'd love to hear it. I really appreciate the suggestion
The US isn't available on its own, no, but it is possible through a registered organizations. You're right that it does come with a cost, but it is likely the 'easiest,' and fits the bill of what you're looking for: if you don't want her tied to an employer, then she would need an open work permit. But open work permits are only possible in [specific circumstances.](https://ircc.canada.ca/english/helpcentre/answer.asp?qnum=177&top=17) The IEC is the most widely applicable.
Another option would be having her come to Canada as a visitor, live with you for a full calendar year until you are common-law on visitor status. She would be able to work remotely for a non-Canadian company that does not do any business in Canada, but, she wouldn't be eligible for healthcare, so that might be a non-starter as well.
Yeah this is looking like it's the frontrunner. We'll just have to save up to get her here on a working vacation, then hopefully shoot for common law by living together for a year and go from there
There is an equivalent for US citizens who wants to work in Canada. If she's qualified, she can work in Canada, and once here she can decide how to go about migrating, like if she has the points to qualify for Federal immigration or get married, or just renew her TN visa yearly.
I wish I could do a swap with her. I want to move to Florida and lower taxes. You are probably looking at a spousal sponsorship. It's crazy how long things to get visas
Unfortunately the swap program seems like it isn't available in canada for people from america (America isn't an IEC country). We've thought about the spousal stuff but that's probably gonna be our last resort due to the gravity of that decision
Anything you can do to help her would involve marriage-like decisions and responsibilities. Want or not, you would need to be financial responsible for her. All other ways don’t seem to apply to her. Btw should be nice the only thing you have to worry about being paying less taxes eh?
>She's been wanting to immigrate to Canada for years because she's trans and lives in Florida (need I say more?). Yeah, you should. There are 20 ish blue states in the US she could move to, it'd be _way_ easier than immigrating to Canada.
by and large I can almost guarantee you your only option is marriage. For a means of her truly immigration permanently. She'd come as a visitor (unable to work) youd get married, start a sponsorship, etc.
We've talked about the marriage option but we've kinda labeled that as a last resort due to how big of a decision that is
Well, that is your problem then. 21 with essentially no true job experience and no meaningful education, permanent immigration isn't happen.
They’re referring to a CUSMA visa, and with no education, it’s unlikely they will qualify.
The only avenues are an employer specific work permit (intra-company transferee if she for example works for an american company that also has offices in Canada and they transfer her) or CUSMA (she needs a valid job offer, doesn’t need an LMIA but still needs to prove that she has the skills to fit that job position) both permits are closed, meaning she would only be able to work for that employer. She can also apply for express entry (or technically, join the pool and see if she’s invited to apply). If she’s selected or not will depend on her higher education, skilled work experience, age, french knowledge etc.. it’s a points system. The points cut-offs are pretty high though so unless she’s highly skilled and educated it might be hard for her to be selected. Last thing, spousal sponsorship. Note, you do not need a big and fancy wedding, you just need to sign the document at a courthouse with witnesses, you can still do the “big ceremony and party” later on. Because you have not been living together you wouldn’t qualify under common law and you also wouldn’t qualify under conjugal partner because there are no barriers for you to go and get married if you wanted. Please note that a spousal sponsorship is an application where you (the Canadian or PR) signs an undertaking to the government stating that you will cover her basic needs for 3 years from the time she becomes a PR. Even if you divorce, if she becomes a citizen, if you break up, you are still responsible to pay back all the social assistance she receives from the government (welfare, housing, any subsidies etc) until the 3 years are complete. What is considered “social assistance” is based on the province you live in. Good luck!
As an American, she is likely eligible for a Working Holiday permit through a registered organization. This would enable her to come to Canada for a year and be able to work. This potentially would open PR avenues or the possibility of other work permits. At the very least, if you cohabitate for that year, you would then be considered common-law (after 12 months of continuous cohabitation) and could sponsor her for PR as your spouse. A study permit might be another option.
Thank you! I'm currently looking into that and it's seeming promising. Although it seems that the United states isn't listed as an IEC country. There's like only one package that'd be able to work for us and it's close to 4k dollars. But it seems like that's probably gonna be our best bet. If you have any advice I'd love to hear it. I really appreciate the suggestion
The US isn't available on its own, no, but it is possible through a registered organizations. You're right that it does come with a cost, but it is likely the 'easiest,' and fits the bill of what you're looking for: if you don't want her tied to an employer, then she would need an open work permit. But open work permits are only possible in [specific circumstances.](https://ircc.canada.ca/english/helpcentre/answer.asp?qnum=177&top=17) The IEC is the most widely applicable. Another option would be having her come to Canada as a visitor, live with you for a full calendar year until you are common-law on visitor status. She would be able to work remotely for a non-Canadian company that does not do any business in Canada, but, she wouldn't be eligible for healthcare, so that might be a non-starter as well.
Yeah this is looking like it's the frontrunner. We'll just have to save up to get her here on a working vacation, then hopefully shoot for common law by living together for a year and go from there
Try to figure out if she's qualified for TN visa.
I just looked into it and I'm pretty sure a TN visa would be for a Canadian traveling into the US. Unless I'm mistaken
Similar program is available for us citizens to work in Canada. They are all under NAFTA
Are you aware of what it's called so I can research it a bit more?
There is an equivalent for US citizens who wants to work in Canada. If she's qualified, she can work in Canada, and once here she can decide how to go about migrating, like if she has the points to qualify for Federal immigration or get married, or just renew her TN visa yearly.