Im a US citizen and im thinking on marrying my g/f of 3 years, she is a canadian citizen. I drove from california all the way to vancouver where im at right now and I been here for about 3 months and we've decided to get married because we really love and care for each other. She is 10 years older than me but i dont think age matters when it cames to love. Well my question is when I entered the border they stop me and made me return until i had proof of my living conditions in the states which I think its dumb since I was just going visiting for a while. As soon as i got the documentation I went back to the border and crossed without a problem. Now im thinking on marrying my gf in canada in about a week or two. We are madly in love and we would love to get our life's togueters as a couple. So now im thinking what would be the next steps and if this would make it easier for me to become a resident in canada and be able to work. ?? could anybody help me with this question i would really appreciate it
martin

Martin,

You can marry your girlfriend in Canada no problem. However, you should both know that marriage to a Canadian citizen does NOT grant you permanent residence immediately by any means, neither it gives you permission to work or study - there's a process to follow, and I don't know how Canada customs and Citizenship and Immigration Canada deal with people coming in for a visit and getting married when it comes to apply for permanent residence.

Yet, I don't know much about the process since this is a US family immigration forum, but I'm sure someone will be able to point you in the right direction. Wisdom, anyone?

Good luck, L.

p.s. congratulations on your engagement!!!

have you moved to Canada or are you just visiting? mostly I'm wondering if you need to go back to the US to wrap up your life down there. When I was working on my Canadian PR out of Canada applications were generally approved quicker than in Canada. Which means that you'd be able to work sooner. I moved to Canada just a few weeks after we submitted the application and was given a temporary resident visa at the border-that type of visa is NOT a work permit. Our application was lost so it took 9 months for me to get my PR, but if everything goes smoothly 4-6 months seems like a reasonable timeframe.

check out britishexpats.com the Canadian forum is mostly skilled worker applicants but there are enough family class that you should be able to get the help that you need.

I pretty much moved in here but I came in as a visitor..... No need to wrap up any life in the US (california) Im in a commong law relationship since ive knows my gf for about 3 years. and we moved in well me as a visitor like 4 months ago. Last summer I came for two months and the summer before that one for 6 months. She owns her own house and everything else. Shes a native canadian ... I dont know if that helps some or if at all
martin

http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/immigrate/sponsor/spouse.asp For info on immigrating to Canada as a spouse.

You are only allowed six months as a visitor in any twelve month span. You may have to move back to the States and await processing there. I believe I have heard that it takes LESS time to sponsor someone outside of the Canada than within. Your best bet would be to consult an immigration attorney, since you'd more than likely be "out-of-status" before the application has finished.

I have a great websight for you to check out that deals with Canadian Immigration..its a Yahoo group

Im a USC and became a Canadian PR 5 years ago... I was on the group the entire time of my process and everyone is so helpful and supportive..

Im going to have to get back on it as my PR is going to expire at the end of the year, and the US process is taking longer than we thought, so I will have to gather the paperwork to send in for a renewal.. Woo hoo, 2 Immigration processes at the same time..LOL

anyway heres a link:

http://groups.yahoo.com/group/canadian_imm...?yguid=95531388


good luck!

did you enter Canada on an actual visa or were you just waived through? If you were just waived through you should apply for a temporary resident visa-it's good for 6 months and can be renewed while you are waiting for your PR to be processed. The first visitor visa is free (at least if you get it from the border) then they are ~$75 for renewals. Technically your temp visa will/could be taken away if you leave Canada and you'd have to apply for a new one to get back in, but I went back to the States at least 3 times and never had my visa taken away.

don't worry about an immigration lawyer unless you have some issues in your past (convictions, etc.).

to apply for common-law you need to have lived together continously for the past 12 months. Just visiting alot doesn't count. you're planning on getting married anyway, so just do it. I felt weird getting married quickly just so we could start the immigration process untill a lovely friend pointed out that we were eloping so we could actually live together. What better reason is there to get married?

ditto termophile. Common-law in Canada is recognized after more than 12 months in the same domicile (with proving documents), visits do not count. So yup, get married is in order.

Also, do check out british expats. I think you'll find more info there for your case - like I mentioned earlier, this forum is for folks moving to the US. Though you are welcome to stay (we are a fun bunch), but certainly check out other sites.Oh! and totally check out http://www.cic.gc.ca for the latest on family sponsorship in Canada.

Good luck, L.