From engagmement to citizenship.

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Subject: From engagmement to citizenship.
  Hi,

I´ve just proposed to my UK girlfriend who is here on a year long working visa. She´s here in BC legal until March 2011 and I´m hoping to get any advice from those who´ve gone through the process on what the best next steps would be.

Thanks for any replies :)

[01-08-2010,15:46]
[***.6.8.18]
Andrew
(in reply to: From engagmement to citizenship.)
assuming you are Canadian - get married (unless you can validate that you have been living common law for the past year). Begin sponsorship application as an OUTLAND applicant. That means she is showing her residence as being the UK. Unless Roy tells you otherwise, do not be tempted to use the Inland approach - it takes forever and there is no appeal. Her current status may make that option OK for you... so let´s see what he says.

First phase of sponsorship - they make sure you qualify - you have a job (no minimum income required), you have not claimed bankruptcy before, you have no outstanding sponsorship commitments etc. Once you are approved (takes about 50 days) the application then goes to the UK where they approve your partner.

Your application takes some serious preparation. Do not do it in a hurry - it will only cause you time and troubles later if you are sloppy or rushed.

CIC has a large library of online publications that are very useful as your prepare your application. This forum can also be useful. Read everything 3 times and don´t guess.

[01-08-2010,16:50]
[**.154.245.217]
Sharon
(in reply to: From engagmement to citizenship.)
Andrew

When your wife is being requested to provide a residential address put down the address where she is residing whether or not she/he have valid status.

Any applicant can attach their logic for their answer by informing CIC on a separate piece of paper the following

list the form # Schedule (1)
question #
and applicants name

and then explain your answer in a little more detail.

Roy
cvimmigration.com

[02-08-2010,10:16]
[**.229.193.154]
Roy
(in reply to: From engagmement to citizenship.)
Thanks so much for the advice!

My fiance is living with me now, and yes... I´m Canadian. I have gotten a few items to support this (opened joint bank account, got a visa credit card for her) as I´ve been told these all look good on an application.

We´ll probably do the court house marriage to get legally married and do a proper wedding at a future date. This is advised to get the ball rolling quicker...yes?

Just trying to figure out the "inbound" and "outbound" application you´ve mentioned. She has a year long working visa and it entirely legal to be here. Am I to believe that there is a benefit to applying as outbound (other than taking longer?)

Much thanks again.

[02-08-2010,20:52]
[***.6.8.18]
Andrew
(in reply to: From engagmement to citizenship.)
you would not be the first to have a civil wedding and a big bash at a later date. Just make sure there is some sort of celebration with a few family and friends. Think of this as a lawyer in a court. You are presenting a basket of evidence that should point to one conclusion - your relationship is real and ongoing. Photos from various outings (forget the sexy pictures), email conversations, cards all that sort of stuff. If something is unusual (significant cultural, religious or age differences) take the time to write out why this is or is not an issue for your relationship - from both your perspectives. It is the global body of evidence that CIC is looking for.

Another reason the outland application is advisable beyond how much quicker it is - there is an option for appeal should something go sideways.

[02-08-2010,22:19]
[**.154.245.217]
Sharon
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