Bringing me amor to Canada

Lisa Zee says on Oct 23, 2007, 14:25:

You will get LOTS of info here! I will let the more experience people help you.

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Robert Jorge says on Oct 23, 2007, 16:15:

I would forget about the work visa. I am going on the assumption Canada is similar to US when it comes to visas. (Actually, judging by many people's stories, it is more screwy trying to get a visa into Canada than the US) But anyway, in the US, if somebody enters on a work visa, but plans to get married after arriving in the US while on a work visa, that is considered visa fraud and at a minimum, if suspected, leads to deportation. 10 year to life bans on future entries and visas are possible. "Do people get away with it?" Sure - wanna risk your life's future over trying to do it in a round about way?

My advice is just pursue a fiance or marriage visa and worry about the career later. Check out www.visajourney.com . There will be plenty of Canada specific instructions and advice on that site. Good luck.

--"I believe in making the world safe for our children. But not for our children's children, because I don't think that children should be having sex." - Jack Handy

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bopenyan says on Oct 23, 2007, 16:21:

A work visa in Canada is employer driven. In other words, the prospective employer must offer her employment and then send a copy of the job offer, along with a completed 4 page form setting out the history and revenues of the business, number of employees and most importantly, the employer's efforts to hire or train a local, to Services Canada. If the employer can demonstrate that it made good faith efforts to find someone in Canada, and does not have the resources to train someone, and can show that it is paying the prospective employee a wage that is within the norm for that occupation, Services Canada will then "validate the job offer" by writing a letter saying that there will be no adverse impact to Canada's labour market if the foreign employee is granted a work visa. Generally speaking, unskilled or lightly skilled workers almost never get a positive validation of the job offer and that ends the work visa application process. If a positive letter is issued, it must be enclosed with the work visa application, which must be submitted in the consular post serving Colombia (likely the Canadian Embassy in Colombia). This application should include not only the job offer and the validation letter, but also copies of all education documents and letters of reference from at least one previous employer setting out relevant (i.e. to the job offer made) job skills, duration of employment, salary etc....

From what you have told me, I would say that it is very very unlikely that your novia will receive a work permit.

If you marry her, or cohabit with her for one year or longer, with proof of cohabitation (records of shared bank accounts, or both names being on the lease), you can sponsor her. There is a huge amount of paperwork involved (including medical evaluations by a doctor on Canada Immigration's list of doctors, police clearance certificates etc.....), and usually an interview with a Senior Immigration Officer who will determine whether the marriage is genuine. If satisfied that the marriage is genuine, the SIO will advise her that she will get a permanent residence visa, subject to completion of INTERPOL and security clearances.

The CIC website sets out average waiting times for spousal sponsorship visas. Expect to wait at least a year from the date the application was submitted to Mississauga CPC.

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sylvester says on Oct 23, 2007, 17:02:

Chriscan, if you could provide more details the forum would be better prepared to advise you of your best options. Things like where you met her, how long you have know her, her level of english, your level of spanish would be a good start.

From what you have described above, the chances of obtaining a visa are not good. Have a look at the following website for information regarding immigration to Canada.

http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/index.asp

Considering her lack of education and employment history, the chances of a skilled worker visa are less than slim and none.

Depending on the amount of time you have spent with her, there is no guarantee a spousal visa would be granted if you do in fact marry the girl. If your situation resembles a marriage of convenience, red flags will go off and your application will have a high likelihood of denial.

Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC) will ask for documented proof to support whatever time frame you claim to have known the girl. They will ask for things like emails, letters, and phone records.

If you try for a visitors or student visa, CIC will check to see if she has the financial resources to support it in the form of bank statements. Making a lump sum deposit in her bank account wont help either. CIC will check her banking history. Further, if the hear the word boyfriend or surmise there is a boyfriend in the picture CIC will deny her entry. CIC will need to see something to indicate that she wouldnt overstay a visa. If she doesnt own real estate/have a proper job to return to/have thousands of dollars in the bank, you can pretty much rule out a temporary resident visa.

Whatever route you take, good luck.

Just as an FYI to others, Canada does NOT have a "Fiance Visa."

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jinksmiester says on Oct 23, 2007, 17:57:

im canadian...and actually ive done both...as in hired a forien worker and married a colombian lady who is now with me in canada.The forien worker was not my wife,it was my wifes sister.i hired her to work in my business.Im not sure if all provinces are the same but for alberta a labour observation study is done and it takes a good 6 to 7 months before you even get an answer that you will be allowed to hire a forien worker.Depending on the type of work, immigration may feel english skills are nessecary and if your lady does,nt have them she is S.O.L.Skills for the job will also be something they look at.
In any event if you love this lady i suggest you do things the right way above board and not waste time chasing a visa you most likley won,t get.As sylvester has said the chances of a visiters visa for your lady are not good...unless your lady has money ...property ..good job etc and can convince immigration beyond ANY doubt she will return to colombia she will not get a visiters visa.(it does,nt matter if you offer to pay for everything either...they will not accept that).
If you love and trust her marry her and then apply to bring her as your wife.Exspect there will be some work involved and a lot of paper. Keep reciets for everything you do together....emails ..phone records...photos...ticket stubs..and once you have approved sponsorship documents and your file is in bogota id suggest you continue to send proof of your continuing relationship and ask them to add it to your file.Exspect it to take 8 months if you are very luckey to get your wife to canada.I got my wife here in eight months but had everything ready to go for documents within days of our wedding.Bieng prepared and having everything in the application they could want done correctly is the only thing that might speed it up.Lots of info on pbh that can help you out but visit canada,s immigration website and it will give you an idea what to exspect.You can download an application from there as well as a checklist for what you will need.........good luck

A man is not old until regret takes the place of dreams

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Robert Jorge says on Oct 23, 2007, 19:59:

Good clarification sylvester - that Canada does NOT have a "fiance visa". I had heard that, but didn't pay much attention, nor was sure, because I am from the US and thus "US centric". jajaja

Anyway, it looks like it really sucks for you Canucks up there in the great white north. I mean, you finally find a chick who is willing to move from a tropical climate to 7 months of tundra, and then it becomes an ordeal that makes the US visa process seem like a cake walk. Good luck to you guys!

--"I believe in making the world safe for our children. But not for our children's children, because I don't think that children should be having sex." - Jack Handy

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Timba says on Oct 24, 2007, 05:40:

Why doe'nt she just crash the border (refugee) ? Colombians are the no 1 source of refugees to Canada, isn't it ? The Mexcians were recently doing it.

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Chelesupercono says on Oct 24, 2007, 09:03:

Just leave your love in Colombia and open up an account at MONEYGRAM.......it will be cheaper and less painful......

never go to bed with someone crazier then you are, you will do it and you will regret it.......

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manINred says on Oct 24, 2007, 09:05:

As I found, this will be very very difficult. I started a couple of threads along these lines. I'll post the links and let you read.

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manINred says on Oct 24, 2007, 09:06:

http://poorbuthappy.com/colombia/post/making-sure-a-tourist-visa-to-ca...

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manINred says on Oct 24, 2007, 09:07:

http://poorbuthappy.com/colombia/post/shes-definitely-coming-to-canada...

ignore the insults to me that pervade the thread. I received very very useful information, and get a harsh dose of reality in the difficulty of having someone come to Canada.

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jinksmiester says on Oct 24, 2007, 20:06:

Hey RJ....i know an american who has been married 15 months`and is still waiting to get his wife to the u.s.....not much of a cake walk for him.Having talked with him i know the documetation is not a whole lot different from canada.i imagine that since 9/11 immigration is lot more restricted..at least it seems like the u.s. is closing the door just a little.Im betting those u.s. finacee visa,s are put under a lot of scutiny these days.
The closest thing canada has to a fiancee visa is a conjugular relation ship visa....meaning you consider the lady like your wife but for reasons beyond your control you and her are unable to be or live together..its just like a commonlaw or marraige pr visa...(all the same paperwork and proof of relationship ..etc required)

A man is not old until regret takes the place of dreams

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Robert Jorge says on Oct 24, 2007, 22:21:

Because of a HUGE influx of petitions in July (to avoid the fee rate hikes), the wait time now is a little longer than it was. But normally, and I speak from experience, the process is pretty quick. With TWO requests for additional evidence during our process, the time from petition filing to visa issuance in Bogota was 9 months. It would have been 6 months without the paperwork issues. (USCIS lost check and an incompetent lawyer used outdated form). I would say 6 months is a cake walk compared to 15 and still waiting.

--"I believe in making the world safe for our children. But not for our children's children, because I don't think that children should be having sex." - Jack Handy

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john_stark says on Oct 25, 2007, 06:24:

It was 6 months for us from start to finish. I don't know any Canadian who was able to get his/her spouse in less than a year.

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morphus says on Oct 25, 2007, 06:59:

6 months? Wow..you must have millions of dollars.

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Saltador says on Oct 25, 2007, 07:16:

A good friend of mine in the Miami area (who also posts on here occasionally) got his fiance over here within three months of his first application. Did all the paperwork himself, did not pay a lawyer a penny.

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Robert Jorge says on Oct 25, 2007, 11:54:

Unless a complicated case with weird circumstances, an attorney is a waste of money. You are paying somebody, to pay their secretary, to fill out forms and to send them.

Saltador, I would like to hear details about your good friend in Miami. Maybe he could type exactly what he did and you could share it here. That seems like some kind of record!

--"I believe in making the world safe for our children. But not for our children's children, because I don't think that children should be having sex." - Jack Handy

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Saltador says on Oct 25, 2007, 12:32:

Yea, it was pretty quick. I'll talk to him and see if he'll post on here how he did it.

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Chriscan says on Oct 25, 2007, 14:30:

I´m still interested in the work visa. I Alberta where I live, there are many more jobs than people. The average wage in my father´s town is about $100 000 per year. A hotel in my town just hired 100 housekeepers from the philipenes. My girlfriend actually met a buddy of mine who manages a resturant and he was willing to look at hiring her but hadn´t done it before. After eating her food, he was extra keen. It was something to see him. I knew he was in Latin America and probably on his way home but he appeared in the hotel room next to mine in Taganga. The next week I met one of his employees and 2 other people from my town of 8000 in Tayrona Park.

Anyway

There are also special laws that make it easier for workers to come to Alberta for a year and another law that makes it easier for them to apply to stay perminantly. My mother´s friend hires many people from africa to work in a hog barn and says it takes 4 months. My father says that a small resturant in his town just hired 4 arficans.

I think that I will stick to an engagement, return home, make some robust Canadian dollars while talking to some friends who have buisnesses about favours. I don´t want to rush a wedding because I would like to do something special with friends and family, getting them to visit Colombia.

She isn´t all that keen on living in Canada, she wants to see it but the idea of winter is scary. She was cold in Cartagena the other night. I would just like to get her up for a while so we can save some money and start a buisiness.

Thanks for the help guys. Time away from her is hell. I came up to Costa Rica to visit some friends and my father was supposed to travel to Nicaragua with me. The flooding is bad here and I´m going back to Colombia to surprise her tomorrow. I convinced my father to meet me in Cartagena instead. It´s better anyway.

I´m still looking for advice. I don´t know where all you gringos are because I only see you on the north coast and most of you are too busy with your prostitutes to bother talking to.

************* WARNING ************* my words often come from my ass

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Saltador says on Oct 25, 2007, 14:50:

Chriscan,
I've got the info you're looking for, will get it on here ASAP. (busy with a puta right now...)

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jinksmiester says on Oct 25, 2007, 17:15:

I got my wife to canada in 8 months...but according to actual processing times on the canada immigration website most take longer than that...according to the website about 30%are luckey enough to be done in that time frame.We never did have to be interviewed but had loads of proof of our relationship going back 2 years.

A man is not old until regret takes the place of dreams

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john_stark says on Oct 26, 2007, 06:14:

Damm, dude, eight months, that's gotta be a record. I know a Colombiana who had to wait close to two years.

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morphus says on Oct 26, 2007, 08:47:

Thats a long time to wait...a lot of lonely nights and nocturnal emissions is'nt fun.

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john_stark says on Oct 26, 2007, 11:06:

For him? Most of these Colombianas have Colombian boyfriends so they're not spending any lonely nights waiting for hubby to get them in.

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morphus says on Oct 26, 2007, 11:10:

Its like a car. Its not good to let it sit too long.

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tompower says on Oct 31, 2007, 15:28:

dear chriscan,
hey i'm in the same boat as you but I got my costena up here and I have more coconut rice and patacon than I know what do with. Life's a treat. Cartagena is the greatest place on earth and being married to a cartgenera is like dying and going to heaven.
Stop wasting your time trying to get her up here as a visitor/worker it's a big waste of time. just ask jinksmeister. Don't worry about marrying her you're only on the hook for 3 years and if she leaves you you can guarantee she's not staying in canada. Why would you stay in freezing cold Alberta when you could be walking the streets of your cartagena barrio in 30 C heat bragging about how you dumped your gringo husband because he cheated on you?? If she has what it takes to stay in Canada she won't leave you and if she doesn't she's out of here.
Here's what you gotta do:
- apply for a long form birth certificate from vital statistics Alberta $50
- apply for a notice of search of marriage in Alberta $50
- send it to colombian consulate in Toronto to have them both certified $ 100
- get down to cartagena and marry her $150 for the notary to tie the knot. I got no idea what she's gonna want for the wedding dress, party, honeymoon that's up to you...
- take the notary's certifcate of marriage to the registradura and have it registered.( the only thing free but it isn't if you pay someone to jump the line for ya)
- then take the copy of registration of marriage to the servientrega in manga and have them send it to bogota to get it aposilled(stamped) and translated $100
- take your girl to Barranquilla and get her a medical exam with a CIC certified medical examiner $150 ( you gotta pay for blood work chest X-rays etc)
- get her to go to DAS and get a police security clearance for immigration to canada $30
-then fill out the following forms
im1344a application to sponsor and undertaking
1344b sponsorship agreementim
5481 sponsorship evaluationim
5540 sponsor questionaireim
5490 document checklistim0008
application for permanent residence in canadaim0008
schedule 1 Background declaration
- have your then wife fill out form IMM 5490 herself in english to avoid paying for a translator.
- You'll need like 10 immigration photos of your wife but make sure they follow the guidelines on the page C-1 of the guide thery're not the same as passport photos.
- you'll also need a
- Photocopy of Your Passport
- Her Passport
- Photocopy of her Identity Card Cedula
- Photocopy of her Registro Civil (Birth Certificate)
- Photocopy of her Baptism Certificate
- Proof of Telephone contact between you and her (phone cards and bell bills)
- loose photos of you and her together.
- loose photos of the wedding
- Photocopies of your passport stamps entering colombia

- pay Permanent Resident $700 fee and get receipt
- also you need to provide a form C assesment of your last tax year thats the thing u get back when u file your income tax u can request a new one if you don't have one.

That's all you have to do, send it off and wait exactly 8 months and she's there in Alberta with her PR card free to travel back to colombia with you whenever you want and get a job and get health care and cook you all the yucca you can handle...

Listen, I can help you with any questions my e-mail is on but it come's at a price I get at least one beer out of your cooler every time I see you on the beach in BocA gRANDE!!!

Remember, we're all in this together.
-

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Tinto (Moderator) says on Oct 31, 2007, 20:33:

You Canadians must be rich, or too heavily taxed or not very efficient. Or something. $50 dollars to get your own birth certificate and another $50 to get it certified? Ouch. Poor Americans can get a certified birth certificate from the public records office of their county of birth for about $15 and if it needs an apostille from their secretary of state, that's only $3 to $5 more.

Oh well, you also have something called a "conjugal visa" - that sounds naughty and I'd pay big bucks just for the bragging rights.

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Man Tequila says on Oct 31, 2007, 21:05:

It's a money grab, like most other interactions with government.

Aunque no me creas/ si me lo propongo/ lograre olvidarte/ porque a fin de cuentas/ no soy tan cobarde./ Y termino todo una de estas tardes/ no sera dificil buscar algún sitio donde refugiarme/ donde nunca mas vuelvas a encontrarme. (Polo Montañez)

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goin_south says on Oct 31, 2007, 21:11:

""""dorphus says on Thursday October 25th, 2007 6:59: 6 months? Wow..you must have millions of dollars.""""

Maybe ... jus alot of common cents ;)

Some say: All things are better in...Medellin! ....Oscar Lopez just says it's better.....LATE!!! (WHERE EVER YOU ARE)

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goin_south says on Oct 31, 2007, 21:13:

'''got his fiance over here within three months of his first application.'''

Yeah; I know someone in Pensacola who makes that claim, as well... and, I don't doubt him, but... that was the better part of two years ago.... IT AIN'T HAPPENING NO MORE; TRUST ME.

Some say: All things are better in...Medellin! ....Oscar Lopez just says it's better.....LATE!!! (WHERE EVER YOU ARE)

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goin_south says on Oct 31, 2007, 21:18:

undocumented income???..... little education??? humh.
another dead duck combination

Some say: All things are better in...Medellin! ....Oscar Lopez just says it's better.....LATE!!! (WHERE EVER YOU ARE)

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john_stark says on Oct 31, 2007, 21:39:

There was a brief period a couple of years ago when they were approving K-1 and K-3 petitions in record time. I knew of one guy who had his K-3 approved in 16 days. Needless to say this period of government efficiency was too good to last.

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goin_south says on Oct 31, 2007, 22:06:

that must have been in 1997.... man o menus dos anos....

'there was a brief period'....

stop the tease! lol!

Some say: All things are better in...Medellin! ....Oscar Lopez just says it's better.....LATE!!! (WHERE EVER YOU ARE)

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john_stark says on Oct 31, 2007, 22:21:

No, it was back sometime around 2004 or 2005. Heck, our K-3 was approved in 61 days back in 2003.

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goin_south says on Oct 31, 2007, 22:21:

eonz algo

Some say: All things are better in...Medellin! ....Oscar Lopez just says it's better.....LATE!!! (WHERE EVER YOU ARE)

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