Canadian Girl/British Guy, best options for his permanent CA visa/citizenship?

[CanagirlUK]

Hello guys,

Thanks in advance to those nice enough to take the time to help me!

I am finding it tricky to obtain clear and consistent info/resources online regarding the best routes for my boyfriend and I to live together permanently in Canada, whether by application for a permanent visa, citizenship (or equivalent) or another route altogether.

I thought perhaps some of you might have a better idea of the best routes available to us, based on our situation.

-I am Canadian who lived previously in UK where we met, but returned home to Vancouver in 2016.
-Boyfriend Mark is British and currently lives in London UK, but visits me every 4-7 months.
-We are very committed to each other and want to live together here in Vancouver.
-My boyfriend is ready to leave UK. He would be very happy to become an official Candian citizen/resident with permanent permission to live and work here.
-We are prepared to be married if a spousal visa/sponsorship turned out to be the only/best route, but I am happily divorced so would be interested in other routes first

To keep it as short as possible, I thought it might be helpful to provide some bulleted facts, supplied below. Sorry if any info is overkill, figured too much info would be better than too little! Please let me know if other info would be useful, or if I would be expected to perform other steps before posting here.

Thanks again, I really appreciate it and will respond to any posts asap.

Rachel x

 

[scylla]

If your boyfriend is the right age, he can try for an IEC / working holiday visa. Downside is that there are more applicants than spots available. So no guarantee he will be selected out of the random draw. This would give him a temporary work permit only - not allow him to move here permanently.

Otherwise marriage and spousal sponsorship is the best / most realistic option. If you happened to have lived in the UK for at last 12 months continuously and can prove it, then common law sponsorship may be an option.