Sponsor common-law partner questions?

[minhcloud]

Hi everyone, I got my PR on January 2021. I have my girlfriend who lives with me in the same house for 2 years already. She have been studying university here since 2019 and her study permit will expired on July 2023.

Right now her financial situation makes it hard for her to finish the university. I have a plan to sponsor her as my common-law partner to get the PR that might help her go through this hard time.

I have 2 questions:
- Does getting married makes it easier for her to get the PR through the sponsor program? And what should I prepare for this sponsor program to make the process easier? I understand that having a child should accelerate the process, but our financial situation won't allow us to do so ;(
- Can my girlfriend apply for a work permit after submitting the sponsor application? If yes, can she come back to the university after 1 year of working while waiting for the PR?

Thank you for all of your help!

 

[freddieMercury]

- Does getting married makes it easier for her to get the PR through the sponsor program?

- Simply answering-> Yes it does! - But that's not really why you should marry someone...

And what should I prepare for this sponsor program to make the process easier?

- Make a strong application, no loose ends, and provide all documents requested and signatures.

I understand that having a child should accelerate the process, but our financial situation won't allow us to do so ;(

- it does not "accelerate the process", and also, don't have a kid just to "accelerate" an immigration process!

Can my girlfriend apply for a work permit after submitting the sponsor application?

- If you apply as an "Inland Application" then Yes, in that case, she can apply for an Open Work Permit.

If yes, can she come back to the university after 1 year of working while waiting for the PR?

- You would have to check this directly with her University, no one here will be able to answer this with 100% accuracy.

 

[YVR123]

Hi everyone, I got my PR on January 2021. I have my girlfriend who lives with me in the same house for 2 years already. She have been studying university here since 2019 and her study permit will expired on July 2023.

Right now her financial situation makes it hard for her to finish the university. I have a plan to sponsor her as my common-law partner to get the PR that might help her go through this hard time.

I have 2 questions:
- Does getting married makes it easier for her to get the PR through the sponsor program? And what should I prepare for this sponsor program to make the process easier? I understand that having a child should accelerate the process, but our financial situation won't allow us to do so ;(
- Can my girlfriend apply for a work permit after submitting the sponsor application? If yes, can she come back to the university after 1 year of working while waiting for the PR?

Thank you for all of your help!

You landed in Jan 2021, when did your girlfriend moved in and started living with you?
Were you already common law when you landed as PR (got your eCOPR). If so, this is making this situration more complicated than you think.

You may have missed declaring her as your common law spouse when you got your PR and in that case, you can not sponsor her. It really depends on if you lived with her for 1 year or not when you got your COPR.

 

[minhcloud]

You landed in Jan 2021, when did your girlfriend moved in and started living with you?
Were you already common law when you landed as PR (got your eCOPR). If so, this is making this situration more complicated than you think.

You may have missed declaring her as your common law spouse when you got your PR and in that case, you can not sponsor her. It really depends on if you lived with her for 1 year or not when you got your COPR.

- Simply answering-> Yes it does! - But that's not really why you should marry someone...


- Make a strong application, no loose ends, and provide all documents requested and signatures.


- it does not "accelerate the process", and also, don't have a kid just to "accelerate" an immigration process!


- If you apply as an "Inland Application" then Yes, in that case, she can apply for an Open Work Permit.


- You would have to check this directly with her University, no one here will be able to answer this with 100% accuracy.

Thank you so much for your straight forward answer. Actually we have a plan for marriage before 2025, I only want to make it happens earlier to help my gf with her situation now. Should it be a problem if we married and submit the sponsor application right after that?

About the Work Permit, yes that should be an "Inland Application". My GF has been living in Canada since 2019 and her study permit will be expired on the summer of 2023. In this case, do you have any idea how long does her work permit last if she apply for one after the sponsor application?

Thank you,

 

[YVR123]

Thank you so much for your straight forward answer. Actually we have a plan for marriage before 2025, I only want to make it happens earlier to help my gf with her situation now. Should it be a problem if we married and submit the sponsor application right after that?

Thank you,

So she is your common law partner when you landed. This is a tricky situation.

She is still undeclaried even after you get married later on. May be it's best for her to get PR independently. May be you can help to finance her study so she can get PGWP after her study and apply for PR.

 

[minhcloud]

You landed in Jan 2021, when did your girlfriend moved in and started living with you?
Were you already common law when you landed as PR (got your eCOPR). If so, this is making this situration more complicated than you think.

You may have missed declaring her as your common law spouse when you got your PR and in that case, you can not sponsor her. It really depends on if you lived with her for 1 year or not when you got your COPR.

Thank you so much for your information. I and my GF has been together since September 2020. We were not together for 12 months continuously at the time I submit my PR application, thus I cannot including her as my common-law partner at that time. Does this make it impossible for me to sponsor her?

Thank you,

 

[YVR123]

Thank you so much for your information. I and my GF has been together since September 2020. We were not together for 12 months continuously at the time I submit my PR application, thus I cannot including her as my common-law partner at that time. Does this make it impossible for me to sponsor her?

Thank you,

But as you have stated, you were together for 12 months before you landed as PR. You were supposed to add her to your application (accompanying or not) at that point (when you lived together for 12 months) and she needed to go through medical, security and background check before you landed with updated COPR. (not single)
Hitting the 12 months living together is similar to getting married and not updating your status when you landed.

Some would argue that living together is not the same as common law. But the line is very fine. I believe she've been using the same address as yours when she did all her visa applications. So IRCC do have that piece of information.

 

[minhcloud]

But as you have stated, you were together for 12 months before you landed as PR. You were supposed to add her to your application (accompanying or not) at that point (when you lived together for 12 months) and she needed to go through medical, security and background check before you landed with updated COPR. (not single)
Hitting the 12 months living together is similar to getting married and not updating your status when you landed.

My apologize for the confusion I caused.

Both I and my GF arrived to Canada around the end of 2018 with study permits, but not until September 2020 that we met and were together. i submit my PR application on October 2022 and got my PR on January 2021. We were only together for 4 months before I got my PR.

 

[YVR123]

My apologize for the confusion I caused.

Both I and my GF arrived to Canada around the end of 2018 with study permits, but not until September 2020 that we met and were together. i submit my PR application on October 2022 and got my PR on June 2021. We were only together for 4 months before I got my PR.

OK. because your first post said Jan 2021 and you said you and her lived together for 2 years now... If you were only together for 4 months on June 2021, then it's not an issue. Still very confusing timeline... It's not yet June 2022, so you were not together for 2 years, correct?

It's hard to give advice until the timeline is clear.

 

[minhcloud]

OK. because your first post said Jan 2021 and you said you and her lived together for 2 years now... If you were only together for 4 months on June 2021, then it's not an issue. Still very confusing timeline... It's not yet June 2022, so you were not together for 2 years, correct?

It's hard to give advice until the timeline is clear.

My apologize I made a typo. I got my PR on January 2021. Below is the correct timeline:

- We live together in the same house since June, 2020 (06,2020). We became a couple on September, 2020 (09/2020), living in the same room.
- I submit my PR application on October, 2020 (10,2020) and got my PR on January, 2021 (01/2021).

 

[YVR123]

My apologize I made a typo. I got my PR on January 2021. Below is the correct timeline:

- We live together in the same house since June, 2020 (06,2020). We became a couple on September, 2020 (09/2020), living in the same room.
- I submit my PR application on October, 2020 (10,2020) and got my PR on January, 2021 (01/2021).

Then it's one of those tricky case. You were house-mate before you started a relationship with her.

Do you have rental contract/sub-lease document to show that you were in different rooms before Sept 2020 and started to rent the same room starting Sep 2020? If so, do you have proof of common-law (shared address, shared joint account, making each other beneficiaries of insurnace, filed tax return as common law ...etc)?

If you have enough proof of common law, then you can apply to sponsor her inland. OWP takes a few months. So do not expect un-interrupt of work permit.

She is a student and if she stops studying, she needs to change her status to visitor and until she gets her OWP, she is on implied status (visitor) until her OWP is approved. (Make sure her OWP application has AOR before her visitor status expires)

 

[minhcloud]

Then it's one of those tricky case. You were house-mate before you started a relationship with her.

Do you have rental contract/sub-lease document to show that you were in different rooms before Sept 2020 and started to rent the same room starting Sep 2020? If so, do you have proof of common-law (shared address, shared joint account, making each other beneficiaries of insurance, filed tax return as common law ...etc)?

If you have enough proof of common law, then you can apply to sponsor her inland. OWP takes a few months. So do not expect un-interrupt of work permit.

She is a student and if she stops studying, she needs to change her status to visitor and until she gets her OWP, she is on implied status (visitor) until her OWP is approved. (Make sure her OWP application has AOR before her visitor status expires)

Thank you so much for your patient!

I have the rental contract to prove that we were in different rooms before Sept 2020 and rent the same room starting Sep 2020. Beside that, we only have share address. Can travel documents like flight tickets, photo that had both of our name be counted as common-law proof? I understand that this will make it hard for me to sponsor her. Doesn't getting married make it easier?

About the OWP, can she go to work when the OWP application has AOR, or does she need to wait until she has the OWP?

 

[YVR123]

Thank you so much for your patient!

I have the rental contract to prove that we were in different rooms before Sept 2020 and rent the same room starting Sep 2020. Beside that, we only have share address. Can travel documents like flight tickets, photo that had both of our name be counted as common-law proof? I understand that this will make it hard for me to sponsor her. Doesn't getting married make it easier?

About the OWP, can she go to work when the OWP application has AOR, or does she need to wait until she has the OWP?

Getting married would need less proof that's required for common law. If you planned to get married anyway, it's easier in term of documents and proofs you need for the application.

She cannot work until she has the OWP. (only ppl who can continue to work is if they are already on a work permit before they apply and the worker status was valid, then the AOR will give them an implied status of worker and they can continue to work)

Since you partner is a student/visitor, she cannot work while waiting for the OWP approval.

 

[minhcloud]

Getting married would need less proof that's required for common law. If you planned to get married anyway, it's easier in term of documents and proofs you need for the application.

She cannot work until she has the OWP. (only ppl who can continue to work is if they are already on a work permit before they apply and the worker status was valid, then the AOR will give them an implied status of worker and they can continue to work)

Since you partner is a student/visitor, she cannot work while waiting for the OWP approval.

Thank you so much! I have another question. In the checklist for spouse, it asks if I and the spouse been married for a minimum of 2 years as of the date of application. I plan to get a marriage certificate within this month, and submit the sponsor application within June or July. Will this make my application skeptical? And if yes, will the common-law option an easier way?

Thank you,

 

[armoured]

Thank you so much! I have another question. In the checklist for spouse, it asks if I and the spouse been married for a minimum of 2 years as of the date of application. I plan to get a marriage certificate within this month, and submit the sponsor application within June or July. Will this make my application skeptical? And if yes, will the common-law option an easier way?

Thank you,

No, it's fine, being married after living together for some period of time as you have is a straightforward profile.

If you read further on that part of the checklist: couples that have several characteristics (live together, 2 yrs+, no divorces, something else like kids) are basically not asked to provide simple evidence of their relationship like wedding pictures. Less paperwork. But that's not that common a profile and the vast majority of applicants (I think) don't meet those criteria and are still processed normally (albeit supported by more documentary evidence).