Common law partner for PR

[Tina23]

Hi everyone,

Can I apply for PR as common law, even if me and my partner have lived together for more than 12 months continous in the past but had a 5-month separation due to work?
Also, in my previous applications such as PGWP, I mentioned my status as single. Would this create any problems now if I declare as common-law?
Thank you in advance!

 

[Tina23]

Can anyone help please?

 

[armoured]

Hi everyone,

Can I apply for PR as common law, even if me and my partner have lived together for more than 12 months continous in the past but had a 5-month separation due to work?
Also, in my previous applications such as PGWP, I mentioned my status as single. Would this create any problems now if I declare as common-law?
Thank you in advance!

First question: answer is yes, that would qualify as common law, but it must have been 12 months, minimum, continuous. In fact you must if you wish to sponsor/be sponsored by that partner.

But you ask "can I apply for PR as common law?"- under what program? Not clear anyone can asnwer without that important fact.

Second question: I don't know the context of your previous apps and when you neglected to mention this. But you would almost certainly still be better to modify your application/come clean as of whenever you apply for whatever, and 'come clean' that you did not include the partner before because did not realize, or whatever.

 

[Tina23]

Hi @armoured Thank you so much for the response. Sorry I didn't make it clear. I received ITA and I want to include my partner in the application too.
We lived together from Nov 2021 to February 2023 and I later moved for work. Could this be considered as common-law?

My previous application was PGWP. I was unaware that we had an option of common-law then. Do you suggest that I include an LOE stating this?

 

[armoured]

Hi @armoured Thank you so much for the response. Sorry I didn't make it clear. I received ITA and I want to include my partner in the application too.
We lived together from Nov 2021 to February 2023 and I later moved for work. Could this be considered as common-law?

My previous application was PGWP. I was unaware that we had an option of common-law then. Do you suggest that I include an LOE stating this?

Yes, you should include a letter of explanation. You were required to include all family members. It can be considered misrepresentation to not include the common law spouse. Hopefully since the application is not that far along it might not be an issue.

 

[Tina23]

Thank you @armoured
Could you also please clarify my first question?
We lived together from Nov 2021 to February 2023(1 year and 3 months). I moved out for work from March 2023 to September 2023. Do we qualify as common-law? Thank you!

 

[armoured]

Thank you @armoured
Could you also please clarify my first question?
We lived together from Nov 2021 to February 2023(1 year and 3 months). I moved out for work from March 2023 to September 2023. Do we qualify as common-law? Thank you!

What part of my earlier response was not clear?

"answer is yes, that would qualify as common law, but it must have been 12 months, minimum, continuous."

 

[Tina23]

I was worried if this 12months being in the past was a problem. Thank you for clearing it!

 

[canuck78]

Hi everyone,

Can I apply for PR as common law, even if me and my partner have lived together for more than 12 months continous in the past but had a 5-month separation due to work?
Also, in my previous applications such as PGWP, I mentioned my status as single. Would this create any problems now if I declare as common-law?
Thank you in advance!

Did you both declare to CRA that your were common law in November 2022 and on both your 2022 tax returns. Both required but also proof that you are common law for your application. For proof of your common law status you show have proof with your names, same address and the date starting at the beginning of the one year period and throughout the one year to at least the end of the one year period if not longer. Things like a lease that you have both signed, bills, tax returns (that also prove that you at common law), proof that you are registered for the other’s benefit plan once you became common law, etc.

 

[sancanada2417]

Hi please let me know what you are doing? I am in a same situation. did not mention common law in pgwp

Hi everyone,

Can I apply for PR as common law, even if me and my partner have lived together for more than 12 months continous in the past but had a 5-month separation due to work?
Also, in my previous applications such as PGWP, I mentioned my status as single. Would this create any problems now if I declare as common-law?
Thank you in advance!

 

[Tina23]

Hi please let me know what you are doing? I am in a same situation. did not mention common law in pgwp

We hadn't completed one year of cohabitation at the time of submitting PGWP. So I couldn't have declared as common law anyways. Hope this helps!

 

[m1lky]

Did you both declare to CRA that your were common law in November 2022 and on both your 2022 tax returns. Both required but also proof that you are common law for your application. For proof of your common law status you show have proof with your names, same address and the date starting at the beginning of the one year period and throughout the one year to at least the end of the one year period if not longer. Things like a lease that you have both signed, bills, tax returns (that also prove that you at common law), proof that you are registered for the other’s benefit plan once you became common law, etc.

Hey @canuck78, my partner and I entered a romantic relationship after meeting in university. We had only been living together for approximately 6 months after graduating, so we applied for our PGWPs separately. However, at the time of submitting our TRV applications in February 2022 (based on our individuals PGWPs), we were not aware that we had become common-law since we had hit 1 year of living together by then. We only learned the definition of common law while filing taxes in May 2022, so we filed our taxes correctly as common-law (but already had the TRV approval by then).

Unfortunately, we are creating our EE profiles to get PR under CEC now and just realized our mistake while reviewing our old IRCC applications. We just picked me as the dependant and my partner as the primary, since his company is offering him an LMIA (with a SOWP for me) despite him having a PGWP already, even though we both have equal work and educational experience in Canada. We're really concerned now that mistakenly leaving our marital status off TRV could negatively affect our PR application.

Do you have any advice on how to explain this in a letter once we get our ITA? We genuinely didn't know about our common-law status back then, and want to make sure we don't mess anything up since we've been together for almost 7 years now and plan to get married next year as well

 

[Miss bee]

Hey @canuck78, my partner and I entered a romantic relationship after meeting in university. We had only been living together for approximately 6 months after graduating, so we applied for our PGWPs separately. However, at the time of submitting our TRV applications in February 2022 (based on our individuals PGWPs), we were not aware that we had become common-law since we had hit 1 year of living together by then. We only learned the definition of common law while filing taxes in May 2022, so we filed our taxes correctly as common-law (but already had the TRV approval by then).

Unfortunately, we are creating our EE profiles to get PR under CEC now and just realized our mistake while reviewing our old IRCC applications. We just picked me as the dependant and my partner as the primary, since his company is offering him an LMIA (with a SOWP for me) despite him having a PGWP already, even though we both have equal work and educational experience in Canada. We're really concerned now that mistakenly leaving our marital status off TRV could negatively affect our PR application.

Do you have any advice on how to explain this in a letter once we get our ITA? We genuinely didn't know about our common-law status back then, and want to make sure we don't mess anything up since we've been together for almost 7 years now and plan to get married next year as well

Not a issue at all . You should attach letter of explanation and mention about that . Make sure you submit correct marital status now and also update CRA about common law. It won’t be an issue if you submit letter of explanation with apology. It will work out .

 

[m1lky]

Not a issue at all . You should attach letter of explanation and mention about that . Make sure you submit correct marital status now and also update CRA about common law. It won’t be an issue if you submit letter of explanation with apology. It will work out .

Hi @Miss bee , thank you for your advice. Just wondering if you have any tips or advice on how to explain this in the letter? Do I need to give a full timeline in 2-3 paragraphs, or it enough to write 2-3 lines saying we didn't know about our status while filling out TRV applications and that we want to apologize for our mistake? Can we just submit this letter when we get ITA for PR or should we send a Webform right now?

Also, we already updated our CRA status back in May 2023 since that is when we realized that we were common-law. Will it cause problems that we did not do anything until now? Our reason for that was that we already received our PGWP and TRV and did not have any pending applications with IRCC at the time that we realized our marital status, and so did not know what to do or how to update it.

 

[Miss bee]

Hi @Miss bee , thank you for your advice. Just wondering if you have any tips or advice on how to explain this in the letter? Do I need to give a full timeline in 2-3 paragraphs, or it enough to write 2-3 lines saying we didn't know about our status while filling out TRV applications and that we want to apologize for our mistake? Can we just submit this letter when we get ITA for PR or should we send a Webform right now?

Also, we already updated our CRA status back in May 2023 since that is when we realized that we were common-law. Will it cause problems that we did not do anything until now? Our reason for that was that we already received our PGWP and TRV and did not have any pending applications with IRCC at the time that we realized our marital status, and so did not know what to do or how to update it.

No idea about format . You should submit when you get ITA for PR . Just write little brief letter explaining situation. It won’t be any issue.