Common Law Application

[Chasingsummer1]

Hi,
Just looking for some advice regarding Common Law Application. We are living together for almost a year now, and planning to apply once we hit the 1 year mark. Would that be wise or should we wait a couple more months? Would it matter if we applied in land or outland?

And would my partner's finances matter? I am on a student visa and working part time as a Nurse, and my partner who is sponsoring me is a student as well and only working part time.

How long would it take for OWP after submitting the application?

Thank you for your time.

 

[lukeaidan97]

Hi,
Just looking for some advice regarding Common Law Application. We are living together for almost a year now, and planning to apply once we hit the 1 year mark. Would that be wise or should we wait a couple more months? Would it matter if we applied in land or outland?

And would my partner's finances matter? I am on a student visa and working part time as a Nurse, and my partner who is sponsoring me is a student as well and only working part time.

How long would it take for OWP after submitting the application?

Thank you for your time.

IRCC states that a Common-Law Relationship is where a couple have been living in a marriage like relationship for at least 12 months. You can apply when you have hit the 1 year mark if you would like yes as that's the requirement, but up to you whether you want to wait longer.

Inland applications generally take a little bit longer than Outland applications but the processing time is meant to be 12 months for both applications now. Outland you can appeal immigration decisions and Inland you cannot. With Inland you can have a OWP but for Outland you can't. They both have their positives and negatives.

Finances do not matter as such for Common-Law Sponsorship. You do not need to have a minimum income requirement however it would be good to proof that you have savings such as bank statements to show this as this can help with your application if the sponsor or principal applicant don't earn a lot.

For the OWP you can get that with Inland Sponsorship and that normally comes 4 months after submitting your application to the Case Processing Centre I think it comes in the mail, I'm still awaiting mine.

 

[sylvain1]

Hi,
Just looking for some advice regarding Common Law Application. We are living together for almost a year now, and planning to apply once we hit the 1 year mark. Would that be wise or should we wait a couple more months? Would it matter if we applied in land or outland?

And would my partner's finances matter? I am on a student visa and working part time as a Nurse, and my partner who is sponsoring me is a student as well and only working part time.

How long would it take for OWP after submitting the application?

Thank you for your time.

First of all, the OWP is available only via the inland route, not with outland.
OWP gets approved in 4 months, however it seems to be a bit shorter for those that applied in 2017.

Inland applications will be processed in about 12 months. Outland applications are generally processed faster.

Regarding the time to apply, there is no need to wait few months more than the 1 year if you can document the fact you are cohabiting for one year. If you feel you might not have enough proofs, then in such a case it could worth waiting a few more months to collect more proofs.

Income doesn't matter for spousal/common law sponsorship. Your sponsor cannot be on welfare, but there is no minimum income to apply.

An option for you could be to apply for a post-graduate work permit. I'm not sure about the fees or the processing time, but that could be an option for you to consider if you are finishing your studies soon.

 

[spousalsponsee]

Hi,
Just looking for some advice regarding Common Law Application. We are living together for almost a year now, and planning to apply once we hit the 1 year mark. Would that be wise or should we wait a couple more months?

You can apply as soon as you meet the 12 month criteria.

And would my partner's finances matter? I am on a student visa and working part time as a Nurse, and my partner who is sponsoring me is a student as well and only working part time.

Not at all - sponsor just has to be not bankrupt or on welfare

Would it matter if we applied in land or outland?
How long would it take for OWP after submitting the application?

You can only get an OWP if you apply inland. Depending on your nationality & visa office, an outland app might get you full PR in about the same time as waiting for an OWP on an inland app. Or it might not.

 

[Chasingsummer1]

IRCC states that a Common-Law Relationship is where a couple have been living in a marriage like relationship for at least 12 months. You can apply when you have hit the 1 year mark if you would like yes as that's the requirement, but up to you whether you want to wait longer.

Inland applications generally take a little bit longer than Outland applications but the processing time is meant to be 12 months for both applications now. Outland you can appeal immigration decisions and Inland you cannot. With Inland you can have a OWP but for Outland you can't. They both have their positives and negatives.

Finances do not matter as such for Common-Law Sponsorship. You do not need to have a minimum income requirement however it would be good to proof that you have savings such as bank statements to show this as this can help with your application if the sponsor or principal applicant don't earn a lot.

For the OWP you can get that with Inland Sponsorship and that normally comes 4 months after submitting your application to the Case Processing Centre I think it comes in the mail, I'm still awaiting mine.

Hi, thank you for the tip. When did you apply for yours if i may ask?

Hope you get it soon.

 

[Chasingsummer1]

You can apply as soon as you meet the 12 month criteria.


Not at all - sponsor just has to be not bankrupt or on welfare

You can only get an OWP if you apply inland. Depending on your nationality & visa office, an outland app might get you full PR in about the same time as waiting for an OWP on an inland app. Or it might not.

My sponsor is on student loans, does that count as social assistance?

I am from the Philippines, i'm not sure either for the processing time in their VO.

 

[spousalsponsee]

My sponsor is on student loans, does that count as social assistance?

, no, it doesn't.

I am from the Philippines, i'm not sure either for the processing time in their VO.

Then while applying outland would probably/possibly get you PR faster than applying inland, if you want to work while you wait and apply for a permit, it will probably come through sooner than PR would outland. Your choice.

 

[methyl]

One suggestion - to prove common law - make sure to start collecting documents showing a common household - having both names on lease or purchases, credit cards, bank cards, life insurance for each other, health/dental policies, utility bills in both names, etc. The sooner you put in both names the better - from the notes I learned they do look how far back the shared finances go.