Parents Sponsorship | common-law question

[danny_scars]

Hi,

I am hoping to sponsor my mom if the program opens again next January.
I am single (legally), with no kids or siblings and my mom is divorced. My understanding is that, so far I count as a household of 2. I do have a boyfriend (canadian citizen) of almost 2 years and we are thinking of buying a house together.

I am hoping to leave him completely out of this process as I don't want him to co-sign it. My quetsion is: If we move in together (and most importantly, sign a mortgage together) would he automatically be considered my common-law for immigration purposes? Or that only changes after 2 years living together/having a kid together?

I tried finding this questions on others posts but no luck, I apologize in advance if this is a duplicate.

Thanks!
D

 

[danny_scars]

The definition of common law for immigration purposes is a couple has lived together for 12 consecutive months. As you are I assume already a PR wanting to sponsor your mother maybe I am missing exactly what your question is and how that affects sponsoring your mother.

http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/helpcentre/answer.asp?qnum=346&top=14

Oh, I thought it was 2 years living together - new information, thank you. And yes, I've been a PR for the past year and a half.
My concern is having my boyfriend counting as a a household member. My income is only sufficient for a family of 2.

If my boyfriend and I buy a house together then I am no longer able (I think?) to sponsor my mother because then I will live in 3 people household and not make enough money according to the MNI table. I guess the question is... can I buy the house together and say my boyfriend is a roommate (as he will never be a burden on the system as a result of my application - he is a canadian citizen) or wait until mom's process is finalized before buying a house together?

Thanks!

 

[chingwu]

You two live together for a long period does NOT automatically make you a common law status. You have to meet all the requirements and DECLARE that status. For example, claim both of your tax returns as a family. You can still claim single even after you two have a baby.
No one can force you to change your marital status unless there are some legal issues involved. Like alimony.

 

[danny_scars]

dumb question alert:
So unless we declare we are common law, I am "safe"? How is the common-law status declared?

I mean, I hate to cheat the system but it blows my mind that now I have to earn an extra $12K to be eligible to sponsor my mother just because I have a common-law who is not part of the process AND was born in here.

 

[scylla]

You two live together for a long period does NOT automatically make you a common law status. You have to meet all the requirements and DECLARE that status. For example, claim both of your tax returns as a family. You can still claim single even after you two have a baby.
No one can force you to change your marital status unless there are some legal issues involved. Like alimony.

That's incorrect for immigration purposes. Once you've lived together with someone for a full year you are common law from CIC's perspective.

OP - to answer your question, once you've lived with your partner for a full year (not 2 years - just 1 year), you'll be common law and your partner will increase the number of family members by 1. This means you'll need to make enough income to cover one additional person to qualify to sponsor your parent.

Just buying a house together won't make you common law. You won't be common law until you've lived together for a year.

 

[Rob_TO]

You two live together for a long period does NOT automatically make you a common law status. You have to meet all the requirements and DECLARE that status. For example, claim both of your tax returns as a family. You can still claim single even after you two have a baby.
No one can force you to change your marital status unless there are some legal issues involved. Like alimony.

Wow so much wrong here I don't even know where to start.

You don't need to "declare" your common law status. Once you have lived together for 1 year as a couple, you are then legally common-law for immigration purposes. The other partner MUST then be included in your family size starting the year 12 months cohabitation was reached.

Also with CRA taxes, once you reach 12 months living together as a couple OR have a baby and live together less than 1 year (this definition differs from immigration) you are legally common-law for tax purposes.

IRCC for immigration, or CRA for taxes, can indeed force you to claim common-law status. It is often NOT a choice. To claim "single" status when you should be common-law, is considered fraud/misrepresentation and could lead to major trouble for immigration or taxes.

 

[Rob_TO]

dumb question alert:
So unless we declare we are common law, I am "safe"? How is the common-law status declared?

I mean, I hate to cheat the system but it blows my mind that now I have to earn an extra $12K to be eligible to sponsor my mother just because I have a common-law who is not part of the process AND was born in here.

No, you are legally common-law for immigration once you reach 12 months of cohabitation, whether you declare it or not. Once 12 months is reached, your partner MUST be added into your family size but only from the year you establish common-law.

If you don't meet the income with him added, then you must add his income as a co-signer if you want to qualify. Once common-law, there is absolutely NO WAY to not include him in your family size.

Note also if you become common-law in year you want to sponsor your mom, you must meet that new increased family size going back 3 tax years. But again you can now add your common-law partners income to meet it.

i.e. say you move in together January 2018. You would then be officially common-law January 2019. This means if you qualify for parents sponsorship and get selected in lottery, your family size when you submit the app in mid-2018 will be 2 since you won't yet be common-law. But starting in tax year 2019, you will need to meet family size of 3 going forward until app is approved. If you later have a child, that would increase family size to 4 starting in tax year you had child.

 

[danny_scars]

Thank you Rob and scylla! Much, MUCH, appreciated.

Ok, so suppose we move in together in January 2018. Assuming the PGP program re-opens in 2018 and stays the same as it was this year, I would have to prove I have enough income for a family of 2 for 2016, 2017 and 2018 (looking back 3 years); and income for a family of 3 for 2019 onwards. Am I on the right track here?

Furthermore, how would IRCC know we have been living together for a year at any point in time without me telling them? How is this checked?

Rob, you mentioned the "new increased family size". Is this still what I should be looking at? http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/information/applications/guides/5772ETOC.asp (family of 3 >>
$48,404 - $47,476 - $47,051) And also, are these values the LICO's with or without the extra 30%?

Again, THANK YOU very much for taking the time to help me over here.

 

[Rob_TO]

Thank you Rob and scylla! Much, MUCH, appreciated.

Ok, so suppose we move in together in January 2018. Assuming the PGP program re-opens in 2018 and stays the same as it was this year, I would have to prove I have enough income for a family of 2 for 2016, 2017 and 2018 (looking back 3 years); and income for a family of 3 for 2019 onwards. Am I on the right track here?

Generally yes.
Although for 2018 PGP program, they will request 3 previous tax year (as 2018 is just starting).
So that is family size of 2 for 2015,2016,2017 or 2014,2015,2016 if they don't accept 2017 taxes (depends how early in 2018 they accept apps and if 2017 tax retuns would be done by then).
Only starting in 2019 in your scenario, would you need to be making income for higher family size.
If you move in together Dec 2017, then you would be common-law in Dec 2018 so would need to be meeting LICO for family size of 3, starting tax year 2018.

Furthermore, how would IRCC know we have been living together for a year at any point in time without me telling them? How is this checked?

You are supposed to be honest with them. Plus once you move, you start updating all your address info on record for various things so CRA/IRCC would easily see if they wanted. Some people attempt to commit tax fraud by keeping an old address or parents address on file, and don't tell CRA they are living together. Some get away with it, and others are caught.

Rob, you mentioned the "new increased family size". Is this still what I should be looking at? http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/information/applications/guides/5772ETOC.asp (family of 3 >>
$48,404 - $47,476 - $47,051) And also, are these values the LICO's with or without the extra 30%?

That chart is specific to parents and already includes the 30%, so no need to add anything more.

 

[danny_scars]

Brilliant. Wow, you are awesome.

Thank you very much!!

 

[chingwu]

That's incorrect for immigration purposes. Once you've lived together with someone for a full year you are common law from CIC's perspective.

OP - to answer your question, once you've lived with your partner for a full year (not 2 years - just 1 year), you'll be common law and your partner will increase the number of family members by 1. This means you'll need to make enough income to cover one additional person to qualify to sponsor your parent.

Just buying a house together won't make you common law. You won't be common law until you've lived together for a year.

Wow so much wrong here I don't even know where to start.

You don't need to "declare" your common law status. Once you have lived together for 1 year as a couple, you are then legally common-law for immigration purposes. The other partner MUST then be included in your family size starting the year 12 months cohabitation was reached.

Also with CRA taxes, once you reach 12 months living together as a couple OR have a baby and live together less than 1 year (this definition differs from immigration) you are legally common-law for tax purposes.

IRCC for immigration, or CRA for taxes, can indeed force you to claim common-law status. It is often NOT a choice. To claim "single" status when you should be common-law, is considered fraud/misrepresentation and could lead to major trouble for immigration or taxes.

If that legally common-law status is that easy, why CIC still want to see the proves like shared hydro bill, joint account for sponsorship class application? I think the 12 consecutive living-together months is the basic requirement but not the only one condition.
Think like this way, if you have a roommate living together for last 5 years and suddenly you fall in love with him/her today and want to sponsor him/her to be a permanent resident. Do you think you have enough evidences to support your application? I think that will be very difficult assuming you two have different bills and bank accounts.
Tell me what is wrong with my logic or provide me some links about "will forced to be legally common-law after living together for 1 year". I know they can be. But not forced to be. Please note here OP is legally single which means she did not claim the tax return as a family.

 

[scylla]

If that legally common-law status is that easy, why CIC still want to see the proves like shared hydro bill, joint account for sponsorship class application? I think the 12 consecutive living-together months is the basic requirement but not the only one condition.
Think like this way, if you have a roommate living together for last 5 years and suddenly you fall in love with him/her today and want to sponsor him/her to be a permanent resident. Do you think you have enough evidences to support your application? I think that will be very difficult assuming you two have different bills and bank accounts.
Tell me what is wrong with my logic or provide me some links about "will forced to be legally common-law after living together for 1 year". I know they can be. But not forced to be. Please note here OP is legally single which means she did not claim the tax return as a family.

Did you read the OP's post? She and her boyfriend will be buying a house together with a joint mortgage and are clearly in a relationship. They aren't simply roommates. Failing to declare common law status after a year of cohabitation will be tax fraud.

To answer your question, we have seen several cases on this forum where a sponsorship application was refused by CIC specifically in the scenario you've described. Two individuals lived at the same address for more than a year as roommates and eventually dated. Then one of those individuals migrated to Canada as a PR without including the other person as a dependent in the application. After becoming a PR, they marry and the PR attempts to sponsor the other person for PR. CIC refuses the application declaring that they were common law prior to the first individual immigrating to Canada, makes a finding of misrepresentation and states the spouse can never be sponsored. So yes - a shared address is enough for CIC to declare common law.

 

[chingwu]

Did you read the OP's post? She and her boyfriend will be buying a house together with a joint mortgage and are clearly in a relationship. They aren't simply roommates. Failing to declare common law status after a year of cohabitation will be tax fraud.

To answer your question, we have seen several cases on this forum where a sponsorship application was refused by CIC specifically in the scenario you've described. Two individuals lived at the same address for more than a year as roommates and eventually dated. Then one of those individuals migrated to Canada as a PR without including the other person as a dependent in the application. After becoming a PR, they marry and the PR attempts to sponsor the other person for PR. CIC refuses the application declaring that they were common law prior to the first individual immigrating to Canada, makes a finding of misrepresentation and states the spouse can never be sponsored. So yes - a shared address is enough for CIC to declare common law.

My apology. I did not see the (and most importantly, sign a mortgage together). Yes, that is strong enough for CIC to declare common law.

For your example, I think I saw much more living-together-not-enough cases than just-living-together-to-be-common-law cases. But anyway, OP has to include her boyfriend to calculate family size for this case.

 

[Rob_TO]

If that legally common-law status is that easy, why CIC still want to see the proves like shared hydro bill, joint account for sponsorship class application? I think the 12 consecutive living-together months is the basic requirement but not the only one condition.
Think like this way, if you have a roommate living together for last 5 years and suddenly you fall in love with him/her today and want to sponsor him/her to be a permanent resident. Do you think you have enough evidences to support your application? I think that will be very difficult assuming you two have different bills and bank accounts.
Tell me what is wrong with my logic or provide me some links about "will forced to be legally common-law after living together for 1 year". I know they can be. But not forced to be. Please note here OP is legally single which means she did not claim the tax return as a family.

There have been MANY cases on record and argued through appeals process, where IRCC claimed a couple was legally common-law and not single, simply by the dates and residence info they entered in their PR app.
If you are trying to prove common-law for your own benefit to sponsor someone, you need to submit many more proofs.
But if you are doing something as single, then even if IRCC suspects you have lived together for 12 months they will declare you common-law even if no other proofs exist. Usually this is to result in a negative impact to PR.

Same with taxes, CRA will declare you as common-law if they simply see your address history with someone has reached 12 months and they suspect you are in a relationship (not just roommates).

Obviously she didn't change marital status for taxes yet, since she hasn't even started living with him yet. She must change her marital status though with CRA as soon as they reach 12 months of cohabitation, and at this exact day her family size will increase +1. To suggest anything otherwise is promoting fraud/misrepresentation.

 

[danny_scars]

Thank you for your input chingwu. For what it is worth, I was really hoping you were right.

Now, if I may ask a few more questions... Rob, looking at your December 2017 example; if I went ahead and bought a place this December and apply next year; I would send in my notice of assessments for 15/16/17 (or 14/15/16) and then when the application starts to get processed I guess the officer will ask if there were any changes, at this point (assuming he does this check in after December 2018) I would provide them with the notice of assessment for 2018 with enough income for a family of 3, correct? In that case all I have to do is find a job that pays more or get a second job, I guess...

Another scenario: what if I got pregnant on let's say 2018 and have a baby in 2019. Assuming it takes a while for applications to get processed. For 2015/16/17 I would only need to show income for a family of 2 , in 2018 for a family of 3 and in 2019 (if application is still in process) for a family of 4, correct?

And one last question (sorry) - I guess I can't really get pregnant because I can't be on EI (maternity leave) and sponsor someone, correct?

Ohh what a can of worms!

Thank you again EVERYONE for all of your help.
D