Martial Status - Common Law or Single

[Anon2018]

Hello everyone,

I am planning on applying for express entry this week. There is one question that is unclear to me and that is my martial status. I have been with my girlfriend for the past 8 years and we have been living together for the past 3. I have enough documentation to prove this.
The problem is that I have to apply asap because there is an opening at a company waiting for me and and she on the other hand has to wait a few months before even doing ECA and IELTS. Unfortunately, I don't have the luxury of waiting a few months.

Now I have a few questions:

1. Should I apply as common law since I get some extra points although she didn't sort out her paperwork yet? CRS calculator shows I'm getting 456 points, do I even need the extra points?
2. In case I apply as a single and I get accepted, does she then have to apply as a single as well or she can apply the common law? I mean what happens if people get married during the process of express entry?
3. Are there any drawbacks to common law such as longer waiting time or anything along those lines?

Thank you in advance!

 

[DelPiero07]

1 - You don't need her ECA or IETLS if your CRS is 456.
2 - You cannot apply as single, that would be misrepresentation. You can apply as common law with non-accompanying dependent, she can then apply based on her own merits via EE or you can sponsor her.

 

[Anon2018]

1 - You don't need her ECA or IETLS if your CRS is 456.
2 - You cannot apply as single, that would be misrepresentation. You can apply as common law with non-accompanying dependent, she can then apply based on her own merits via EE or you can sponsor her.

Thank you for your quick response. So after I apply as common law with her as a non accompanying dependent, it's not going to cause any problems if she won't be applying and joining me for another 6 to 12 months?
Last question, will she be getting any points from me when she applies further down the line?

 

[jaffaral]

No for the first question.
If u manage to get 1 year Canadian experience then she will get points

 

[Anon2018]

I guess you answered all my questions. Now I know what to do on this matter. Thanks guys!

 

[DelPiero07]

Time to intervene.

No, she will not get points from you once you're a PR. Your education/work experience/language skills won't add any value to her EE application.

 

[Jacko007]

1 - You don't need her ECA or IETLS if your CRS is 456.
2 - You cannot apply as single, that would be misrepresentation. You can apply as common law with non-accompanying dependent, she can then apply based on her own merits via EE or you can sponsor her.

Yes, he can apply as single. Unless Canada maintains a registry of all girlfriends on the planet.

 

[DelPiero07]

Yes, he can apply as single. Unless Canada maintains a registry of all girlfriends on the planet.

https://www.canadavisa.com/canada-immigration-discussion-board/threads/applying-as-common-law-or-single.570259/#post-7065879 - Thanks, we got your point.

 

[Copingwithlife]

1 - You don't need her ECA or IETLS if your CRS is 456.
2 - You cannot apply as single, that would be misrepresentation. You can apply as common law with non-accompanying dependent, she can then apply based on her own merits via EE or you can sponsor her.

And you DO NOT want to go down the road of misrepresentation. That would only open a whole new can of worms.

 

[Jacko007]

https://www.canadavisa.com/canada-immigration-discussion-board/threads/applying-as-common-law-or-single.570259/#post-7065879 - Thanks, we got your point.

No, you still do not get it. Many or even most countries do not recognize such a thing as common law. You are either married (with marriage certificate), or single. And even though you may have a girlfriend for the last 20 years, you are still single, as not married. Of course, my knowledge is not so vast and there may be countries which issue girlfriend certificates...

 

[DelPiero07]

No, you still do not get it. Many or even most countries do not recognize such a thing as common law. You are either married (with marriage certificate), or single. And even though you may have a girlfriend for the last 20 years, you are still single, as not married. Of course, my knowledge is not so vast and there may be countries which issue girlfriend certificates...

There's nothing to get, I agree with scylla and canuck. Not going to waste time here with a topic already discussed.

 

[scylla]

No, you still do not get it. Many or even most countries do not recognize such a thing as common law. You are either married (with marriage certificate), or single. And even though you may have a girlfriend for the last 20 years, you are still single, as not married. Of course, my knowledge is not so vast and there may be countries which issue girlfriend certificates...

This is incorrect and bad advice. The laws of other countries are irrelevant. You aren't applying to immigrate to these other countries - you are applying to immigrate to Canada. All that matters is IRCC rules regarding status. If you have been living with someone for a year or more then you are common law and MUST declare this individual as your common law partner in your immigration application to Canada (even if common law status isn't recognized by the country where you are living). Failure to declare this individual as your common law partner is misrepresentation( (lying in your application) and means you will never be able to sponsor them in the future.

 

[legalfalcon]

Hello everyone,

I am planning on applying for express entry this week. There is one question that is unclear to me and that is my martial status. I have been with my girlfriend for the past 8 years and we have been living together for the past 3. I have enough documentation to prove this.
The problem is that I have to apply asap because there is an opening at a company waiting for me and and she on the other hand has to wait a few months before even doing ECA and IELTS. Unfortunately, I don't have the luxury of waiting a few months.

Now I have a few questions:

1. Should I apply as common law since I get some extra points although she didn't sort out her paperwork yet? CRS calculator shows I'm getting 456 points, do I even need the extra points?
2. In case I apply as a single and I get accepted, does she then have to apply as a single as well or she can apply the common law? I mean what happens if people get married during the process of express entry?
3. Are there any drawbacks to common law such as longer waiting time or anything along those lines?

Thank you in advance!

1. Whether you can apply as a common-law will depend on your country of residence. Not all countries recognize common-law relationships. Only if you are in a country that recognizes common law relationship, can you apply as a common law partner if you meet the criteria.

2. When you file your application, you will have to make a decision whether to apply as a common law or as single. If you apply as single, later on she cannot apply as common -law as that would be misrepresentation.

3. No, it is the same as apply as being married.

 

[scylla]

1. Whether you can apply as a common-law will depend on your country of residence. Not all countries recognize common-law relationships. Only if you are in a country that recognizes common law relationship, can you apply as a common law partner if you meet the criteria.

2. When you file your application, you will have to make a decision whether to apply as a common law or as single. If you apply as single, later on she cannot apply as common -law as that would be misrepresentation.

3. No, it is the same as apply as being married.

1. I respectfully disagree. We have seen plenty of people on this forum apply as common law from countries where this status isn't recognized by proving they have lived together for a year continuously.

2. Also important to point out that if she's not declared as a common law partner, then she cannot come later as a spouse if they get married. If she isn't declared now, this will forever exclude her from being sponsored (either as a common law partner or as a spouse).

 

[legalfalcon]

1. I respectfully disagree. We have seen plenty of people on this forum apply as common law from countries where this status isn't recognized by proving they have lived together for a year continuously.

2. Also important to point out that if she's not declared as a common law partner, then she cannot come later as a spouse if they get married. If she isn't declared now, this will forever exclude her from being sponsored (either as a common law partner or as a spouse).

You can disagree as much as you want, but this is more de facto than de jure.

Some countries will not allow couples who do not show certificate or proof of marriage, or relationship by blood to have their names written in the address, utility bills, or bank accounts as per the laws of that country. So it becomes impossible to meet the requirements. This is because for banks, do not allows rights of survivorship which bypasses the probate estate and moves directly to the surviving account holder. Similarly tenancy laws of many countries do not allow people to jointly hold tenancy to a property when they are not married or related by blood. If the municipal laws permit such documentation, then that country will also recognize common-law relationship in most cases.

Further, See:

Sponsoring a previously-separated spouse as a common-law partner
A foreign national is not a member of the family class if they were a non-accompanying family member of a sponsor and were not examined [R117(9)(d)]. A legally separated spouse of a sponsor who was a non-accompanying family member and was not disclosed and examined because, at that time, the sponsor was in a common-law or conjugal partner relationship cannot be sponsored by the spouse in Canada.

In such cases, an officer must determine that R4.1 does not apply, i.e. that the common-law or conjugal partnership was not dissolved solely for immigration purposes, and that the new relationship with the previously separated spouse is genuine.

The onus is on the sponsor to provide acceptable evidence that the previous relationship has ended.

If information provided in the IMM 5532 (Relationship Information and Sponsorship Evaluation) (PDF, 2.21 MB) is insufficient, an officer may request additional evidence, such as:

• a mortgage or lease
• documents showing the same address for both, e.g. government-issued identification documents, driver’s license, insurance policies
• proof of joint bank accounts, e.g. bank statement or a letter from a financial institution
• documents from other institutions or government authorities, such as the Canada Revenue Agency, that indicate a marital relationship

Divorce and subsequent remarriage do not overcome exclusion under R117(9)(d). If a Canadian citizen or permanent resident submits an application to sponsor a previously separated spouse, the previously separated spouse may be excluded if they were married but not examined at the time that the sponsor applied for permanent residence.

<https://www.canada.ca/en/immigration-refugees-citizenship/corporate/publications-manuals/operational-bulletins-manuals/permanent-residence/non-economic-classes/family-class-determining-spouse/assessing-common.html>

Also see <https://www.canada.ca/en/immigration-refugees-citizenship/corporate/publications-manuals/operational-bulletins-manuals/permanent-residence/non-economic-classes/family-class-determining-spouse/legality.html>