Am I eligible for conjugal partner status?

[jadedja]

My partner is in Thailand and I am in Canada.

I send money to my partner consistently every month in Thailand. She is financially dependent on me.
I stay with her in Thailand for a cumulative 6 months of the year (non-continuous). its been this way for the past 3 years.

The reason we cannot cohabit for 12 continuous months for common-law status is because I have to go back to Canada to work. I cannot simply stay in Thailand for 12 months and live off of savings.

My partner has not applied for tourist visa to Canada, but even if she did, she wouldn't be able to stay a continuous 12 months.



1) Does CIC recognize financial barriers for conjugal status?

2) If my partner does apply for a tourist visa to Canada but gets rejected, does that count as a valid immigration barrier to approve conjugal status? Should we fail the tourist visa application on purpose?

 

[scylla]

My partner is in Thailand and I am in Canada.

I send money to my partner consistently every month in Thailand. She is financially dependent on me.
I stay with her in Thailand for a cumulative 6 months of the year (non-continuous). its been this way for the past 3 years.

The reason we cannot cohabit for 12 continuous months for common-law status is because I have to go back to Canada to work. I cannot simply stay in Thailand for 12 months and live off of savings.

My partner has not applied for tourist visa to Canada, but even if she did, she wouldn't be able to stay a continuous 12 months.



1) Does CIC recognize financial barriers for conjugal status?

2) If my partner does apply for a tourist visa to Canada but gets rejected, does that count as a valid immigration barrier to approve conjugal status? Should we fail the tourist visa application on purpose?

1) No - financial barriers are not recognized.
2) Why can't you get married?

It's incorrect to say that your partner wouldn't be able to stay 12 months continuously on a TRV.

 

[jadedja]

1) No - financial barriers are not recognized.
2) Why can't you get married?

It's incorrect to say that your partner wouldn't be able to stay 12 months continuously on a TRV.

Thanks for replying. My partner cannot stay for a continuous 12 months in Canada for the same reason I cannot stay a continuous 12 months in Thailand. She has to go back to Thailand to keep her job that comes with health and dental benefits.

We are not married because for reasons including personal preference, we want to remain common-law. Is marriage really the only option? I thought common-law was established so that people don't have to get married on paper.

 

[scylla]

Thanks for replying. My partner cannot stay for a continuous 12 months in Canada for the same reason I cannot stay a continuous 12 months in Thailand. She has to go back to Thailand to keep her job that comes with health and dental benefits.

We are not married because for reasons including personal preference, we want to remain common-law. Is marriage really the only option? I thought common-law was established so that people don't have to get married on paper.

In that case you have no grounds for a conjugal application.

Financial reasons are not accepted as immigration barriers. Real immigration barriers are required to qualify for conjugal.

You either need to live together continuously for a full year to become common law - or get married. These are your two choices. Conjugal is reserved for cases where both marriage and living together for a full year are in fact impossible. Both are possible in your case. Yes - common law is well established and there is no requirement to get married. But again, to be common law, you have to live together continuously for one full year. You have that option available to you and don't have to get married if you don't want to.

 

[jadedja]

Both are possible in your case.

Sorry I have to point out that common law isn't possible. We just don't have enough money to stay in either country for 1 continuous year. However I do understand that financial barriers aren't enough to satisfy conjugal status.

What if I apply for a non-immigrant visa to Thailand where I don't satisfy requirements and get denied, thus an immigration barrier on my end? My partner is also likely to get denied a tourist visa to Canada as well. If we both get denied, do we then satisfy conjugal status?

 

[Ukrainian girl]

No, because there’s still an option to get married. Personal preference to not get married isn’t considered a legal barrier.

 

[jadedja]

No, because there’s still an option to get married. Personal preference to not get married isn’t considered a legal barrier.

http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/resources/manuals/op/op02-eng.pdf
Section 5.45 “Because of Supreme Court decisions, the choice not to marry is a constitutionally protected choice. Thus, CIC cannot require couples to marry in order to immigrate."

Section 5.47 “Although the intention of the conjugal-partner category is to accommodate those few Canadians with foreign partners who can neither marry nor live together, inability to marry cannot be an absolute requirement, since this could have the effect of “forcing” those couples to marry who may have chosen not to do so. Persons who have established and maintained a conjugal relationship for one year and who do not intend to marry might be conjugal partners if they have been unable to cohabit because of an immigration impediment or other serious barrier."


Doesn't this mean that by personal preference I don't have to marry? Rather, we just have to prove immigration barriers to continuous 12 month cohabitation that would otherwise satisfy us as common-law?

 

[scylla]

Sorry I have to point out that common law isn't possible. We just don't have enough money to stay in either country for 1 continuous year. However I do understand that financial barriers aren't enough to satisfy conjugal status.

What if I apply for a non-immigrant visa to Thailand where I don't satisfy requirements and get denied, thus an immigration barrier on my end? My partner is also likely to get denied a tourist visa to Canada as well. If we both get denied, do we then satisfy conjugal status?

There is really no way for you to satisfy the requirements for conjugal. I'll post this one last time but have nothing further to add at this point. To recap:

- Financial barriers aren't accepted as real immigration barriers for common law. So the fact you don't have enough money for one of you to live in the other's country for a full year is irrelevant to the discussion.
- You have many options for becoming common law. To become common law, there is no requirement to live together in a single country for a full year. You can live in any number of countries during that year provided you are living together and achieve a year of living together continuously. So you could split your time between multiple countries.
- If you make the choice not to go the common law path, you can easily get married.

Again, you really have no case for conjugal. If you decide to apply all the same, be prepared for a long wait followed by a refusal. You'll then be back to square one (exactly where you are now). Believe me when I say that pretty much everyone here has made some sort of sacrifice for the immigration process. Whether that be financial or waiting longer to qualify or getting married sooner or when that wasn't the preference. Unfortunately you have to bend to the rules - they don't bend to you.

Good luck regardless what you decide to do.

 

[1887CAN]

There is really no way for you to satisfy the requirements for conjugal. I'll post this one last time but have nothing further to add at this point. To recap:

- Financial barriers aren't accepted as real immigration barriers for common law. So the fact you don't have enough money for one of you to live in the other's country for a full year is irrelevant to the discussion.
- You have many options for becoming common law. To become common law, there is no requirement to live together in a single country for a full year. You can live in any number of countries during that year provided you are living together and achieve a year of living together continuously. So you could split your time between multiple countries.
- If you make the choice not to go the common law path, you can easily get married.

Again, you really have no case for conjugal. If you decide to apply all the same, be prepared for a long wait followed by a refusal. You'll then be back to square one (exactly where you are now). Believe me when I say that pretty much everyone here has made some sort of sacrifice for the immigration process. Whether that be financial or waiting longer to qualify or getting married sooner or when that wasn't the preference. Unfortunately you have to bend to the rules - they don't bend to you.

Good luck regardless what you decide to do.

Perfectly put.

Just add on the topic of sacrifice, like a lot of people on here, I can say I sacrificed a lot personally, to be with my wife in Canada. A great career and salary, a wonderful set of friends, an amazing family, just to name a few. I also know that now I have my OWP, I will have to likely resume my career, after a time spent out of the workforce, a rung or two lower on the corporate ladder. Honestly, I don’t mind. I’m going to embrace that challenge.

I did all this because I love my wife. We didn’t have the fancy wedding, partly because that’s not really us, partly because we knew that on one income now, it’d more prudent to use the funds on something more practical. We now have an amazing child and are very happily married.

All of the good stuff didn’t just drop on our laps, we worked for it. It took a lot of sacrifice, a lot of acceptance that things I spent my life working towards wouldn’t be the same anymore or would at least be different. Again, I did all of it because of one woman. I regret absolutely nothing. I’d do it all over again too.

To the OP, bear in mind that what I’ve described above is probably one of the easier stories of how people have come together as a couple. There will be people on here who have moved heaven and earth to be together and had a way more difficult time than my wife and I. I have nothing but respect for these people. It can be a long hard fight for those, particularly those from countries that have visa restrictions. IRCC want to see that level of commitment, it’s not their job to help facilitate you and your partner being together. They’ll do their job in giving one of you PR status, once you’ve shown that you’re a committed couple and your relationship is genuine. Up until that point, however, it’s all on you and your partner.

I wish you both good luck and hope it all works out for you.