I am separated from my spouse. Will my application be impacted if I list myself as separated?

[LANGUAGESEEKER]

I searched everywhere for anything that officiates separation but it simply does not exist. My spouse is no longer in Canada and we have been separated since December 2020. Will this status impact my application? Will they ask me to produce something like divorce papers? We are not sure we want to divorce just yet. I will be putting separated as my marital status regardless as this is the truth.

There is nothing crucial between us. No money. No property. No children. As a matter of fact, it is very amicable and we are basically friends at this point.

 

[steaky]

No, it's not the truth. A legal separation is granted in the form of a court order.

 

[CaBeaver]

No, it's not the truth. A legal separation is granted in the form of a court order.

Based on the instruction guide, they are separated.

Question 6.
Choose your current marital status:

• Annulled Marriage - This is a marriage that is legally declared invalid. An annulment can also be a declaration by the Catholic Church that the marital union did not have a binding force.
• Common - Law - This means that you have lived continuously with your partner in a marital-type relationship for a minimum of one year.
• Divorced - This means that you are officially separated and have legally ended your marriage.
• Separated - This means that you are married, but are no longer living with your spouse.
• Married - This means that you and your spouse have had a ceremony that legally binds you to each other. Your marriage must be legally recognized in the country where it was performed and in Canada.
• Single - This means that you have never been married and are not in a common-law relationship.
• Widowed - This means that your spouse has died and that you have not re-married or entered into a common-law relationship.

 

[rajkamalmohanram]

I searched everywhere for anything that officiates separation but it simply does not exist. My spouse is no longer in Canada and we have been separated since December 2020. Will this status impact my application? Will they ask me to produce something like divorce papers? We are not sure we want to divorce just yet. I will be putting separated as my marital status regardless as this is the truth.

There is nothing crucial between us. No money. No property. No children. As a matter of fact, it is very amicable and we are basically friends at this point.

Either way, your marital status doesn't affect your citizenship application. You'll need to find out if you are "legally" considered separated. For this, you can call CRA and ask them.

CRA says this : ""Separated" means that you have been living apart from your spouse or common-law partner because of a breakdown in the relationship for a period of at least 90 days and you have not reconciled. Once you have been separated for 90 days because of a breakdown in the relationship, the effective day of your separated status is the day you started living apart. "

https://www.canada.ca/en/revenue-agency/services/tax/individuals/topics/about-your-tax-return/tax-return/completing-a-tax-return/personal-address-information/marital-status.html

Just confirm with them if your situation is considered "Separated".