A question regarding common law

[mrpotatohead]

Hi everyone,

I'm having a bit of doubt now as to whether or not our situation is eligible for common-law sponsorship. I think it is, but I'm curious as to how far back all of our proofs need to go. Essentially, here are the details:

• We met in Japan in 2012 while studying abroad. We were just friends.
• Dating relationship began in January 2013. We were a long-distance couple (I am from the US, she is from Canada), but we traveled back and forth every month or two, and visited one another a total of 10 times throughout 2013.
• She had a medical emergency in December 2013. I can prove that this incident occurred and that I was on the first flight up as soon as it happened in order to provide care during and after her hospital stay
• I got approved for a working holiday program, and moved to Canada with a work permit on January 8th, 2014. I moved in with my partner at that time, but as we intended to move soon, was not added to the lease. During this time, I got a drivers license, SIN, two bank accounts, a library card, pay stubs, and cell phone bills addressed to our shared dwelling. I can also show cash withdrawals from when I pulled out rent money to give to my partner
• We moved on May 1st, 2014 into a new apartment. We are jointly on that lease.
• I received a study permit in August valid until January 2016. I am currently in a Master's program.
• We have traveled together extensively since moving in together, within Canada and the United States.
• We got engaged on New Years day, with no definite date for a wedding set (it must be later in the year to coordinate families from across North America). Given typical US processing times, we might get the certainty of PR before we can hold a wedding.

Given that we have lived together for one full year as of Thursday, we meet the cohabitation requirement. Although us having a joint lease only extends to May, I have several documents that indicate our shared address for the almost four months immediately following my arrival in Canada, and had no prior address within Canada. My greater concern is proving that our relationship is "marriage like." Does this need to be fulfilled for the full year? We have the following...

• Joint cable bill since June 2013
• BC Hydro would not allow my name to actually be added to the account; however, since July I have been an "authorized user." We both receive emails when the bill is available, and our names both appear on the "personal information page," on the website. Her name remains the only name formally on the account, however.
• We have separate phone bills, and get phone service from separate companies (I am reluctant to sign a 2-year contract, and thus use a month-to-month service).
• We adopted a cat in June. My name is the only one on the SPCA adoption agreement (the cat was a surprise), but we are both listed as contacts at our vet.
• We have travel receipts and photos from trips we have taken since moving in together, many of which have been with family members
• We intend to sign a statutory declaration of a common law relationship next week, and have it witnessed by a commissioner of oaths
• We will change our marital status with the CRA online to "common-law"
• We have requested notarized letters from our families, and other letters from our friends detailing our relationship from their perspectives.
• Obviously our joint lease since May is the strongest point of evidence we have.
• Neither of us has a life insurance policy or real benefits from work.

Is this sufficient to prove common law? Or must there be joint bills, bank account, etc. that extend for the full period of cohabitation? We are absolutely in a 100% committed, genuine relationship, and have been living together for a full year as of this week. Is this enough to convince a VO? Or is there anything else that might be advisable to include in our application?

 

[brucem]

I think your main issue will be your lack of a lease for the first part of your stay in Canada. This is an important part of proving that you were cohabiting for the 365 days required to be common law. Is there anyway you can get a signed letter from the landlord stating that you were residing there for that period? If not then you would be running a risk of having the application rejected for not meeting the 365 day requirement.

Otherwise you seem to have put together a lot of evidence to show your relationship. You could put off the application until May when you can definitely show that you have lived together for the full year.

 

[mrpotatohead]

Thank you for the response.

We will ask our old landlord, but it is somewhat uncertain that they will be willing to do this for us. The building has changed management, and it was never put into writing that I was an authorized resident. That said, we can always explain the situation to the new building manager and see if we can get it in writing that I lived at that address.

Is this absolutely necessary to prove residence, given the number of other items I have that do indicate I lived at our old place? One piece of evidence that I just realized we have is a note from her OT that said I was coming to live with her while she was in a wheelchair. Other than a building document that has my name on it, we have a preponderance of evidence that I lived at that address since at least mid-January (we can't submit our app until my FBI check comes in March or so anyway).

And other than that point, are the assets that we have joined together sufficient to demonstrate a "marriage like" relationship? Is it a big deal that our joint bills, bank accounts, cat, etc. don't go back a full 365 days, but have been gradually acquired throughout the last year?

 

[canadianwoman]

The evidence you have is good to show a marriage-like relationship. Include it even if it does not go back a full year. The cat, for example, is good evidence.

The evidence you have that you were living together for the first few months might be enough, but every visa officer is different and it is hard to tell how he or she will act.

 

[Linden]

Thank you for the response.

We will ask our old landlord, but it is somewhat uncertain that they will be willing to do this for us. The building has changed management, and it was never put into writing that I was an authorized resident. That said, we can always explain the situation to the new building manager and see if we can get it in writing that I lived at that address.

Is this absolutely necessary to prove residence, given the number of other items I have that do indicate I lived at our old place? One piece of evidence that I just realized we have is a note from her OT that said I was coming to live with her while she was in a wheelchair. Other than a building document that has my name on it, we have a preponderance of evidence that I lived at that address since at least mid-January (we can't submit our app until my FBI check comes in March or so anyway).

And other than that point, are the assets that we have joined together sufficient to demonstrate a "marriage like" relationship? Is it a big deal that our joint bills, bank accounts, cat, etc. don't go back a full 365 days, but have been gradually acquired throughout the last year?

I think if you got a letter from your old letter that will definitely help but I think you'll be because as you said you've got mail showing that you were living at that address.

As far as the other supporting document joint bill, bank accounts and other stuff it's not necessarily an issue if it doesn't go back 365 days. My supporting documentation with my partner didn't and we were fine.

 

[brucem]

Thank you for the response.

We will ask our old landlord, but it is somewhat uncertain that they will be willing to do this for us. The building has changed management, and it was never put into writing that I was an authorized resident. That said, we can always explain the situation to the new building manager and see if we can get it in writing that I lived at that address.

Is this absolutely necessary to prove residence, given the number of other items I have that do indicate I lived at our old place? One piece of evidence that I just realized we have is a note from her OT that said I was coming to live with her while she was in a wheelchair. Other than a building document that has my name on it, we have a preponderance of evidence that I lived at that address since at least mid-January (we can't submit our app until my FBI check comes in March or so anyway).

And other than that point, are the assets that we have joined together sufficient to demonstrate a "marriage like" relationship? Is it a big deal that our joint bills, bank accounts, cat, etc. don't go back a full 365 days, but have been gradually acquired throughout the last year?

As was mentioned it is really dependant on the officer who deals with your application. Just playing devils advocate but it's relatively easy to add someone to a utility bill and to have letters sent to an address. Yes you probably have a lot of evidence and that might be enough but just personally you want to remove any doubt as the last thing you want is to put an application in and get it rejected because a picky officer doesn't feel you meet the criteria for CL, thus losing all that time, money and effort. Again if it wias me I'd be trying as hard as I could to get something in writing from the building management.

Whatever you decide to do good luck!

 

[mrpotatohead]

Fair enough advice. We will try our damnedest to get that letter, then, and see what sorts of arrangements could possibly be made.

Provided that fails, what would you do? Would you send in the application (Late March or early April would be the soonest we could, depending on FBI processing times)? Or would you wait the extra four weeks for the added certainty of being on the same lease?

I'm a bit stuck because while I want to air on the side of caution, I would also like the process to be resolved as quickly as possible. We know that we meet the criteria for common law as of tomorrow, and we aren't exactly sending off the application for processing the very next day. I am from the USA, and know that since fraud is quite low processing times tend to be quick and individual applicants generally aren't dissected as much as from some other countries (I am very thankful that Americans have it easier than many in Canadian immigration, though I would never rely on this assumption). Does anybody have experience with this from their own case (ample evidence of address, including government-issued documents/employment records, but no formal lease)?

 

[scylla]

Wait until you have proof of 12 months of living together. CIC is very black and white about the 12 months. You either have it (and can prove it) - or you don't and therefore don't qualify to apply as common law. Being American doesn't give you any leeway on the common law rule. Wait the extra weeks. Otherwise you risk months of processing only to be refused at the end for failing to prove you're common law and then having to start the process again from scratch.

 

[mrpotatohead]

We have lived together for 12 months as of tomorrow. I do not have a lease to prove it, but have pay stubs, a drivers license, a SIN, two bank accounts, a library card, a work permit with a start date of tomorrow (the day I landed), lots of correspondence with friends/family in which I state my address, a statutory declaration of common law signed before a commissioner of oaths, our application for our current place which lists our former address, a letter from my partner's OT stating someone was living with her to care for her while she was in a wheel chair, our own signed statements, and letters (some notarized) from family/friends verifying that we lived together.

Further, the application isn't going in on January 9th (though if we had this all together by then, I understand it *could*), but by early April. By the time they open the application, the new lease will also be older than a year.

Is that not sufficient proof?

The reason I bring up being American is not because I think they would accept us as common law in half the time, but that CIC seems to be less concerned about fraud in cases where the applicant is a natural born US citizen with a very heavily substantiated relationship. Given all of the OTHER evidence we have, is it realistic to expect that a VO would be concerned by a lease that has only my partner's name on it?

 

[scylla]

You need evidence that shows the shared address (i.e. has the shared address printed on it). I don't think the work permit or SIN do that (maybe you have a letter that accompanied them that does?). Bank accounts yes provided you can get a statement from 12 months ago that shows the shared address (that should be doable through your bank). Same goes for the pay stubs (will work if you can get a pay stub from 12 months ago that shows the shared address). I'm not sure a library card helps unless there's some kind of evidence the library can print out for you showing what address they had on record for you 12 months ago (not sure they can do that based on my experiences?).

Emails to family members are good as supplementary evidence.

 

[mrpotatohead]

The work permit doesn't state an address, but its date of issuance coincides with the beginning of our cohabitation, and I have had no other address in Canada beyond our current and previous residences. This would be more of a supplementary piece of evidence, I suppose (basically just something to attach to mark the beginning of our period of cohabitation).

The SIN letter states my name and our old address, my driver's license states the address, I have opening documents from both accounts which state the address, I have saved every single pay stub over the last year, the first 5 months of which list the old address, and the library card printout has the old address on it. Of course, she has plenty of documentation and a lease showing that address for herself.

Of course, the emails, communications between eachother, statutory declaration, and testimony from others is less concrete proof of that particular address, though I suppose it is all supplemental.

We will try to get a letter from the landlord as well, but if that were to fail, is the other evidence as bullet proof as I think it is? (Thank you for your responses).

 

[Ponga]

The work permit doesn't state an address, but its date of issuance coincides with the beginning of our cohabitation, and I have had no other address in Canada beyond our current and previous residences. This would be more of a supplementary piece of evidence, I suppose (basically just something to attach to mark the beginning of our period of cohabitation).
That will be of no value in proving that you were living together.

The SIN letter states my name and our old address, my driver's license states the address, I have opening documents from both accounts which state the address, I have saved every single pay stub over the last year, the first 5 months of which list the old address, and the library card printout has the old address on it. Of course, she has plenty of documentation and a lease showing that address for herself.

Of course, the emails, communications between eachother, statutory declaration, and testimony from others is less concrete proof of that particular address, though I suppose it is all supplemental.

We will try to get a letter from the landlord as well, but if that were to fail, is the other evidence as bullet proof as I think it is? (Thank you for your responses).

You have to prove two things to CIC:

That you are a genuine couple

That you have met the condition of being Common-Law

While some proof will certainly `overlap' to prove both, you have to prove both independently as well. This is why having something from your landlord is so important.

 

[mrpotatohead]

Proving we are a genuine couple is no issue whatsoever, so long as our joint accounts that are not a full year old don't get counted against us.

As to the permit... It would essentially be on the first page. "Here is my work permit, issued Jan 8 2014. I got in a cab and went straight to our place at (OLD ADDRESS). This marked the commencement of our cohabitation" I realize it isn't much proof in itself- hence where everything else comes into play. Then, the rest of the supporting evidence would be laid out.

The dates on all the documents vary. SIN letter within a day or two of arriving. Phone bill starts within a few days of arriving. First bank account is January 12th. Paychecks start in late January, and continue uninterrupted. Library card printout- with issue date- was opened February. Second bank account is in early March. Drivers license issue date is March 4th. Emails to relatives with our address are from January and February, with new ones with the new address in May. Our application for our current property was filed late March, and lists the address. All of the other letters, declarations, and personal accounts will verify that we have lived together since January 8th, 2014. The new lease began May 2014.

We can write an explanatory letter- we didn't want me to be added to the lease because the company would have required that we sign a new lease, for a full new year, and that the space was too small. We did not want to move earlier because my partner was in school.

Again, we will try to get the letter, but we do not have a written agreement with the building that states our arrangement.

CIC's website says "You do not need to include all these items to prove your relationship is real. Citizenship and Immigration Canada may consider other proof as well." Absence of a joint lease is thus not necessarily a complete deal breaker. The other evidence surely indicates that we were living together?

 

[Ponga]

You obviously seem to realize how important cohabiting proof is, so I'll simply add that IMHO, you should focus on that [proof] now.
You seem to have plenty of proof that you are in a real relationship; no issues there.

Also, you mentioned in a previous post here that you are planning to apply in April. Just make sure to check for the latest versions of forms, because CIC seems to update them fairly regularly...without telling anyone here. LOL!

Good luck!

 

[mrpotatohead]

lol, we will ensure that we send in the most up to date editions of the forms possible!

As a secondary question...
Say we waited until May to put in the common law application, when we have a joint lease dating back for a full year.

We intend to get married sometime toward the end of this year, probably, when friends and family from the US and Eastern Canada can attend. If we submitted a PR common law app in May, and then got married in October or November, before our case is approved, what happens when we update our file by sending in evidence that we had married? Does processing start over from the beginning?

And if processing were to take any longer than that, is it possible to get a post-graduation work permit with an application for PR pending? Currently, it seems I will likely graduate in January of 2016, which is as long as my study permit is valid for. I understand with US timelines, an application going in in May could realistically be fully processed as soon as November. But, in the event that it isn't, does it take a PGWP to fill in for the idle period between graduation and (hopefully) PR approval off the table?