Advice Conjugal Partner/Common-Law?

[chrism88]

Hello just looking for a bit of advice really. My name is Chris and i am 21, I am a British citizen and I started a relationship with a Canadian citizen in January of 2008 My Girlfriend Melisa who is now 20. We have been together ever since i have been back and forth many times and she is actually here in England for the first time now after her first attempt was unsuccessful. We managed to get her a working holiday visa. Basically i am wanting to go back to Canada with her live and work there, My only concerns are regarding the length of time we have lived together for the visa application. The times i went i was only on visitors visas so i couldn't really stay for the year but in total we have lived together in the same residence for over a year but its not consecutively there are gaps where i have had to come home either to work for more money or just to basically refresh the visitors visa. Below i have listed the dates so you can get an idea of whats gone on. Any information or advice would be much appreciated.


I traveled to Canada the first time on the 3rd of June 2008 and came home on the 13th of August 2008.

Then Melisa attempted to come to England on the 19th of August 2008 but was refused entry.

I then traveled back out to Canada on the 21st of August 2008 until the 27th of November 2008.

Then i had come home and worked for afew months before traveling back out on the 19th of February 2009, I then whilst there extended my visa from inside which was valid until 20th of November 2009.

I stayed there until the 1st of October 2009 by this point Melisa had been awarded her working holiday visa and we both came back to England and have been here since.


After reading I thought that the conjugal partner visa sounds as if it is suitable for our scenario but what are the chances of acceptance of it? Also i am not really sure about getting married as it seems abit extreme but it would be on the cards sometime soon i am sure anyway. But i dont want to be rushed to get married just so i can go back out there.


Thanks in advance Chris

 

[Paddyboy]

Hope this helps.

What is a conjugal partner?
This category was created for exceptional circumstances – for foreign national partners of
Canadian or permanent resident sponsors who would ordinarily apply as common-law partners
but for the fact that they have not been able to live together continuously for one year, usually
because of an immigration impediment. In most cases, the foreign partner is also not able to
marry their sponsor and qualify as a spouse. In all other respects, the couple is similar to a
common-law couple or a married couple, i.e., they have been in a bona fide conjugal relationship
for a period of at least one year.
Both marriage and common-law partnership (common-law partnerships may be opposite-*censored word* and
same-*censored word*) are legally recognized in Canada for purposes of federal benefits and obligations
(Modernization of Benefits and Obligations Act, June 2000). In order to be eligible for federal
benefits, couples must either be married or meet the definition of common-law partner in each
statute or regulation. IRPA brought CIC's immigration legislation into conformity with the
Modernization of Benefits and Obligations Act.
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. However, if they are not
married, they must be common-law partners. There is NO provision for fiancé(e)s or “intended
common-law partners” in IRPA. If a Canadian and a foreign national can get married or can live
together and establish a common-law relationship, this is what they are expected to have done
before they submit sponsorship and immigration applications.
Marriage immediately creates a legal relationship recognized for immigration purposes. Commonlaw
partners, however, have to meet the definition, including living together continuously for one
year to have their relationship legally recognized. In the immigration context, there are some
exceptional circumstances where a Canadian is in a conjugal relationship with a foreign national
partner and would ordinarily sponsor that person as a common-law partner, but the two have not
been able to live together continuously for one year, usually because immigration rules prevent
them from long stays in one another's countries. As well, for these individuals, marriage is usually
not an available option. The conjugal partner category is mainly intended for partners where
neither common-law partner status nor marriage is possible, usually because of marital
status or *censored word*ual orientation (both analogous grounds of discrimination under the Charter),
combined with an immigration barrier.
For example, the foreign partner may be married but comes from a country where divorce is not
possible or the Canadian and partner may be in a same-*censored word* relationship. In both cases, the
partners probably will not be able to obtain long-stay visas in order to live together in one
another's country and meet the cohabitation requirement for common-law partners. Because the
other option – marriage – is not available to these couples, they are permanently separated. This
is unfair and discriminatory. The conjugal partner category provides the ability for a Canadian in
these circumstances to sponsor the foreign national partner. It is not intended to be used to avoid
the usual requirement to be a spouse or common-law partner before immigrating.
The conjugal partner category applies only to the family class and only to a foreign national
sponsored by a Canadian citizen or permanent resident living in Canada. This category does not
apply to the spouse or common-law partner in Canada class as the exception would not be
required in Canada.
OP 2 Processing Members of the Family Class
2006-11-14 32
Conjugal partners are exempt from meeting the LICO requirements and the excessive medical
demand criteria. There are no conditions attached to their permanent resident visas although
sponsorship is required. As members of the family class, their sponsor has appeal rights.
A conjugal partner is not a common-law partner under Canadian law until the one-year
cohabitation requirement has been met. Applicants should be counselled that they and their
partner will not be considered to be in a common-law relationship for purposes of other federal
benefits and obligations until they have lived together in Canada in a conjugal relationship for at
least one year. The applicant's Confirmation of Permanent Residence form will not indicate their
marital status as “conjugal partner” since this relationship is not legally recognized in Canada
beyond the IRPA.

 

[Swede]

Hello just looking for a bit of advice really. My name is Chris and i am 21, I am a British citizen and I started a relationship with a Canadian citizen in January of 2008 My Girlfriend Melisa who is now 20. We have been together ever since i have been back and forth many times and she is actually here in England for the first time now after her first attempt was unsuccessful. We managed to get her a working holiday visa. Basically i am wanting to go back to Canada with her live and work there, My only concerns are regarding the length of time we have lived together for the visa application. The times i went i was only on visitors visas so i couldn't really stay for the year but in total we have lived together in the same residence for over a year but its not consecutively there are gaps where i have had to come home either to work for more money or just to basically refresh the visitors visa. Below i have listed the dates so you can get an idea of whats gone on. Any information or advice would be much appreciated.


I traveled to Canada the first time on the 3rd of June 2008 and came home on the 13th of August 2008.

Then Melisa attempted to come to England on the 19th of August 2008 but was refused entry.

I then traveled back out to Canada on the 21st of August 2008 until the 27th of November 2008.

Then i had come home and worked for afew months before traveling back out on the 19th of February 2009, I then whilst there extended my visa from inside which was valid until 20th of November 2009.

I stayed there until the 1st of October 2009 by this point Melisa had been awarded her working holiday visa and we both came back to England and have been here since.


After reading I thought that the conjugal partner visa sounds as if it is suitable for our scenario but what are the chances of acceptance of it? Also i am not really sure about getting married as it seems abit extreme but it would be on the cards sometime soon i am sure anyway. But i dont want to be rushed to get married just so i can go back out there.


Thanks in advance Chris

An application under the conjugal partner clause would probably not fly, since you have the option of getting married.

If you don't want to get married, the best solution is to live together for >1 year and then have her sponsor you as a common-law partner. Note that, for this option to be viable, you need proof like joint bank accounts, credit cards, apartment leases, mortgages, utility bills, etc. etc. It can also help to have friends and family write formal letters about how they perceive your relationship and why they think it's true and lasting.

 

[mitamata]

In theory, you should be able to apply as conjugal partners, because you are conjugal partners.

However, conjugal partners is a tricky category, because not every immigration officer handles it the same way. The category was originally intended for people who can not live together long enough to qualify as common-law partners and who can not get married (often this applies in same gender relationships). The operating manuals do say that you should not be forced to get married in order to be allowed to immigrate, but some IOs still follow the original idea of the category and, as Swede said, they deny applications if the couple have the opportunity to get married and choose not to go with it - many see the unwillingness to marry as a lack of commitment on your part.

You are free to take your chances. You might be approved with no problems, but then again you might be rejected. If you marry, your odds are automatically far better.

How long is her UK visa good for? I think the working holiday visa can be extended (not sure, don't know the program well). If so, you can try keeping her in the UK for at least a year and then apply as common-law partners. While she's there, be sure to gather/generate as much evidence as you can to show you were living together - meaning you can show both you and her were living at the same address.

 

[chrism88]

Hey guys thanks for the replies, Her working holiday visa is for 2 yers up until the 10/10/2011 so she could stay for the year, we both really do want to get back to canada though ideally as quickly as possible.

Also if we apply for the conjugal partner visa and it is refused does that mean we cannot apply then later on say if we did get married? or they would take this refusal into account and think well they have got married just to pass it? What in your oppinions is the best option.

 

[popo]

My situation is similar to your in terms of ages, and places.
My common-law partner (in UK) and I lived together for a while when I was in the UK (studying), part of the time we lived together in Canada at my Mom's place (and she provided a letter to support this). We lived together in total for just over a year when we sent the application in.. and ITS BEEN PROCESSED in 3 months! (very exciting I know). It took us MONTHS to put everything together in a super complete and organized manner, and we paid the full amount right away! I would suggest that you MAKE THE TIME FIT. My take on this is that everything else is legit... you have pictures, parents have met (mine came to the UK and met and had dinner with his parents while they were traveling around- PICTURE of this sent to immigration as well), I would open a joint banking account, purchase some kinda of joint travel insurance together.. etc..
either way.. if you need more help feel free to contact me..

 

[mitamata]

I would suggest you wait until you've lived together for 1 year and apply as common-law. You can start preparing everything now, get your police certificates and medical in August or September and the day after you've lived together for a year, have the application sent off. If you're lucky, you could be done by this time next year, maybe an extra month.

If you do apply as conjugal partners and get refused, you can re-apply in either category (conjugal, common-law or spouse). You could also appeal the refusal, but that takes quite a while to process (usually a year, minimum), so you'd be better off reapplying. If you do get refused, it will likely be because you don't fit the category, not because they doubt your relationship to be genuine, so it should not create any doubts in that area and if you later apply as common-law partners, I don't think it would cause any problems.

Bare in mind that it usually takes longer to reject an application than to approve it. If you go the conjugal route and it's not approved, then you will probably be called for an interview before they refuse it, which means it will take longer than the standard processing time.

And of course, the fees aren't entirely negligible. You'd probably spend some $1000 on the first application - you wouldn't have to pay the right of permanent residency fee (or you'd get it back if you did), but the cost of the medical, getting everything you need and mailing things can almost make up for that. Then you'd spend another $1040 + medical and etc costs for the second application.

 

[chrism88]

Thanks alot for replying again i have been seriously considering applying as conjugal partners i mean is there any harm in trying? But i can see what you mean about maybe us not fitting the category in some respects as we have been together a fair amount of time and not got married when i guess you could say we have had chance to and not doing so is not showing commitment in a sense. I have been looking at getting some help and had looked up globalvisas who gave me an initial assessment and said that they could get me the visa, obviously i know its not guranteed but have you had any experience with this company and what do you think about using them to try and get a conjugal visa? We ideally do want to go back to canada as soon as possible though and they had given a turn around time of 4-6 months. Which i know is also just what they say but they sound confident.

Thanks again for taking time to reply to me

Chris

 

[mitamata]

Global visas? That sounds familiar. See here: http://www.canadavisa.com/canada-immigration-discussion-board/-t32471.0.html

If that's the same company, then I would stay as far away from them as possible.

Look, if you ask me, you are conjugal partners and you should be able to get the visa as a conjugal partner. Many IOs would agree with me. But nobody can guarantee that your IO will agree. He problem is that the manual they follow states both that you should not be forced to marry to immigrate, but in another paragraph is says that if you can marry or live together for 1 year, you are expected to do so before applying. Some IOs stick to the first part, others to the second. People in your positions have been refused before simply because the IO thought they should have married. You could also be refused because the IO feels there are no barriers preventing you from living together for 1 year to qualify as common-law partners.

Here's one post that has stuck with me. It's from another forum, so I'm copying it here.

Hello Everyone,

I thought I would pop in and share with everyone our experience with the immigration process thus far.

My partner and I had filed an application under the conjugal partner provisions and have been dealing with the Sydney Aus office. Our application moved through the system fairly quickly, although after we received notification that they had received his application it seemed ages before we were notified that an interview was required and then even longer before the interview was scheduled. But all in all we filed our application I believe it was in early April of 09 and had the interview and DM at the interview on Nov 2'09.

The interview went very well and the IO was certainly satisfied with the genuine nature of the relationship. Prior to the interview I had actually engaged the services of an immigration lawyer to assist us with interview prep. It was costly, but it was definitely worth it.

Sadly, the application was refused based on the fact that he had no barriers to immigration as he qualified for an open work visa through the Aus/Canada working holiday program.

However, all hope was not lost and I really wanted to share our experience with this IO as there are so many negative feelings towards them, I wanted to express how grateful we were to her kind nature and her helpful advice at the conclusion of the interview. She advised my partner that the application was being refused but then proceeded to tell him the steps he needed to take to get him to Canada within the same time frame had the application been approved. She advised him that I should file an appeal immediately once I receive the letter as that would keep the file from becoming dead and he should then file his application for the working holiday program which would take approximately 4 weeks to process. She mentioned the fact that he had a permanent res application refused would be an issue but she made notes to the file stating that it was her recommondation that he pursue that route and that she was in full support of it. With the open visa he could then come here and we could live together for a year and satisfy the common law relationship requirements. And with the appeal process taking up to one year, hopefully by the time its processed we will have met the common law requirements and we pursue the application from there without having to start the application process from scratch.

While it was not the ideal outcome that we were looking for, the conjugal class is difficult so we were somewhat expecting the outcome. But with the help of the IO, we will hopefully still be together within the original timeline, which is really all that matters.

I discussed the refusal with the lawyer that did our interview prep and he was surprised at the reasoning behind the refusal. He had felt that we were going to have a difficult time proving the relationship as there were a number of complicated issues but the fact that they recognized the relationship but refused the application based on a 'technicality' left him stunned. His opinion was that although that is stipulated within their guidelines for a conjugal relationship, if they find that the relationship is geniune in nature they have a mandate within the act to facilitate those applications. So even without the other option presented to us, he felt that we have a very strong case for an appeal. Its my hopes that it never comes down to a fight and that an appeal is simply a method of keeping our file from becoming dormant.

So all in all, not the best outcome but it certainly could have been far worse. We aren't without hope!

Just thought I would share the experience

There are people with similar cases such as yours that have been approved. But then there are those who haven't. But, you're right, there is no harm in trying. You could get approved and be done with it. If you're not, you lose some money, some time, a bit of sanity - believe me, the stress while waiting for a decision takes its toll.

Btw, have you tried to get a working holiday visa for yourself? If you had that, you could go to Canada and there wait to qualify as common-law partners if need be.

 

[chrism88]

Hello thanks for replying, I wasnt actually aware there was a working holiday visa i could obtain to go to canada on this is definately something i would be interested in doing.

In regards to global visas i have had my doubts and the only real reason i am considering using such a service is so i can get help with getting all the correct documentation. I mean i havent had any trouble in the past extending my visa but those papers were quite straight forward. I know there is going to be more for the Conjugal Partner visa has i have printed it off and have been having a read but is it easy enough to follow to get things together yourself? IE all the specific proof i am going to have to show to prove our relationships credibility and duration.

Thanks again Chris

 

[mitamata]

I'm surprised you didn't know about the working holiday visa. Especially since your girlfriend got one.
Here's more info: http://www.international.gc.ca/iyp-pij/description.aspx

Yes, in most cases you can get everything yourself. Most people do their application on their own. If you don't want to go through the hassle of putting it all together and organizing it, you can hire someone else for it, but it can be done on your own. You would need a lawyer or consultant if there were issues with your case - like a custody battle, issues with a divorce, criminal charges etc.

All the evidence of your relationship you already have - just show anything that proves you've lived together when you say you did, show boarding passes, passport stamps from your visits to each other, phone bills for when you talked with call records, letters, cards, chat logs, emails, photos, letters from family/friends to confirm your relationship, anything you have in both your names (leases, joint bank accounts, mail addressed to both, insurance policies naming the other the benefactor,...). These are all thing you would have to gather yourself anyway, you might as well be the one to label them and organize them.
Other than a birth certificate and a police certificate, there aren't really any other documents that you need to obtain.

If you do apply as conjugal partners, keep in mind that you have to show you are in fact conjugal partners - this is more than just dating. You have to show you've combined your affairs as much as possible, that you depend on each other.

 

[chrism88]

Thanks again for information i am pretty sure we would have all the evidence needed it would just be collecting it all the only problem i can think of would be that we never were in a lease together as we are both young (20 and 21) and we had stayed together at each others parents houses but i have been told in the past that an affadavid or however you spell it from the parents we stayed at would be sufficient to prove that along with the passport stamps flights and we have had bank statements for each other coming to the residence.

Do you know if there is a working holiday visa in regards to a UK going to Canada for a working holiday? as the link unless i am reading it wrong is the other way around and whenever i have tried to search it the other way i cant seem to find much information on where and how to apply.

Thanks Chris

 

[mitamata]

Ah, I see. I really just glanced over it. I just assumed that a page on a Canadian site would give instructions on how to apply for a visa for Canada :

Hmmm, this?
http://www.visabureau.com/canada/working-holiday-visa-for-canada.aspx
And this?
http://www.canadainternational.gc.ca/united_kingdom-royaume_uni/work-travail/ym_uk-mj_ru.aspx?lang=eng

Looks like you can't get one for 2009. I guess it's out of the question then, you'll be able to apply as common-law before you could get this visa.

 

[chrism88]

Oh my! I never even thought of it but since i went there last february the 19th in a matter of 30 days or so we actually qualify as common law partners dont we? as we have lived consecutively together for a year even if its been at two different residences there has been no gap? Damn i never even thought of it that way. So i should fill in the papers and start getting documentation and then as soon as we qualify send them off? I have also found a local service near me that opens afew hours a week and is a charitable organisation that gives free immigration and visa advice and help so i am thinking of using them to help me if i need any documentation wise.

 

[Swede]

Oh my! I never even thought of it but since i went there last february the 19th in a matter of 30 days or so we actually qualify as common law partners dont we? as we have lived consecutively together for a year even if its been at two different residences there has been no gap? Damn i never even thought of it that way. So i should fill in the papers and start getting documentation and then as soon as we qualify send them off? I have also found a local service near me that opens afew hours a week and is a charitable organisation that gives free immigration and visa advice and help so i am thinking of using them to help me if i need any documentation wise.

You're eligible to be sponsored as a common-law partner if you've co-habited with a Canadian citizen in a conjugal relationship for at least one year. Note that you need to provide ample proof of this.