Applying for Express Entry with non-accompanying Canadian spouse

[klubsoda]

I am an EE applicant (CEC Inland) and need some advice on how to complete the info for my common-law partner, who is a Canadian citizen by birth.

I have her listed as a non-accompanying spouse and indicated under her personal details section that she isn't accompanying me because she is already a Canadian citizen living in Canada.

However, the site is still asking me to fill in the Personal Details, Contact Details, and Personal History sections for her.

Can someone advise how to handle this? I can't find a definitive answer elsewhere. Some have suggested uploading her Canadian birth certificate and LoE confirming she's not immigrating, but 1) I don't know if that's right, and 2) that doesn't help me actually fill in the online form. Am I just to put N/A everywhere?

Very grateful in advance for any help!

 

[cz999]

Points wise you should make sure you are processed as if you were single. But I don’t see an issue with listing her information? She is still your family member, Canadian or not it’s part of your background information.
Best is to call IRCC to confirm though.

 

[klubsoda]

Points wise you should make sure you are processed as if you were single. But I don’t see an issue with listing her information? She is still your family member, Canadian or not it’s part of your background information.
Best is to call IRCC to confirm though.

Thanks! I'm not getting any points from claiming her so that should be fine on that front.

My main concern is not so much providing her basic details like contact info as it is determining to what extent she needs to provide her personal history. It feels invasive to me for her to need to say everything she's done and everywhere she's lived in the last 10 years just so I can apply for permanent residence, you know? Travel history will also be a bit challenging to record, but I suppose doable.

I'm also unclear whether she needs to do the medical exam/PCC... but that might be a different question. I feel like PCC is unlikely as even normal applicants who live in Canada don't need one for Canada, but I'm not sure about medical? All I can find online says family members, whether accompanying or not, do need one, but that also seems strange to request for a Canadian citizen who's not subject to medical admissibility requirements.

This probably will indeed require a call to IRCC, but figured I'd start here first. Thanks for your reply

 

[klubsoda]

Update for posterity:

I did include all of the personal details, contact information, and personal history information requested in the portal.

I'd made this post before getting to the document checklist. Now that I've seen it, I can confirm that PCC and IME are not requested. However, proof of sibling's status in Canada, my partner's relationship to her sibling, and proof of sibling's residency in Canada were requested.

Rather than provide this information (in part because the aforementioned sibling is a half-sibling who doesn't have a close relationship with my partner or me), I decided to include a letter of explanation for each upload slot. My letters stated that:

• My partner is a Canadian citizen residing in Canada
• Because of this, she does not fit the criteria for an "accompanying spouse or common-law partner," as per the current Ministerial Instructions respecting the Express Entry system (July 26, 2022 version)
• Because she is non-accompanying, I am not (and can't!) claim points for her family members in Canada
• I have therefore not included proof of their status, residency, or her relationship to them

Hopefully this works out okay. Assuming I don't forget to do so, I'll update this post after my application is processed to let folks know whether IRCC accepted my letters.

 

[eliziebasa]

I have a very similar situation. My spouse is canadian and has a canadian half sister. I am being requested his sister's proof of relationship with him, residency etc. This requirement goes away when I answer "NO" to the question : "Does husband have any relatives in Canada". I mentioned his family members in LOE.
I hope I did the right thing!

 

[klubsoda]

Update for posterity:

I did include all of the personal details, contact information, and personal history information requested in the portal.

I'd made this post before getting to the document checklist. Now that I've seen it, I can confirm that PCC and IME are not requested. However, proof of sibling's status in Canada, my partner's relationship to her sibling, and proof of sibling's residency in Canada were requested.

Rather than provide this information (in part because the aforementioned sibling is a half-sibling who doesn't have a close relationship with my partner or me), I decided to include a letter of explanation for each upload slot. My letters stated that:

• My partner is a Canadian citizen residing in Canada
• Because of this, she does not fit the criteria for an "accompanying spouse or common-law partner," as per the current Ministerial Instructions respecting the Express Entry system (July 26, 2022 version)
• Because she is non-accompanying, I am not (and can't!) claim points for her family members in Canada
• I have therefore not included proof of their status, residency, or her relationship to them

Hopefully this works out okay. Assuming I don't forget to do so, I'll update this post after my application is processed to let folks know whether IRCC accepted my letters.

Final update: IRCC approved my application without any issues! I didn't receive any ADR either.

 

[Joelrao]

Final update: IRCC approved my application without any issues! I didn't receive any ADR either.

Hi klub soda. Congratulations on the approval. I am going through the same process and I came across this in the unaccompanying spouse section.

whose details are they asking here. They only specified her name in the last section

https://ibb.co/27TVWbj

the question on finger prints/ uci and countries of citizenship.

 

[klubsoda]

Hi klub soda. Congratulations on the approval. I am going through the same process and I came across this in the unaccompanying spouse section.

whose details are they asking here. They only specified her name in the last section

https://ibb.co/27TVWbj

the question on finger prints/ uci and countries of citizenship.

Hi there, if this is in your spouse's personal info section, then it is asking for her details.

 

[Joelrao]

Hi there, if this is in your spouse's personal info section, then it is asking for her details.

Thank you so much !!!! Just wanted to make sure. Im going through the same exact step as you and will have to say that I am not claiming any points through family. some missing sibling details. This post of yours gave me so much of ease. Cheers !!!! going to notary public for the 5409e tmrw

 

[klubsoda]

Thank you so much !!!! Just wanted to make sure. Im going through the same exact step as you and will have to say that I am not claiming any points through family. some missing sibling details. This post of yours gave me so much of ease. Cheers !!!! going to notary public for the 5409e tmrw

Good luck! I found it so frustrating not to be able to find any info about this when I was applying, so I'm glad my post was able to help you!

 

[canbe99]

Hi @klubsoda , @Joelrao ,
I'm so glad I discovered this thread as I'm in the same situation and I'm stressing with the lack of info online for our situation - (EE applicant via CEC inland with an (unaccompanying) Canadian citizen common-law partner). Honestly, thanks so much for sharing your updates for other folks who are in the same situation!

I have a question for you -
Did you need to complete the IMM5409 form (Statutory Declaration of Common-Law Union form)? If you excluded it from your application, how did you mention that fact? Did you get an questions about it when you submitted your application?

Also I'm not sure how I'd go about getting the form notarized if I do need it for my application, would I just search for local lawyers offices and go and ask them to sign it?

Thanks.

 

[hardeepraike]

Hi @klubsoda, I am exactly in the same situation as you, my spouse in Canadian PR and has brother who is also PR. I don't want to claim points so using LOE as you explained. However I am seeing one more document 'Family Member Proof of Status (required) '. I am not sure if this has to do with claiming points for sibling or should upload my spouse's PR card here ? this documents go away when I select No for if spouse is PR question for her then it starts showing Upfront medical and digital photo for her in the documents list. Waiting for your reply

Thanks a lot.

 

[klubsoda]

Hi @klubsoda , @Joelrao ,
I'm so glad I discovered this thread as I'm in the same situation and I'm stressing with the lack of info online for our situation - (EE applicant via CEC inland with an (unaccompanying) Canadian citizen common-law partner). Honestly, thanks so much for sharing your updates for other folks who are in the same situation!

I have a question for you -
Did you need to complete the IMM5409 form (Statutory Declaration of Common-Law Union form)? If you excluded it from your application, how did you mention that fact? Did you get an questions about it when you submitted your application?

Also I'm not sure how I'd go about getting the form notarized if I do need it for my application, would I just search for local lawyers offices and go and ask them to sign it?

Thanks.

I was required to provide this and did so. It was actually really easy. You would just need to find a notary public and sign it in front of them with your partner. Lawyers are usually notaries public, but you can probably find notary services through Google. I think some banks will notarize documents too. Notaries may charge a small fee, but compared to the rest of the PR process it's a negligible amount.

Also, I'm not sure if it's required, but I did make sure I had proof of our relationship available to the notary (like our leases). They didn't end up asking to review it, but I wanted to be prepared just in case. I did attach the info to my application, though.

Good luck!

 

[klubsoda]

Hi @klubsoda, I am exactly in the same situation as you, my spouse in Canadian PR and has brother who is also PR. I don't want to claim points so using LOE as you explained. However I am seeing one more document 'Family Member Proof of Status (required) '. I am not sure if this has to do with claiming points for sibling or should upload my spouse's PR card here ? this documents go away when I select No for if spouse is PR question for her then it starts showing Upfront medical and digital photo for her in the documents list. Waiting for your reply

Thanks a lot.

So this document request is for proof of your partner's sibling's status in Canada. What I did in this situation was upload an LOE that I'm not claiming points for this person and therefore have not provided proof of status. I did not end up getting an ADR or any further inquiries about it.

 

[hardeepraike]

So this document request is for proof of your partner's sibling's status in Canada. What I did in this situation was upload an LOE that I'm not claiming points for this person and therefore have not provided proof of status. I did not end up getting an ADR or any further inquiries about it.

Wondering if this is related to proof of PR of my spouse since this disapears if I select No for PR for spouse and upfront medical and digital photograph aprear in document list ?

Thanks a lot for awesome thread.