Are my outland app and common-law partnership mutually exclusive?

[morgan22]

My partner and I have been together since September 2010. She's Canadian and I'm American. She and I moved to Toronto in September 2012; prior to that, we lived in India, China, and the US together.

I am now submitting my application for Permanent Residence; my partner and I will be filing for common-law status as part of the PR app. I think we have a strong case for common-law status: a joint bank account, tons of evidence (emails, texts, photos) of our relationship from the start up until now.

I had planned on submitting an outland application because we have some travel coming up and I don't want my leaving Canada to jeopardize my PR app. This means listing my parents' address in the US as my place of residence.

My question is this: will the authorities grant us common-law status if my residential address is not the same as my partner's? (Again, I've technically been living in Canada with her since last September, but am maintaining my parents' address as my residential address so that I'm able to apply outland).

 

[cdnmom]

You can still put the Canadian address and apply outland

 

[Rob_TO]

First off you should change your address to Toronto. There is absolutely no need to maintain an American address if you're doing an outland app. CIC doesn't care whatsoever what country you happen to be residing in when you apply. They actually encourage people currently living in Canada, to apply outland.

What do you mean by "filing for common-law status as part of PR app"? If you have lived together for 12 continuous months, then you are factually common-law whether you claim it or not, or whether you do a PR app or not. If you have been living together since Sept 2010, then in Ontario you would have been common-law as of Sept 2011. There is no real proof required here, you simply are common-law, and act as such. The main reason the government will care if you're common-law is with the CRA when you do your taxes. Here the burden of proof involves you simply stating you're common-law on your taxes and that's pretty much it. I've heard sometimes they may ask to see a piece of mail being sent to a common address.

Not sure how your partner has been doing taxes, but if you officially became common-law in 2011, then your partner should have claimed Canadian taxes as a common-law spouse in 2011 and 2012, and NOT as single.

Now if only the CIC accepted common-law so easily. But for your PR app is where you need to send all the proofs that will convince them you're really a common-law couple. It sounds like you'll be needing several police certificates from the countries you lived in... good luck!

 

[BrazilianGirl]

Now I'm curious.
I applied as common-law as well, but put my mailing address as the one down here in Brazil. Could it be a problem?

Thanks!

 

[Rob_TO]

Now I'm curious.
I applied as common-law as well, but put my mailing address as the one down here in Brazil. Could it be a problem?

Thanks!

Are you actually living now in Canada or Brazil? It shouldn't be a problem, but the point is that if you are currently in Canada on a visitor visa, you might as well have your address with CIC as being in Canada. If you are in Brazil then obviously you need to have address in Brazil with CIC.

Basically the ONLY thing CIC will use the address for, is sending you any mail correspondence like COPR.

 

[BrazilianGirl]

Are you actually living now in Canada or Brazil? It shouldn't be a problem, but the point is that if you are currently in Canada on a visitor visa, you might as well have your address with CIC as being in Canada. If you are in Brazil then obviously you need to have address in Brazil with CIC.

Basically the ONLY thing CIC will use the address for, is sending you any mail correspondence like COPR.

I'm currently in Brazil. That's why I put the address from here. I thought about it too, when they request my passport and send it back to me. If it was to go to Canada, it would be a little hard for me to land! hahahaha.

Thanks again Rob_TO!

 

[parker24]

Now I'm curious.
I applied as common-law as well, but put my mailing address as the one down here in Brazil. Could it be a problem?

Thanks!

Rule of thumb: mailing address is where you are and will be during the process. Residential is where you can legally live.

 

[BrazilianGirl]

Rule of thumb: mailing address is where you are and will be during the process. Residential is where you can legally live.

I put both, residential and mailing addresses from here in Brazil. When I was filling out my application I've heard "you can only use your Canadian address as the "mailing address" and residential where you are physically living."

 

[Rob_TO]

Rule of thumb: mailing address is where you are and will be during the process. Residential is where you can legally live.

Yes that makes perfect sense. If you're here on a study or work visa you can put mailing/residential as Canadian address. But if here on TRV visitor visa only, then just put mailing address as in Canada, but keep residential as address in home country.

 

[morgan22]

@Rob_TO: I'm here on a visitor visa. Are you saying that I should list my residential address as the US and only do mailing as Toronto?

 

[Rob_TO]

@ Rob_TO: I'm here on a visitor visa. Are you saying that I should list my residential address as the US and only do mailing as Toronto?

Ya, that's exactly what I would do.

Also, when exactly did you become common-law (after first 12-month living together), and how did your partner file taxes the past few years?

 

[morgan22]

She hasn't yet filed her taxes for 2012, but will list herself as common-law when she does. Unfortunately, she listed herself as single p until 2011.

We've technically lived together since Sept 2011, but it was in India without a formal lease. We came back to North America in Jan 2012, so I think January 2013 would be the easiest point in time to prove 12 month cohabitation.

Also, when exactly did you become common-law (after first 12-month living together), and how did your partner file taxes the past few years?

 

[Rob_TO]

She hasn't yet filed her taxes for 2012, but will list herself as common-law when she does. Unfortunately, she listed herself as single p until 2011.

We've technically lived together since Sept 2011, but it was in India without a formal lease. We came back to North America in Jan 2012, so I think January 2013 would be the easiest point in time to prove 12 month cohabitation.

Just be careful when doing the application. You each have to list all the addresses you lived at, which will include your time in India. If you started to live with each other in India in Sept 2011, then technically you become common-law in Sept 2012 and this is the date you'll need to use in the PR application as entering into the common-law relationship.

Although when it comes to proof, if you can only solidly prove the Jan 2012-Jan 2013 time, that should be ok. You can just explain in your application that although you became common-law Sept 2012, you are only able to submit proofs for the time living in N.America.

 

[morgan22]

Thanks for all your help, everyone.