Can anyone give me any advice on supporting common law?

[ashestoart]

Hi there o/
I'm a Canadian citizen and my boyfriend is from England. He came here December 11th, 2013 and applied in June to extend his stay so we could get another 6 months so we could apply for Common Law. It was approved and they gave him our requested date, December 31st.

I'm just wondering what all we have to apply to try and get this to work.
I'm wondering if he applies for Common Law would he get the "Implied Status" like he did before?
Can he apply to extend his stay AND apply common law so he can stay and wait?
OR what's the best way to apply. He's not working here, came in on a visitors visa which he got extended and I'm working full time and can support him and have proof and a lot of stuff to back us up on our relationship. I just need some help.

I'm a little confused on what to do and we want to get married in the New Year. So any help would be great!

ALSO! Could he apply for both Common Law and A PR? Or does he get a PR if he's granted Common Law?

 

[canadianwoman]

You and he becoming common-law spouses has nothing to do with immigration. They are separate.
But if you want to sponsor him to immigrate to Canada, then you two have to be common-law spouses or you have to be married. (Conjugal will not work in your case.)
To sponsor him for a PR visa as your common-law partner, you two must have been living together for at least one year in a conjugal (marriage-like) relationship. You have to provide proof of this cohabitation and proof it is a genuine, marriage-like relationship when you apply to sponsor him.
Living together for one year is the minimum you must prove to sponsor him. So gather proof that you and he are living together: both names on the lease or mortgage and utility bills is great evidence. Mail addressed to him at your address, or addressed to both of you at your address, will help. Evidence that you share a banking account, credit cards, etc. is good. You named as his beneficiary on insurance policies, and vice versa, is good.
If you don't have this kind of evidence, you can get affidavits from the landlord stating that you two have been living together for one year. If you live with relatives or have roommates, they can also write similar affidavits.
You can start getting the application ready to send once you have been living together for one year. He can apply to extend his visitor's visa independently of that. Or he could apply to extend his visa, then you could apply to sponsor him after you get married. If you do not have enough proof that you were living together for one year, I suggest you wait until you get married to sponsor. Then you just have to prove the relationship is genuine.

 

[ashestoart]

So Sorry. I must be in the wrong thread?
He will be here for 1 year with me as of December 11th, 2014 and do we apply after/on that date? I guess I'm just not sure what to do as far as all the applications go.
Should he apply for Visitors extension AND Common Law?

 

[ashestoart]

Actually. I think we have decided to extend his stay for the second time
It will be less stressful and we've done it once before and this way we can get Married and he can wait to find out. It shouldn't be a problem at all if they approved him before. Then we can apply for the marriage sponsorship.

Does this sound like a better idea?

 

[taffy7]

Once you are married you can apply to sponsor HIM. You will fill part 1 of the application and he will fill out the rest. If you are in Ontario it will take about 8 weeks to get your marriage certificate . Make sure you apply outland, Your husband can stay in Canada with you while you wait out the application.He will need a medical and some police records from any country he has lived for more than 6 months.He will not need one from Canada . We are talking about him permanently living in Canada. It is called PR for short . For your part you will have to have filed your taxes for 2013 you will need an option C print out from CRA. Look over the forms a few times and ask as many questions ,every one here is here to help you . The cost for the application is $1040 then the medical which you have to get an upfront medical which is between 190 and 240.00 here in Canada . Your police checks will also cost you . These must be less than 3 months old when you send them in .

The first thing you should do is to start looking for evidence of your relation ship and the rest will come as you go along.

 

[ashestoart]

I appreciate all these answers to some things but they aren't they main ones I'm looking for

I'm just wondering about the forms and which ones do we need to file. We aren't married now, we want to get married next year. Should we just extend his stay and then wait to get married? I just started working at the beginning of the summer so my tax year at the moment doesn't show anything so I will have to wait for 2014 tax year

 

[Ponga]

Perhaps this will help:

He is NOT applying for Common-Law. He [will be] applying for Permanent Resident status and can do that by being sponsored by:

His Common-Law partner (you)

His spouse (you, if you and he get married).



He needs to be in a Common-Law relationship OR married to you before he can be SPONSORED by you.

Once he is eligible to apply, you must decide whether you want to submit an Inland application, or an Outland application:

Inland- requires that the applicant be in Canada (and is advised to remain in Canada during processing). Current processing times are ~14 months for stage one, followed by ~ 8 months for stage two. Some have been fortunate to complete the process quicker, but it's still painfully slow.

Outland- Does NOT require him to be outside of Canada! He can be here with you, as a visitor, and apply via the Outland application...which should be substantially faster than an Inland application. He would need to maintain his status, which seems to be relatively easy to do, especially with an active application in the queue.

There are different forms for the respective application packages. Choose the one that works best for you.

The current fees are as follows:

Sponsor evaluation fee- $75
Applicant fee- $475
RPRF (Right of Permanent Residence Fee)- $490
OWP (Open Work Permit)- $155 (ONLY available if submitting an Inland application).

You do not need to wait until you file your 2014 taxes to apply to sponsor him. As soon as you are either C-L, or married, you just have to show that you have sufficient funds to support you and your partner/spouse and that you are not on Social Assistance. This could even include a letter from your family, stating that they will be helping you financially. If you are unable to provide the Option C (as required), you can include a letter explaining your employment situation and that you only began working in the Summer of 2014. You will, however, still need the [required] letter from your employer confirming your employment.

Good luck!

 

[ashestoart]

Thank you so much! If we apply inland, do we have to extend his stay because I've read how he wouldn't get implied status and if his current visa expires then he may have to go home? I'm sorry it's just so much stuff and I want to be sure we do what's best!

I thought to apply for PR you had to live here for 3 or 5 years?

 

[Ponga]

If we apply inland, do we have to extend his stay because I've read how he wouldn't get implied status and if his current visa expires then he may have to go home? I'm sorry it's just so much stuff and I want to be sure we do what's best!

If you choose to apply Inland [but only do so as a last resort!], you must include an OWP application (or a Study Permit application) to get the implied status. An Inland application alone does NOT give the applicant implied status.

I thought to apply for PR you had to live here for 3 or 5 years?

No. You're confusing that with the RO (Residency Obligation), which simply means that AFTER he has PR he needs to spend 730 days (2 years, not 3) in Canada out of the five years.

 

[ashestoart]

Well that answers a lot!

I'm scared if we apply outland, he may need an interview and then have to go back to the UK. I'm assuming that doesn't break his application, but if he's denied he would just stay in the UK?

 

[Kayaker]

If you apply Outland, it doesn't matter where he is - he can come and go as he pleases.

 

[Ponga]

Well that answers a lot!
Good!

I'm scared if we apply outland, he may need an interview and then have to go back to the UK. I'm assuming that doesn't break his application, but if he's denied he would just stay in the UK?

Well, if you have strong proof of your relationship, strong proof of your Common-Law eligibility (once you have 365 days together), and if he has no criminal or other inadmissibility issues, the chance of having to go back to the UK for an interview would certainly seem low, but...it's never a guarantee.

If the absolute most important thing for you is that he be able to remain with you in Canada (unable to work), without fear of being sent home...no matter how long the process takes, then an Inland application, along with OWP, is worth considering, I guess. :-\

 

[Kayaker]

But remember, an Outland application could be finished in 6 months (if you have good proof and no issues like criminal record or medical issues) while an Inland application could take 2 years or so.

Since he is from the UK and visa exempt, he should have no problem extending his visit until he gets PR. A lot of people from visa-exempt countries do that. (I did too.)

 

[Ponga]

Exactly, BUT...if the possibility of having to go `home' for an interview, no matter how small the chance, is a concern...then, the inland application would eliminate that concern completely.


The OP really should strongly consider an Outland application!

 

[canuck_in_uk]

I'm scared if we apply outland, he may need an interview and then have to go back to the UK. I'm assuming that doesn't break his application, but if he's denied he would just stay in the UK?

Interviews are for when CIC suspects the relationship isn't genuine or when a couple has big red flags, i.e. criminal record, speak different languages, married as soon as they met, different religion/culture, etc.

You will have lived together for over a year by the time you apply and he is British; provided you have no red flags, there is pretty much no chance of an interview. Don't let that be a factor in your decision. Apply OUTLAND.