schiswell said:
Your words are a real help and comfort!! Any extra Q's I might just add to this thread if you don't mind, though I do think I am on top of the most of it. We are just going to have to average and guess at things to a point but it relaxes me to know this is ok.
My police check etc was only obtained in Feb. I have just been gunning through everything as I keep these deadlines in check. I did only get the name check one and yes I will be applying to the Sydney office. It was suggested to me when I asked my first question on here so the last week has been a whirlwind! I didn't realise that I could live here the whole time and take advantage of the faster process as I though I had to live in oz the whole time or the very least would need to be there at some point of the process. I will take the odds of an interview though and to be fair getting home to see my nephew as he is nearing 1 year old isn't a bad thing!!
I will take your advice on the N/A questions as at least then I know that I won't have accidentally missed a question if there is something everywhere!! A quick question I wouldn't mind running past you...on the additional family form where we put my parents and my brother and sister. It says half and step siblings as well. I assumed that this does not mean my brother-in-law and sister-in-law?? I have left them out for now but they can so easily be added in.
Can I also just ask what your evidence was like. We have plenty but I just want to compare with a few people. The person who provided the how to organise thread was brilliant but as I have maybe 100-120 pages in total rather than over 300 I wanted some more opinions. I have 30 photo pages with 6 photos per page, each page is for a camping trip or an occassion or for holidays there are multiple in different areas. We also put in the bill of sale for our car (though technically I couldn't buy it with him as I had no credit rating in Canada yet so he took the loan himself), and joint insurance, our lease, past lease, future lease (May 2014 onwards), joint bank and joint use of credit card, then our flight itineraries for oz, thailand and las vegas. I'm not a hoarder of bits and pieces such as movie stubs, etc. I managed to find a few notes but for all they know they could be from anyone as they are not personalized. And the cards that I received from him for v day etc reflect his personality and therefore are humour cards that aren't all that endearing. Things I have just thought I could add in are our fb relationship screenshots, and I can add him as my beneficiary for my insurance but that is all I can think of. What are your thoughts on this collection??? Enough??? Needing more substance???
I thought the exact same thing when I was first looking into applying through CIC. Then months down the road I found this forum and it changed everything. I'm not 100% sure on the Add Fam question, I would assume not, mostly I think they are looking for your blood ties; or they would ask for your brother and sister's spouses (this is my theory anyway). This has more to do with anyone who may want to come to Canada at a later date, if they aren't named there by you they are ineligible to be sponsored by you. Once again, I'm not super sure on that but that's what I've made out from what I've read.
So page for page this is how I sent our file. Sections were just paper-clipped together and everything was sent in one envelope. My approach was quality over quantity; if you were the VO how would you like to see your applications when you got them?
Section 1:
Generic checklist, Appendix A & B (that's the Aus country specific checklist), our fees receipt, Application to Sponsor Sponsorship Agreement and undertaking (with barcode pages on top), Sponsorship Evaluation, extra page addressing N/A and answering questions, sponsor's Assessment of Notice, a letter from sponsor's employer stating dates of employment, wage, hours etc; a printout of his last two months of pay stubs, Sponsor Questionnaire, extra page addressing N/A and answering questions
Section 2:
Generic Application Form Canada (with barcode pages on top), Schedule A Background Declaration, extra page addressing N/A and answering questions, Sponsored Spouse/ Partner Questionnaire, extra page addressing N/A and answering questions, Additional Family Information
Section 3:
Copy of sponsors birth cert (both sides), copy of sponsor's passport, a copy of my birth cert, a copy of my passport, a copy of my last entry into Canada stamp (optional), a copy of my current WHP, Statutory Declaration of Common-Law (optional if common-law isn't co-signer), Statutory Declaration of Severance of Common-Law Relationship (I'd been defacto 3 1/2 years prior in Aus), 2 stat decs from friends and family, a copy of our joint account agreement with both names (this also showed groceries, utilities, outings, transfers in our names),
a single letter each at our current address (I would address this later), a void cheque in both names, a dental coverage card in both names, copy of sponsor's licence and service cards, a copy of health insurance listing sponsor as beneficiary, a copy of FB page listing us as in a relationship since DD-MM-YYYY, my QLD Police Check, my e-medical cover page, a copy of the receipt, x-ray receipt (were in two different buildings)
Section 4:
A copy of my phone records from the oldest 3 months and newest 3 months dating back a year and a half highlighting his number being called at least once a day consistently over this period
Section 5:
7 pages of photos (2 photos per page) saying who, when, where and taken by whom
I can't remember where I attached my 8 photos for PR, but I just stapled them to the appropriate page.
I would later send another envelope directly to Sydney while I waited for my requested traffic history to come through. Let me add that I worried about only sending 1 letter each addressed to our current address as proof of cohabitation for 12 months. So I went back through all our mail and was able to find one letter each, addressed to the same place, in the same month, dating back about a year or so... if that makes sense? So in the envelope I included;
- Cover letter with UCI, names, DOB stating that I was submitting further evidence on my own behalf since we had celebrated our 2 year anniversary in this time
- Copies of the year of letters to prove cohabitation
- Another 5 pages of photos laid out as before, 2 pictures per page.
- 2 pages written by me documenting our relationship and touching on mentioned dates and events
I think that's everything... everything I remembered to scan anyway. Your evidence sounds good!
. 