Canadian sponsoring british boyfriend who met traveling.

[Jason12345]

Hi All

My girlfriend and i traveled before we came to Canada. My girlfriend is from Canada and is 22. I got on the experience Canada program which gives me a year to work. Since doing that we now have a little boy and a place where we rent.

Its coming to the point where were looking at sponsorship.

I understand the inbound and outbound process.
Inbound is about 44 days for stage 1 and 11 months for stage 2.
Outbound is about 14 months for stage 1.

I want to keep this to the point.

I have two more months on my working holiday visa at which point i want to apply for a second year.

This gives me exactly 14 months.

Here is where it gets tricky. We have only been living in 'our' apartment since April 14 which means that to be considered common law we would have to wait till april 15 to start the application for common law sponsorship. At which point it would be too late because i would only have till Dec 15 before i would have to leave the country. (9 months and it takes 14 months for the app to go through)


The other option we though of was just getting married at city hall and posting our application now. Exactly 14 months away. (this was a last resort option because no one wants to rush into this.)

A loop hole i have found is that when we were traveling i kept all the receipts of the hostels and hotels we stayed at. We also lived at my girlfriend mum and dads house for 5 months before we moved out. Could an of this be used towards the 1 year for common law? We have known each other and lived together traveling and at her parents now for nearly 14 months.

At the end of the day we have a little boy and a home we dont want to get split up.

Any advice or help or direction would be amazing.

Also just a shot. I work for a software development company in Canada currently. Is it possible they are able to sponsor me so i can stay in the country?

 

[Jason12345]

To add:

If my girlfriend is currently a student and it is my income which is currently supporting us. Is she able to sponsor me? Or does she need to give up school and get a job so then she can prove she can sponsor me.

We have lots of money in the bank would this be enough to cover this section?

"When you sponsor one of these relatives to become permanent residents of Canada, you must support them financially. This means you have to meet certain income guidelines."

"to be a sponsor you must:

agree in writing to give financial support to your relative, if they need it
for a spouse or partner, this lasts for three years from the date they become a permanent resident, and
for a dependent child, this lasts for 10 years, or until the child turns 25, whichever comes first.
"

thanks again

 

[Jason12345]

i have also came across this

"Common-law partner
Refers to a person who is living in a conjugal relationship with another person (opposite or same sex), and has done so continuously for a period of at least one year. A conjugal relationship exists when there is a significant degree of commitment between two people.

This can be shown with evidence that the couple share the same home, support each other financially and emotionally, have children together, or present themselves in public as a couple.

Common-law partners who have been in a conjugal relationship for at least one year but are unable to live together or appear in public together because of legal restrictions in their home country or who have been separated for reasons beyond their control (for example, civil war or armed conflict) may still qualify and should be included on the application."

Would this mean that if we can prove we have know each other and been together for a year and because we have a child we can be classed as common law? We have joint bank accounts for about 13 months and we have pictures from traveling around the world. Plus we have lived at her parents for months along with the amount in our apartment.

Im just unsure if they need you to have your own rental agreement or mortgage for a year or just "been committed to each other" for a year....



Thanks

 

[MilesAway]

You have to prove that you have been living together for 12 consecutive months, no less. One member had their application returned/refused, because the VO was not convinced that they were common-law, since part of their 12 months was spent traveling.

You have the timelines for inland and outland reversed. Also, the timeline for outland is for 80% of the applications, which means that more than half of them are done faster. Which VO is yours?
It's generally not recommended for visa-exempt nationals to apply inland, as the timelines are almost certainly faster outland.

Many people have applied to sponsor while studying and not had issues. The sponsor needs to show a plan that does not include welfare.

 

[scylla]

FYI - the conjugal clause don't apply to you since you face no immigration barrier to marriage or common law. So as MilesAway explained, you need to be able to prove that you have been living together for a minimum of one full year (preferably through rental contracts).

 

[Kayaker]

Hi All

I understand the inbound and outbound process.
Inbound is about 44 days for stage 1 and 11 months for stage 2.
Outbound is about 14 months for stage 1.

As others have pointed out, you got the two mixed up.
Also, where are you from? Outbound stage 2 may possibly take far less than 11 months, depending on the country you are from.


Here is where it gets tricky. We have only been living in 'our' apartment since April 14 which means that to be considered common law we would have to wait till april 15 to start the application for common law sponsorship. At which point it would be too late because i would only have till Dec 15 before i would have to leave the country. (9 months and it takes 14 months for the app to go through)

You don't have to leave the country - but you would have to change your status to "Visitor". Changing the status is straightforward and easy, but this means you won't be able to work.


The other option we though of was just getting married at city hall and posting our application now. Exactly 14 months away. (this was a last resort option because no one wants to rush into this.)

A loop hole i have found is that when we were traveling i kept all the receipts of the hostels and hotels we stayed at. We also lived at my girlfriend mum and dads house for 5 months before we moved out. Could an of this be used towards the 1 year for common law? We have known each other and lived together traveling and at her parents now for nearly 14 months.

Having receipts of hostels and hotels are great, but usually, the standard proof for common-law is a rental agreement with both names on it, or at least a notarized letter from the landlord or relatives saying you and your partner were living at such and such a place from xx/xx/20xx. I have heard of other people on this forum having difficulty convincing CIC that they were common law because they were traveling together for part of the required 1 year. It's up to whoever is handling your case, it seems, maybe a very very lenient person will be okay with hotel receipts, but another person might judge that hotel receipts are not sufficient proof.

If the months at her parents' house and the months at your current rental place add up to 12, I would do that - get a notarized letter from her parents saying you two were living together from this date to this date, and add the rental agreement and/or letter from landlord. That should be fine. If you have to include hotel receipts and whatnot to make up the 1 year, I'd be afraid of getting rejected. Also, the 1 year must be continuous - you can't claim common-law if you lived together for 6 months, then were apart for a few weeks then lived together for another 6 months.

Of course, if you do decide to get married, that Would simplify matters. But it's certainly not a requirement. And as scylla pointed out, conjugal cannot apply to you, so you would either have to be married, or have proof of living together for 12 consecutive months. "just been committed for a year" definitely is not sufficient.


Also just a shot. I work for a software development company in Canada currently. Is it possible they are able to sponsor me so i can stay in the country?

Whether your employer can obtain a work permit for you or not would be up to the employer. They would need to prove that no Canadian could be found to fill the position, pay fees of around CAD 1000, and it takes a few months. You could certainly ask them if that's an option!

 

[Kayaker]

Oh sorry, I just saw on the thread subject that you are British


Then DEFINITELY apply outland. A lot of British people on this forum have gotten PR as quickly as in 3 or 4 months. Of course, to get processed relatively quickly, you should have a good solid application - that means having irrefutable proof that you two were living together for 12 consecutive months.

So if you'd been living in your own place from April 15, you could apply next April 16, and I think there are very good chances that you will get PR before your working holiday visa expires on Dec 15 2015. Or I guess you could try using a letter from her parents saying you'd been living at their house for the 5 months preceding April 15, you could potentially apply after November 16.

I don't think you have much to worry about - the London VO is one of the fastest! Just make sure you get together a good application, with no outdated forms, no missing documents, no missing signatures and good solid relationship proof.

 

[Rob_TO]

A loop hole i have found is that when we were traveling i kept all the receipts of the hostels and hotels we stayed at. We also lived at my girlfriend mum and dads house for 5 months before we moved out. Could an of this be used towards the 1 year for common law? We have known each other and lived together traveling and at her parents now for nearly 14 months.

To start qualifying for common-law, you need to establish an initial residence that you actually cohabit together and set up all your affairs together. If you met while traveling and then dated while traveling through different countries jumping from hotel to hotel, you have not actually "cohabited" anywhere since you have no fixed address. It would be different if you had already established a residence somewhere, then kept that address as your residential address while you traveled.

So it sounds to me like you first established a common-law cohabitation arrangement, when you moved into her parents' house. I would start this as day 1 of cohabitation for common-law qualifying. So if you lived with her parents for 5 months, then have been renting your own apartment for 6 months, that would put you at around 11 months and qualify you for common-law next month sometime.

To prove the cohabitation at parents home, you would need to include a formal rental agreement. Even if no rent was paid, you can still set up a rental agreement that lists parents as landlords and you guys as tenants, and shows the duration of stay on it. Can then backdate it to when you first moved in there. There are tons of blank rental contracts online you can get as examples.
Also you should show any mail both of you received at the parents address.

You could also just do a quickie marriage at city hall, and apply as married. Then you wouldn't need to worry about any of this common-law stuff. In your case a quick marriage is ok since you already have a kid together. Many people do this, and then have the "real" formal wedding with all their friends/family later on when they're ready.

 

[Jason12345]

Thank you for all your reply's.

I do have a few follow up questions.

I think we are going to wait a month then we will have been living with her Parents and in our appartment for the 12 months needed.

Question 1, Would i need a lease agreement or would a letter from her parents be enough to say we were living there? (We have lots of mail saved which came to that address such as my Social insurance number card)

To prove the cohabitation at parents home, you would need to include a formal rental agreement. Even if no rent was paid, you can still set up a rental agreement that lists parents as landlords and you guys as tenants, and shows the duration of stay on it. Can then backdate it to when you first moved in there. There are tons of blank rental contracts online you can get as examples.

I am more than happy to do this. The forms i found on the internet just seem like simple forms. I feel they they wouldn't be fit for purpose. Maybe i'm being silly and they would stand up.

Question 2,

Then DEFINITELY apply outland. A lot of British people on this forum have gotten PR as quickly as in 3 or 4 months. Of course, to get processed relatively quickly, you should have a good solid application - that means having irrefutable proof that you two were living together for 12 consecutive months.

When applying outland, Do i have to change my status? I need to be able to work whilst in Canada to be able to support my family. Even though im living inside canada and working here will i still be able to apply outland?


Thank you again for your support on this matter.

 

[Kayaker]

You CAN live in Canada and work as long as your work holiday visa is valid and apply Outland. Outland does not exclude living in Canada or working in Canada, so that's fine. Of course, when your work holiday visa expires, you must stop working and change your status to visitor. (Or leave.) But I'd think that by that time you would have PR, as long as your application is solid and they don't have to ask you for more evidence, or ask you to redo forms or something.

 

[Rob_TO]

Question 1, Would i need a lease agreement or would a letter from her parents be enough to say we were living there? (We have lots of mail saved which came to that address such as my Social insurance number card)

I am more than happy to do this. The forms i found on the internet just seem like simple forms. I feel they they wouldn't be fit for purpose. Maybe i'm being silly and they would stand up.

Get an official-looking lease agreement. There are tons of online samples, such as this one: http://studentlife.uoguelph.ca/app-ocl/sites/uoguelph.ca.app-ocl/files/roomer_-_landlord_agreement.pdf

Just edit as needed for your own situation. But as long as the main info is there like landlords names, tenants names, address, city, dates of residence, and all signatures... that's the main thing. Get it certified/notarized also if you want to make it look extra official. It's also great you have lots of official mail that went there, definitely include that. Plus of course if you have any joint bank acct, credit card, life insurance, work benefits, etc.

Note too that according to CRA tax rules you became common-law for tax purposes as soon as your child was born and you were living together, not after 12 months of cohabitation. So make sure each of you changed their CRA status from single to common-law as of your son's birthday. Here the rules slightly differ from CIC's rules of common-law.

Question 2,
When applying outland, Do i have to change my status? I need to be able to work whilst in Canada to be able to support my family. Even though im living inside canada and working here will i still be able to apply outland?

AFter your working holiday visa expires in December (2015?), you will need to be prepared to stop working. If you want to stay in Canada during processing after that, you will stay as a visitor only with no work privileges. The only way you'll be able to work after that, is if you find an employer willing to go through LMIA process to hire you under a closed work permit.

It doesn't matter if you applied inland or outland, either way you'd need to stop working after Dec 15. But if it's Dec 2015 it expires, you will most likely have PR by then if you apply OUTLAND as common-law in the next couple months.

 

[Jason12345]

So if im applying from inside Canada (because i'm here working) However applying ooutland. The immigration office requested for processing this application would be London?

Also if doing the out-land process does this mean i would need to go to London for any interviews??

Thanks for all the help with this process

 

[rhcohen2014]

So if im applying from inside Canada (because i'm here working) However applying ooutland. The immigration office requested for processing this application would be London?

Also if doing the out-land process does this mean i would need to go to London for any interviews??

Thanks for all the help with this process

Well, in theory, yes, since you are from the UK, your OUTLAND application would be processed in London, which is where any interview would take place, so you would need to travel back there if requested. Since you have a valid reason to be in canada, dealing with CBSA is probably not going to be an issue.

However, CIC has been keeping "non complicated" UK applications in Mississauga and OTtawa, so there's a chance it *can* be processed there instead. My suspicion is for those applications staying in Mississauga and Ottawa their interviews have been waived since they are considered "non complicated", though it's too soon to know for sure.

 

[Rob_TO]

So if im applying from inside Canada (because i'm here working) However applying ooutland. The immigration office requested for processing this application would be London?

Also if doing the out-land process does this mean i would need to go to London for any interviews??

Yes you can stay in Canada while applying outland. Just make sure to use the Outland application package: http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/information/applications/fc.asp

Since you have status in Canada valid for at least 1 year, you can select CPC-Ottawa as your outland processing office. If CIC accepts this than after your sponsor approval is done at CPC-Mississauga, they will forward the app to Ottawa. Even though it's Ottawa, it's still considered an outland app. And then any potential interview would be held in your current city in Canada.

HOWEVER even though you qualify for Ottawa outland processing, CPC-Mississauga may still decide to send your outland app to London based on your citizenship. In this case any potential interview would be held in London. Though the chance of actually needing an interview is VERY small. Vast majority of people get the interview waived so there is no need to ever leave Canada during processing.

 

[wowsers]

I strongly advise you not to follow the advice you have been given to get a standard rental agreement, fill it in, backdate it and use it as proof that you were renting the property from parents. That would be a fraudulent misrepresentation which could destroy your chances of obtaining PR for ever. You do not need a tenancy agreement to prove the cohabitation at the parents' property: any proof that you were living there together will do. Get a letter from the parents for example setting out the facts. That is better than nothing and certainly better than misrepresenting the facts.