Child Canadian, I am not

[essencerallying]

Hello,

This is my situation; I have a common-law relationship with my partner who is the mother of a child. Ever since we have been together I have taken on the role as father though I am not biologically. My partner can sponsor me based on a common-law relationship but I was wondering if it matters in any way to officially be guardian/parent/have custody or something over the child to assist in the application. Or does something like that hold no value?

There is a lot of information for getting non-canadian children into Canada if you are but not the other way around.

Anyone any experience or stories?
Thanks

 

[Pippin]

A child cannot sponsor until they are 18, I believe. Marriage or common law status with your partner is what will make the difference.

 

[essencerallying]

Yes I know a child can not sponsor, I was wondering if having official custody or something would make a difference when applying with my partner as sponsor, as extra evidence our relationship in genuine.

 

[Pippin]

So the idea of marriage is out of the question?

 

[sheik]

if your partener is sponsoring you there is no issue to include th child , your common law is sufficient if she is canadian citizen, if you get custody of the child, then maybe cic will see that you all are living together really and form a real family and that could advantage your application. hopes it helps

 

[Fencesitter]

Yes I know a child can not sponsor, I was wondering if having official custody or something would make a difference when applying with my partner as sponsor, as extra evidence our relationship in genuine.

The simple answer is yes...of course...absolutely...

Anything that helps to prove the relationship is genuine will help...and I would suspect it would speed the process up.

FS

 

[canadianwoman]

I agree with Fencesitter. It is not necessary to have any official proof of your relationship with the child, but any such proof would help.

In addition, when there is a stepchild involved, the visa officer takes the relationship of the applicant with the child into account. For example, there was one poster here whose husband at the interview did not know the name of her son. The visa officer refused the visa, saying the relationship was not genuine, since in a genuine relationship of course the stepparent would know the names of any stepchildren. (They did win on appeal, but you want to avoid an appeal.)
One of my husband's friends also had his PR visa rejected, and one reason was he did not know what grade his wife's child was in. In this case I truly believe their marriage was genuine and that the man was not scamming the woman, but they lost their appeal.

This is all just to point out that you should include evidence of your relationship with the child in the application - proof that you know all about the child and get along well with him or her. And be prepared for very detailed questions at any interview. It sounds like you do have a very good relationship with the child, so you should be able to get good evidence easily, such as photos of you, your spouse and the child on outings together.

 

[truesmile]

I am in complete agreement with 'canadianwoman', and it sounds like you'll do fine in that regard. But worth noting, to sit there with a piece of paper that says you are 'guardian' won't amount to a hill of beans... except that you are likely in a position to succeed in any potential interview (given what you have described) and avoiding the fate of the two husbands' cases noted in her post.