CL couple living together but not on lease

[Mjg0503]

Hello,

I am an American citizen and my partner is Canadian. We are both English teachers in South Korea and will be moving in together in April. We have discussed the possibility of going to Canada at the conclusion of our contracts here (April 2020) and applying for common law sponsorship for me at that time.

Because of the way things work here in South Korea, each of us is given an apartment as part of our contract package. This is required by law for the schools to provide. However, we plan on living in her apartment and simply using mine for storage. Neither of our names are on either of the leases: the apartments are owned by the schools employing us. I wonder if this will present a problem for us when it comes time for us to prove we have lived together.

Also, a related question about inland vs Outland. I know that i can apply for a work permit while inland is being processed, but I understand this can take 4-5 months. We are wondering about the wisdom of applying Outland and staying in korea so that both of us could work until it is processed. Is this likely to take the full year if we go this route? And could I apply Inland and leave Canada to work while the application is still being processed in the event that becomes necessary?

Thanks for your time and attention

 

[JoshC]

Hello,

I am an American citizen and my partner is Canadian. We are both English teachers in South Korea and will be moving in together in April. We have discussed the possibility of going to Canada at the conclusion of our contracts here (April 2020) and applying for common law sponsorship for me at that time.

Because of the way things work here in South Korea, each of us is given an apartment as part of our contract package. This is required by law for the schools to provide. However, we plan on living in her apartment and simply using mine for storage. Neither of our names are on either of the leases: the apartments are owned by the schools employing us. I wonder if this will present a problem for us when it comes time for us to prove we have lived together.

Also, a related question about inland vs Outland. I know that i can apply for a work permit while inland is being processed, but I understand this can take 4-5 months. We are wondering about the wisdom of applying Outland and staying in korea so that both of us could work until it isn’t processed. Is this likely to take the full year if we go this route? And could I apply Inland and leave Canada to work while the application is still being processed in the event that becomes necessary?

Thanks for your time and attention

Some useful references:

• https://www.canada.ca/en/immigration-refugees-citizenship/corporate/publications-manuals/operational-bulletins-manuals/permanent-residence/non-economic-classes/family-class-determining-spouse/assessing-relationship.html
• http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/helpcentre/answer.asp?qnum=346&top=1

Is there any way you can ask for both your names to be on the one lease and just share that accommodation? It's a great document to prove you've lived together continuously for a 12 month period. Are the utilities also listed just in either of your names or is this included in your lease?

If this isn't possible, you can look to use other proofs from the list on CIC's website (You'll want to try and get as much documentation together for the same address):
http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/helpcentre/answer.asp?qnum=347&top=14

With regards to applying outland, American citizens usually get processed rather quickly, so it's probably the best route for you, then you can both continue working in South Korea whilst the application is progressing.

 

[Mjg0503]

Some useful references:

• https://www.canada.ca/en/immigration-refugees-citizenship/corporate/publications-manuals/operational-bulletins-manuals/permanent-residence/non-economic-classes/family-class-determining-spouse/assessing-relationship.html
• http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/helpcentre/answer.asp?qnum=346&top=1

Is there any way you can ask for both your names to be on the one lease and just share that accommodation? It's a great document to prove you've lived together continuously for a 12 month period. Are the utilities also listed just in either of your names or is this included in your lease?

If this isn't possible, you can look to use other proofs from the list on CIC's website (You'll want to try and get as much documentation together for the same address):
http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/helpcentre/answer.asp?qnum=347&top=14

With regards to applying outland, American citizens usually get processed rather quickly, so it's probably the best route for you, then you can both continue working in South Korea whilst the application is progressing.

Thanks for the quick reply, Josh. I don’t think we can get our names on the lease, but I’m working to see if I can get a letter from her school stating that we are living together so that I can register that address with immigration in Korea and thus have the same address on our identification cards. We do get utility bills but I believe they are in the name of someone who works at the school’s admin office. I will see about changing these as well.

That’s good to know about the quicker processing times for American citizens. Do you happen to have a ballpark estimate for how long it might take?

 

[andybc]

Several points:

If you want to apply as common-law, only apply once you have good evidence spanning a full calendar year of living together. Just because you have been living together for a year in April 2020 does not mean you will necessarily have good evidence to provide for the time between April 2019 and April 2020.

Outland will be faster for you.

If your sponsor stays in Korea during the processing, your sponsor would have to additionally prove that they will return to Canada, which is somewhat of a hassle.

If you apply inland, both of you will have to stay and live together in Canada during the entire application (short trips are OK, nothing much longer than 2 or 3 weeks though).

 

[smallcoffee]

Lease is not mandatory, but make sure you have good proof for the 12 month period

 

[scylla]

Also, a related question about inland vs Outland. I know that i can apply for a work permit while inland is being processed, but I understand this can take 4-5 months. We are wondering about the wisdom of applying Outland and staying in korea so that both of us could work until it is processed. Is this likely to take the full year if we go this route? And could I apply Inland and leave Canada to work while the application is still being processed in the event that becomes necessary?

Yes - you can certainly apply outland from Korea. Plan on the process taking a year although it could very well be shorter.

No - you cannot apply inland and leave Canada. The inland process requires both of you to be living in Canada.

 

[Mjg0503]

Lease is not mandatory, but make sure you have good proof for the 12 month period

Thanks for the info everybody. As far as proof goes, ,my partner and I have looked into opening a joint bank account, but that is not possible in Korea. The best we can do is open a third account in one of our names, and both transfer money in it to use for bills, groceries, etc. but technically all the transactions will be in one of our names. Transfers from both of us will be visible, however, and we can print those records. Would this be sufficient.

I suppose we could open a US/Canadian joint account of some kind, though we wouldn't have much practical use for it here.

One thing I know I can do for sure is change my address with my bank to her address, effective from the date we start living together. Ditto for my cell phone. So we should receive my bank statement and cell phone bill at her address.