Clarification on applying for PR with my girlfriend as common law partners?

[MWVC]

Hi all,
My girlfriend of 2 years and 4 months (1 year cohabiting) and I want to apply together for permanent residence as common law partners in Ontario. We were hoping for some clarification from people who have experience with going through this process.

My girlfriend has a Post Grad Work Permit valid until 2017 and has worked for over a year in a skilled position. I currently have a Temp Resident Permit, previously I've had unskilled work with my expired 3 year PGWP and some study permits from attending university and college here in Canada. She will be eligible to apply for PR and she wants to list me as her common law partner so I can also get PR with her.

Here are the things we're hoping to get clarified:

Are we able to apply for PR together as Common Law Partners?
We've read that in Ontario, you're only Common Law if you've lived together for at least 3 years, but on the CIC website it's only for 1 year. What gives? Is common law different when it concerns immigration?

How do we show CIC that we are in a common law relationship?
We're confused if we should just put me as her spouse on the application and provide our evidence from shared expenses, photos, testimony from family and friends, etc. or if we need an official document from Service Ontario or City Hall. Do we need to obtain an official document from City Hall or Service Ontario (like a marriage license but for common law) before we apply to CIC for PR?

Can she extend her Work Permit to me so I can work while we wait for our PR papers to process?
Since I only have a TRP at the moment, we were hoping that since we've lived together for 1 year we can apply to CIC as common law partners and she could extend her work permit to me as her common law spouse. We know that PR takes awhile to process so we were hoping this would be possible so I can start working again while our papers are processed.

Thanks in advance for any help and clarification you all can provide!

 

[scylla]

Are you sure you have a TRP and not a TRV? TRPs are for people who are inadmissible to Canada (typically due to a crime) but have been granted the right to enter Canada. TRVs are normal tourist visas.

If you do in fact have a TRP, on what basis did you require a TRP to enter Canada? If you are inadmissible to Canada you can't apply for PR without going through the rehabilitation process first (if you qualify).

 

[MWVC]

Thanks for replying, Scylla!

My apologies, if TRPs are only for those inadmissible to Canada then I should have a TRV. I am not aware of any circumstances or indications from CIC that have made me inadmissible to Canada.

On the document itself it says "Visitor Record" if that helps clear it up. After the expiration of my PGWP, I stayed in Canada for 2 years under a study permit to take a post-grad course until 2014. So far I have extended my stay here as a visitor by applying for visitor extensions, currently valid up until August 2016. On the bottom of my Visitor Record it says "Temporary Resident Status Maintained as per R183(6)".

Thanks again for any help you can give!

 

[eddie_in_NL]

To show CIC the common law relationship, you need to sign a certain form under oath and attach supporting documents. Could be a shared rental agreement or joint bank accounts, etc. Instructions are clear and straight forward on that document (IMM 5409 - Statutory declaration of common law Union). Search for this document and you'll see. Only thing is that you both have to find a commissioner of oath and sign under his/her presence. He/she will then sign and stamp it, and you submit it to CIC along with the supporting documents. Unless you're applying for ONtario PNP, you should be good if you meet the 1 year deadline.

I have done that several times, and never had a problem.

 

[dobes]

Hi all,
My girlfriend of 2 years and 4 months (1 year cohabiting) and I want to apply together for permanent residence as common law partners in Ontario. We were hoping for some clarification from people who have experience with going through this process.

My girlfriend has a Post Grad Work Permit valid until 2017 and has worked for over a year in a skilled position. I currently have a Temp Resident Permit, previously I've had unskilled work with my expired 3 year PGWP and some study permits from attending university and college here in Canada. She will be eligible to apply for PR and she wants to list me as her common law partner so I can also get PR with her.

Here are the things we're hoping to get clarified:

Are we able to apply for PR together as Common Law Partners?
We've read that in Ontario, you're only Common Law if you've lived together for at least 3 years, but on the CIC website it's only for 1 year. What gives? Is common law different when it concerns immigration?

How do we show CIC that we are in a common law relationship?
We're confused if we should just put me as her spouse on the application and provide our evidence from shared expenses, photos, testimony from family and friends, etc. or if we need an official document from Service Ontario or City Hall. Do we need to obtain an official document from City Hall or Service Ontario (like a marriage license but for common law) before we apply to CIC for PR?

Can she extend her Work Permit to me so I can work while we wait for our PR papers to process?
Since I only have a TRP at the moment, we were hoping that since we've lived together for 1 year we can apply to CIC as common law partners and she could extend her work permit to me as her common law spouse. We know that PR takes awhile to process so we were hoping this would be possible so I can start working again while our papers are processed.

Thanks in advance for any help and clarification you all can provide!

My partner and I got PR as a common law couple. First, when we lived in Europe, he applied for a Canadian student visa. We had to swear to our relationship with the same confirmation of common law relationship form that comes with the PR application, and we had to provide some proof - affidavits from friends and relatives in our case. Then I was given an open work permit of the same duration as his study permit.

I worked while he studied, so when EE came along, I was the one who was eligible due to foreign work experience and Canadian experience. He was on my PR application as a common law spouse, and we both got PR in September, 2015.

You can absolutely have your partner apply for EE, with you as her common law partner. If she works in an NOC A, B, or O job on her PWGP, you can also apply for an open work permit as her partner. http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/resources/tools/temp/work/opinion/policy.asp

 

[MWVC]

Fantastic!

Thank you so much everyone for the clarification and the links, my girlfriend and I are going to be so relieved when we've got all of this behind us.

Hope everyone had a great Halloween weekend!