Common Law - After we apply....

[Boracay]

We live here in The Philippines and are planning to apply for family class common law sponsorship. I am Canadian and she is Filipino.

After living together for 1 year, having all our documents and supporting documents and proof and all that. We will apply.
If I've read correctly the process takes at least 9 months.

Thats our problem....we're waiting until 1 year cohabiting which is a few more months, but then after that I have doubts I can support us much longer. It would be easy in Canada but here I can not make income.

Anyone have any suggestions of whats possible and whats not?

Can we also apply for a tourist visa for her to come with me for 6 months (or whatever period of time) while we wait?
If I had to go home for some months by myself does that disqualify us?

Also when applying will the CIC or whomever is accepting our application be taking her passport for any length of time. One of our options is to actually travel to Vietnam or Thailand where it would actually be cheaper for us to stay for a month than here

 

[sidkrose]

We live here in The Philippines and are planning to apply for family class common law sponsorship. I am Canadian and she is Filipino.

After living together for 1 year, having all our documents and supporting documents and proof and all that. We will apply.
If I've read correctly the process takes at least 9 months.

Thats our problem....we're waiting until 1 year cohabiting which is a few more months, but then after that I have doubts I can support us much longer. It would be easy in Canada but here I can not make income.

Anyone have any suggestions of whats possible and whats not?

Can we also apply for a tourist visa for her to come with me for 6 months (or whatever period of time) while we wait?
If I had to go home for some months by myself does that disqualify us?


Also when applying will the CIC or whomever is accepting our application be taking her passport for any length of time. One of our options is to actually travel to Vietnam or Thailand where it would actually be cheaper for us to stay for a month than here

Your wife can come with you to Canada on a tourist visa for 6 months, and before the 6 months is up she can apply to have it extended. (Explain that she is visiting you in Canada while she waits for her PR to come through and that she has no intention to work, as you can support her)

Or, you can go back to Canada by yourself to work. It will not disqualify you. Once you have lived together for one year you are considered "Common Law" and if after one year, you are separated, as long as you intend to live together again as soon as possible, you are still considered Common Law. If this separation is during the time that your partner is applying for PR outland, the separation is actually expected.

hope this helps!

 

[Boracay]

Yes helped a lot and that is very good news...

couple more follow up questions if u don't mind

1. Can we go together or one at a time (Logic tells me no problem either way but just checking!)

2. Can she receive her PR while in Canada. For example can she go to Canada on a tourist Visa, not work and then get her PR in Canada or will she/we have to go back to The Philippines. (That wouldnt be the end of the world, just expensive)

3. Does she need to produce a return ticket when arriving on a tourist visa? It just seems a bit weird if we are planning to extend it.
I also know sometimes airlines can be stricter than the immigration.

4. You mentioned explain she is visiting me while she waits for her PR. Do you mean explain to the first immigration officers when applying or upon extending? If we do everything by the book would I foresee any complications?

Thanks a lot!

 

[rjessome]

You know she must apply for a TRV to go to Canada if PR processing is not complete. In order for her to receive a TRV, she must prove to the VO assessing the application that she will not STAY in Canada and will leave at the end of her visit. Very low likelihood that she will receive a TRV with a PR application in process.

 

[sidkrose]

Yes helped a lot and that is very good news...

couple more follow up questions if u don't mind

1. Can we go together or one at a time (Logic tells me no problem either way but just checking!)

2. Can she receive her PR while in Canada. For example can she go to Canada on a tourist Visa, not work and then get her PR in Canada or will she/we have to go back to The Philippines. (That wouldnt be the end of the world, just expensive)

3. Does she need to produce a return ticket when arriving on a tourist visa? It just seems a bit weird if we are planning to extend it.
I also know sometimes airlines can be stricter than the immigration.

4. You mentioned explain she is visiting me while she waits for her PR. Do you mean explain to the first immigration officers when applying or upon extending? If we do everything by the book would I foresee any complications?

Thanks a lot!

rjessome is correct, it would be hard to get a TRV in that situation. I do not have much knowledge of visitors to Canada who need a visa to enter, since my own partner comes from a visa-exempt country. However, it may be possible to apply for a TRV before you apply for PR. But I could be totally wrong, hopefully someone else can answer this.

For your questions:
1. Either way is fine as far as I know.
2. Yes, if she does get a TRV and an extension, however it is possible that she will have to go back to the Philippines for an interview.
3. That would really depend on the situation, I can't answer it now.
4. I meant explain it on the application to extend the visa. I think as long as you're honest about everything and research the best way to do everything thoroughly beforehand, you should be fine.

For now you should probably do some research on people coming from non visa-exempt countries and see what they have to say about your partner visiting you while she waits for her PR.

 

[canadianwoman]

She almost certainly won't be able to get a TRV to come visit you in Canada while you wait. Try, though, just in case.
The Manila embassy asks for the passport very early in processing. If you and she had already entered a third country, she could mail it from there, or mail it to a family member who could deliver it to the embassy and pick it up. However, some countries don't allow you to mail passports overseas; others require you to have your passport with you at all times, so this may not work in your case. If she requires an interview, having mailed the passport out of Vietnam or wherever will make it impossible to get back for the interview, as well.

 

[Boracay]

rjessome is correct, it would be hard to get a TRV in that situation. It may be possible to apply for a TRV before you apply for PR. But I could be totally wrong, hopefully someone else can answer this.

Hmmm yeah....what do others think of this one? To me it sounds like a possibility but I can foresee problems with it. For example on the TRV trying to prove that she will come back because she has ties in The Philippines and must come back. While on the PR, the more important one, she would have to say she intends to live in Canada permanently. So really the 2 applications would contradict each other.

However maybe they are 2 different departments that wouldn't see each others information? I don't think I'd want to risk that anyway.

Above is what I was thinking if both were applied for from The Philippines. How about this?

1. Apply for TRV from Philippines
(a) If Denied apply for PR outland from Phils

2. If Accepted...Fly to Canada. Apply for PR inbound while in Canada. At some point she can try her best to apply for an extension and also at some point it would be inevitable that she must come back to The Philippines.

Of course though, I'm still afraid the 2 applications TRV and PR would contradict each other.

I also think it's highly unlikely that she will be accepted for a TRV. She has a deep desire to come back, but of course desire isn't really possible to prove. She does not own any businesses, or even strong family ties......sigh.

 

[mrsh]

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