common law catch 22

[beanpole]

Hello,

I am new to this site, so please excuse me if my questions have been previously posted and answered. I am currently in Canada on a open access working visa with no extention allowed. I am living with my boyfriend and have been blissfully for 9 months. We want to become common law and apply for the common law visa. We cannot apply until we have been living together for a year. Here is the problem my visa runs out March 13th and we can only apply for the common law visa February 6th, according to the Canadian immigration website it will take 9-18 months for the visa to be finalised, however if I overstay my visa by more than a few weeks I will be deported. If I return to the UK where I am a citizen then our common law status is void so what can we do to get out of this catch 22? Can anyone offer me any advice to help in this situation please??? Kind regards and many thanks in advance

Leah

 

[bobshynoswife]

There are many more experienced posters who I hope will answer your question, but as far as I know as soon as you have an application in for inland PR it is quite easy to get an extension of your visitor visa. As long as you pretty much file immediately upon becoming common-law.

Have you considered applying outland? Most applications from UK citizens are finalized in 6 months or less in London (if you don't require an interview) and I am quite sure you can extend your visit visa even with an outland application.

I hope you will get for sure answers, but just wanted to let you know that all hope is not lost!


ps. okay, re-read your post and saw that there is no extension possible. So.....what if you just zip down to the US for a day at the end of your visa and then come back to canada? Or go home on hoilday and then come back? Then you'd be here as a visitor, although unable to work.

Honestly, your other option is to get married...forget the common-law bit, return to UK and apply outland, and you'd be back in Canada within 6 months (or could stay here visiting the whole time if you could afford it)

I ramble....sorry.

 

[kiwikris]

Hi beanpole,
I was also on a one year visa- no exetension allowed.

One option is to apply Inland- yes it does take 9-18 months to process but if you apply before your work visa expires then you are on "inplied status" which means you can still work, but depending where in Canada you are you may not be covered by health insurance. Also not totally sure if you can change who you work for during your time on implied status. I know this is true for Ontario as I have just been through this. Also apply for an open work permit (OWP) with PR (as in the same application or else you have to wait until you get PR to apply for OWP) and then after the first stage approval (currently 9 months) you will receive the OWP and be able to get health coverage again. Also it is not advised to leave Canada during the whole process as you may be denied entry at the border and then you would have to apply outland and start the whole process again!
Also if you leave the contry on implied status, when you come back you would only be a visitor and it would be illegal for you to work as you would have lost implied status.


The other option is to apply outland and exchange your work visa for a visitor visa, so you can stay in Canada, you can't work but you can come and go as you pelase. Depends on your financial situation etc and if you have something to do for 3-6 onths. I'm sure you would still be classed as common-law (as you are being assessed by Canadian law not UK) and you could be conjugal partners while you would be in the UK you may have to prove that you are supporting each other if you are apart. eg financially

 

[cuds]

Hi there,

Don't have a lot of time right now - but I was kinda in the same situation. In Canada on a Working Holiday Visa, not extendable .. I would suggest leaving Canada either by land - ask for a tourist stamp, make them understand that you know you can't work etc, proof that you have enough funds or leave by air ... stay in the UK for a little while and come back to Canada as a tourist (UK residents can stay upto 6 months as a tourist in Canada) during this time you can apply for common law. I do not believe your common law status will be void at all if you stay a week or two.

This is what we did (I flew back home for a little while) and entered Canada again, no problems what so ever.

Good luck!

 

[kelKel]

This it what I would do. The Work/Holiday Permit is not extendable but you can change your status to a visitor. If you can handle not working and want to stay with your partner then this is the best option. Get all your paperwork ready. As soon as you become common law February 6th send your application to Mississauga. Send you Change of status to visitor application to Vegreville with all supporting documents including receipt of payment for PR. Give the reason you'd like to stay with your partner while the application processes and you should be fine.

 

[Dadu]

Hello Cuds, how are you ???

I was wondering: how was to re-enter Canada ? was your case already in process ?
I am back home right now, and my case is in process. But I might go back to canada and wait for the process to finish together with my wife, and I am a little affraid of that. I am affraid that they could deny me, and that could be a problem for my process :S

did they ask you a lot of questions ?

Thanks!

Dadu

Hi there,

This is what we did (I flew back home for a little while) and entered Canada again, no problems what so ever.

Good luck!

 

[shawngt2]

I think it's VERY simple...9 months living together is enough to know if you are meant for each other. If there are doubts, move on...If not, get married and enjoy the rest of your life together.... I'm serious, Love can conquer anything and if that is present, then the marriage option will be easy and also immigration...

My thoughts.... I know because after almost a year of knowing my wife... I couldn't be any happier with my decision...

To Love!

 

[cuds]

Hello Cuds, how are you ???

I was wondering: how was to re-enter Canada ? was your case already in process ?
I am back home right now, and my case is in process. But I might go back to canada and wait for the process to finish together with my wife, and I am a little affraid of that. I am affraid that they could deny me, and that could be a problem for my process :S

did they ask you a lot of questions ?

Thanks!

Dadu

Hi Dadu,

I actually was very scared to enter Canada again (not in process yet). We send in the application when I was in Canada as a visitor after the Working Holiday Visa.
I read such awful stories online about how immigration may treat you etc. My partner kept saying; people who had no issues are less likely to post their stories online, which I kind of agree with.

So I entered Canada, from my home country (visa exempt just like the UK), I went to customs like every other passenger on board. The officer asked me if I had been to Canada before?! I thought it was a trick question lol (after all the stories I read online), so I said “yes, on a Working Holiday Visa”. Then he asked if I knew that as a visitor I couldn't work, to which I replied that I was aware of that. He asked me who I was staying with and I said my girlfriend who is Canadian. And he waved me through after putting the stamp in my passport.

I didn't sleep for days before I flew back to Canada, that's how scared I was. I had a copy of my most recent bank statement with me, wrote my girlfriends phone number down in case they wanted to call her while she was waiting for me in the arrivals hall and I had a return flight booked for 6 months later ( not that the officer asked for any of these), but it helped me put my mind at ease somehow.

We send in the outland application about a month after I entered Canada as a visitor. Since we are not married we didn't want to send it in exactly after the one year Working Holiday Visa.

While we were “in process”, we went to the States a few times and not ones did I have an issue at the border. Never had to show any documents that we had an application going or something like that, just explaining the situation very briefly to the officer and being waved through.

This is just my experience, which doesn't guarantee that yours will be the same ...

 

[cuds]

double post .. sorry

 

[Dadu]

Thanks for your explanation cuds ! really helped me...
I might need to go back to canada while the process is still going, and I was scared about that... I`m still a little worried, but now I`m more likely to go

good luck to you!
Best regards,
Dadu

Hi Dadu,

I actually was very scared to enter Canada again (not in process yet). We send in the application when I was in Canada as a visitor after the Working Holiday Visa.
I read such awful stories online about how immigration may treat you etc. My partner kept saying; people who had no issues are less likely to post their stories online, which I kind of agree with.

So I entered Canada, from my home country (visa exempt just like the UK), I went to customs like every other passenger on board. The officer asked me if I had been to Canada before?! I thought it was a trick question lol (after all the stories I read online), so I said “yes, on a Working Holiday Visa”. Then he asked if I knew that as a visitor I couldn't work, to which I replied that I was aware of that. He asked me who I was staying with and I said my girlfriend who is Canadian. And he waved me through after putting the stamp in my passport.

I didn't sleep for days before I flew back to Canada, that's how scared I was. I had a copy of my most recent bank statement with me, wrote my girlfriends phone number down in case they wanted to call her while she was waiting for me in the arrivals hall and I had a return flight booked for 6 months later ( not that the officer asked for any of these), but it helped me put my mind at ease somehow.

We send in the outland application about a month after I entered Canada as a visitor. Since we are not married we didn't want to send it in exactly after the one year Working Holiday Visa.

While we were “in process”, we went to the States a few times and not ones did I have an issue at the border. Never had to show any documents that we had an application going or something like that, just explaining the situation very briefly to the officer and being waved through.

This is just my experience, which doesn't guarantee that yours will be the same ...

 

[beanpole]

Thank you all so much for your replies and help. I will totally use this site again for any questions I have.