Common-Law/Conjugal Partner - In desperate need of advise.

[ediaz121006]

Hello everyone, this is actually a followup question to my previous post.

I'm permanent resident in Winnipeg and legally separated. I want to sponsor my girlfriend in the Philippines as common law partner since my divorce papers is on its way anyway but I realized as a requirement in cic we must have live together for 1 year. When I was in the Philippines, we live together in a friends house for 5 months but after I migrated to Canada I find it impossible to stay long due to my work. Even so, we have continuous communication and I went back and fort couple of times already, which I have proof, hotel reservation, phone bills, email communication, pictures on our vacation in other country.

I was wondering if this can be considered as conjugal partnership? Also I'm not sure about this, does the sponsored person requires money and educational status such as being a college graduate to qualify?

Thank you and have a wonderful day.

 

[mitamata]

Yes, you could be considered conjugal partners. You can't yet marry since your divorce is not final and she can't come to Canada to live with you, so I think you would suit this category.

Note though that you can only apply as conjugal partners if:

you have maintained a conjugal relationship with that person for at least one year, that is you have been in a committed and mutually interdependent relationship of some permanence where you have combined your affairs to the extent possible

 

[Direstrife]

Wait for your divorce papers then marry her and sponsor her as spouse.

 

[ediaz121006]

Yes, you could be considered conjugal partners. You can't yet marry since your divorce is not final and she can't come to Canada to live with you, so I think you would suit this category.

Note though that you can only apply as conjugal partners if:

you have maintained a conjugal relationship with that person for at least one year, that is you have been in a committed and mutually interdependent relationship of some permanence where you have combined your affairs to the extent possible

Thank for the advise, this is the confirmation I am looking for.

 

[ediaz121006]

Wait for your divorce papers then marry her and sponsor her as spouse.

I thought about it at first but the Philippines does not recognize divorce. We could probably marry in a country where Canadian divorce is accepted as suggested before but that would be my last resort... I appreciate your quick response. Thank you very much.

 

[Direstrife]

Wait for your divorce papers then marry her and sponsor her as spouse.

I thought about it at first but the Philippines does not recognize divorce. We could probably marry in a country where Canadian divorce is accepted as suggested before but that would be my last resort... I appreciate your quick response. Thank you very much.

Did your first marriage happened in the Philippines?? I have the impression that it is not because you said your divorce papers are "on its way". If your first marriage DID NOT take place in the Philippines then you can still marry her there.

 

[Leon]

Did your first marriage happened in the Philippines?? I have the impression that it is not because you said your divorce papers are "on its way". If your first marriage DID NOT take place in the Philippines then you can still marry her there.

If he marries another person before his divorce is finalized, he will not only be considered a bigamist but his 2nd marriage will not be valid. Better wait for the divorce papers or try the conjugal partner route.

 

[mirkopal]

can i know why people are so discouraging about conjuugal partner route? because it s more difficoult to prove with proofs?
i can only tell u that if u bring everything that shows...well it should be no problem...i m the example..
conjugal partner sponsored by a canadian italian who had no revenue (he finishing his bachelor)
we were together for 2 years...we applied as conjugal partners...and in 4 months we got positive answer

 

[Leon]

Yes Mirkopal, because it's more difficult to prove. So you got your case through, has it ever occurred to you that maybe you just got lucky with the IO? Many people have been denied. That's why it's generally discouraged if people have another option. However, ediaz121006 has a much better case for conjugal partners than you do. For example, you have a choice of getting married but choose not to while he does not have that choice since he is still waiting for his divorce to be finalized. You have a choice of living with your partner where he lives and he is visa exempt to stay with you in Canada up to 6 months. For this guy, not so easy. That's why I would recommend the conjugal partner route for him unless he wants to wait for his divorce papers.

If you look at the immigration website at http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/immigrate/sponsor/spouse-apply-who.asp you will see this:

You should not apply as a conjugal partner if:

* You could have lived together but chose not to. This shows that you did not have the level of commitment required for a conjugal relationship. (For example, one of you may not have wanted to give up a job or a course of study, or your relationship was not yet at the point where you were ready to live together.)
* You cannot provide evidence there was a reason that kept you from living together.
* You are engaged to be married. In this case, you should either apply as a spouse once the marriage has taken place or apply as a common-law partner if you have lived together continuously for at least 12 months.

As far as I can see, Mirkopal, the above describes your situation exactly, that is a case for somebody who should not apply as conjugal partners. If you choose to do so anyway, that is up to you. I still hope you get lucky with the IO and that your case goes well but no guarantees because you are doing exactly opposite to what Immigration Canada is telling you.

 

[mirkopal]

ok thanks leon...
in fact we are still thinking of common law or conjugal partner...
anyway as a visitor my partner could stay in canada for 3 months and not 6....

and the fact that 6 months in canada means stop working how did u interpretate that?
anyway we could apply as common law because we lived more than 12 months together...canada or france...more in france obviously...and i m returning in canada hoping for him to be accepted.
one thing: is it discouraging that i went to live in paris more than him,...to stay with him?

 

[mirkopal]

leon you are right
my only question is
i decided to live together with him, quitting one semester at school and he did the same thing for his work...
i started workjing here as a contract in an international organization..in paris...and to do so i open a bank account and phone...with bills (proofs) in the same address of my boyfriend...
ethis is why because it was easier for me to move in Europe, working and staying with him than him and staying in canada as a simple visitor.
so
at the same time, i still have an address in canada, my appartment that i share with my best friend, and i paid my taxes last year and this year and i still hav a bank account in canada and phone

we lived together for more than one yeear, we got engaged 1 month ago and we are getting married next year, july, because we have friends everywhere in the world that will come in that day
my questions are and noone gave me a clear answer

1. i think i have more requirements for common laaw than conjugal partner...ok but is there a problem if this 12 months living together are not in the canadian territory, meaning that i (the pr) left the country to see him



2. i m going back to canada end of november
is it better to send everything when I am in montreal or when i am still in france ( i receive the last document for our demand, medical visit, at the beginning of november)

3. we have the certificate released by french authorities that we have planned a civil union next year...

thanks a lot

 

[ariell]

1. i think i have more requirements for common laaw than conjugal partner...ok but is there a problem if this 12 months living together are not in the canadian territory, meaning that i (the pr) left the country to see him

It DOES NOT MATTER!!!! It says nowhere in the application that the 12 months of cohabitation must be in Canada. For many people living together in Canada is not even a possibility so that would be a stupid requirement if it existed which it doesn't.


2. i m going back to canada end of november
is it better to send everything when I am in montreal or when i am still in france ( i receive the last document for our demand, medical visit, at the beginning of november)

Might as well wait til you're back in Canada and mail from here.

3. we have the certificate released by french authorities that we have planned a civil union next year...

But what is your question? I think you are better off doing the civil union now which would make your application much stronger, but that is your choice.

thanks a lot

 

[mirkopal]

ok ariell thanks a lot...really for the advices...

my advice about the residency (paris) was because i never told canada that i moved to france...because i knew that was temporary until we could have the right to ask the residency
at the same time i did all the things to do when u are resident in canada
i paid taxes, phone bills and bank etc etc

i mean is this a problem that? should canada be mandatory advised if i temporarly leave the country?

cncerning the other question on economic situation that is in my other post?

 

[marisol]

Hi, me and my partner also applied for conjugal partner, were been partners for 10 years and we never live together,i only visit him at his flat when he still in Brunei, we are also still legally married to our ex spouses because there is no divorce in phils, and the problem we have right now is the singapore office asking us for a divorce papers,and we send letter explaining that we cannot provide that docs. and now we re hoping for a positive outcome. hope this will help.......

 

[ariell]

No, mirkopal, I told you many times, it does not matter that you left the country. As a PR you are entitled to live up to 3 years OUTSIDE of the country in any 5 year period. So the fact that you left for a few months really does not matter. You do not need to inform anyone when you leave so there is no problem. Many people land in Canada as a PR and then leave immediately after. No one is going to care that you lived in Paris for a few months. It's a non-issue so just forget it.


As for finances, it's fine to be a student when you sponsor. I was (and still am) a student when I sponsored my husband. I included proof of my scholarship which covered my tuition and living expenses and other financial resources, and what I could expect to make when I graduate, so you might want to consider doing the same thing. It doesn't matter if once your partner arrives he is the main person making money. You mentioned that your partner worked for Air France. Could he still work for them if he comes to Canada? You may want to look into that. Not that he has to have a job when he comes here of course. They won't care or expect him to do that. I was just thinking for him/you it might be a good thing to check out.


And not that you asked it here but I think you asked it in another thread and I don't feel like going to check......I really really think you are better off applying as common-law. If you've already met (or will soon meet) the 12 month cohabitation requirement to apply as common-law, why would you even consider applying as conjugal??????? I really don't see that you have an immigration barrier that would preclude you from living together for 12 months so I really don't see why you would apply as conjugal. Conjugal is intended for people who CANNOT meet the requirement to live together for 12 months. But you CAN.So yes, I absolutely think you should apply as common-law, not conjugal.