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Common law eligibility

berbu

Star Member
Mar 17, 2012
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Category........
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Singapore
Job Offer........
Pre-Assessed..
App. Filed.......
01-11-2012
AOR Received.
13-12-2012
Med's Done....
16-10-12
Hi, this is my first post, although I've been lurking a long time now.

Situation: I would like to sponsor my vietnamese girlfriend. Timeline:
March 2011: first meeting
May 2011: I leave her and Vietnam, I don't see any future for me in Vietnam (I was unaware of spousal sponsorship). Tears, sadness and whatnot exchanged.
August 2011: I come back to VN drunk with love and get a job here (english teaching)
Now: been living together non-stop, barely 24 hours without seeing each other
Future: August 2012: officially (?) common-law union

I had the idea to sponsor her as common-law about 4 months ago, so we started to collect evidence from that point. The biggest proof I have of cohabiting with her is my vietnamese visa stamps. They say I haven't moved out of the country for 7 months now. We moved houses many times, we lived at her parent's house, then at a small house, then moved back to her parent's house, then we are now living in another house. After one year (August 2012), I could start the process. However, I doubt an immigration officier would take that seriously, whaddya think? We do have some travel pictures, some bills (no household items), gmail exchanges, could get a statement from her mom saying we lived at her house for some time...

So I could get married here in VN to make it easier, and the question is: is the marriage carrying over in Canada if she's accepted as a permanent resident?

Big thanks for reading and answering

UPDATE:
forgot to specify, we do share a joint bank account although it is seldom used. I also wholly support my gf financially, but how can I prove that?
 

canadianwoman

VIP Member
Nov 6, 2009
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Accra, Ghana
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30-01-2008
Interview........
05-05-2009
You need proof you lived together for one year for common-law. Get affidavits (or letters, but affidavits are better evidence) from every place you lived with her to prove the year. The joint bank account is good, even if not used much. Since you don't have 'official' evidence of living together (i.e., a lease), I'd wait until a year from getting the joint bank account before applying.

Getting married in Vietnam would make things easier. When she gets to Canada the marriage is still valid.
To prove financial support, keep receipts for anything you buy for your home - which may be difficult in Vietnam, depending. Also, you and she both stating you two are living off of your salary may be acceptable to the visa officer - after all, if she doesn't have a job and is living with you, the situation makes it look obvious you must be supporting her.
 

berbu

Star Member
Mar 17, 2012
68
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Singapore
Job Offer........
Pre-Assessed..
App. Filed.......
01-11-2012
AOR Received.
13-12-2012
Med's Done....
16-10-12
That answers my question, thank you. We dug a little bit more and found out we could use our cellphone logs. I think getting married would simplify things a lot, although for personal reasons a ceremony won't occur.

I still have this question: does the wedding "carries over"? Specifically, I do not believe in marriage and I do not wish the vietnamese paper wedding to be transferred to Canada. Put more simply, what is my conjugal status in Canada after I bring my spouse?
 

CharlieD10

VIP Member
Sep 5, 2010
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Northern Ontario
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KGN
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09-05-2011
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17-01-2011, 08-03-2012
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Waived
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30-3-2012
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13-04-2012
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06-06-2012
A marriage valid in the country it is performed is valid in Canada. You cannot be married in Viet Nam and single/common-law in Canada. Married is married, so long as it's legal.

There is no point to getting married if you don't want to be married and don't even want that civil status known when you get back to Canada. If you are ready for the responsibilities of being a sponsor, and you qualify as common-law partners, apply as common-law. The point of the distinctions between married, common-law and conjugal is to recognise people's right to choose their civil status, not force them to change it in order to emigrate.
 

canadianwoman

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Nov 6, 2009
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berbu said:
That answers my question, thank you. We dug a little bit more and found out we could use our cellphone logs. I think getting married would simplify things a lot, although for personal reasons a ceremony won't occur.
If you really want to simplify things by getting married, I suggest you have what would be considered a 'typical' Vietnamese wedding, unless your girlfriend also doesn't want such a thing. The visa officers scrutinize non-typical weddings in some countries, and there are plenty of refused cases where one of the reasons was the wedding ceremony did not conform to the culture's standard. Of course you can be accepted without it, but it will be easier if whatever type of wedding you have looks like a special occasion - in particular if it is her first marriage. Both families should be there, if possible; your family not being there can be explained away by the expense, etc.; hers not being there will make getting accepted more difficult.

I don't want to imply that a civil ceremony is not enough. It is, but it can lead to problems if the visa officer thinks it looks as if it is not important to you. So if you do only a civil ceremony, you should still try to make it look special: wear your best clothes, have rings, have some family and friends there, have some kind of celebration afterwards, even if it is just dinner at a good restaurant with her family.
I still have this question: does the wedding "carries over"? Specifically, I do not believe in marriage and I do not wish the vietnamese paper wedding to be transferred to Canada. Put more simply, what is my conjugal status in Canada after I bring my spouse?
A marriage in another country is valid in Canada if it is legal in the country where it was performed and also would have been legal in Canada. So basically, if you marry her there, you'll be considered married in Canada. If you sponsor her as your wife, the government will know and you'll be considered married in Canada.
 

berbu

Star Member
Mar 17, 2012
68
0
Category........
Visa Office......
Singapore
Job Offer........
Pre-Assessed..
App. Filed.......
01-11-2012
AOR Received.
13-12-2012
Med's Done....
16-10-12
Thank you guys, very helpful. Now something else, if me and my gf were to visit Canada for a few months soon, is that period still legally eligible for the first year of the common-law relationship?
 

canadianwoman

VIP Member
Nov 6, 2009
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Yes, travelling together can count as part of the one year.
 

Cowgirlyyc

Newbie
Mar 30, 2013
2
0
Hello everyone,
I wanted ask same question too but in our case, although we had a lease on both of our names for a condo in Canada for a year, my non-Canadian partner has spent 5 out of 12 months in US during this last year ( left and came back every 5 weeks due to an offshore job). Does the lease do the thing or we have to count each day we exactly lived together? He paid the rent during the year and had no other home ( stayed in hotels abroad mostly and that was paid by his company)
 

canadianwoman

VIP Member
Nov 6, 2009
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284
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Accra, Ghana
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Pre-Assessed..
App. Filed.......
30-01-2008
Interview........
05-05-2009
I don't think that will be good enough. It is great you have a lease, but five months out of the 12 being apart seems to be too much.
 

Rob_TO

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Nov 7, 2012
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Cowgirlyyc said:
Hello everyone,
I wanted ask same question too but in our case, although we had a lease on both of our names for a condo in Canada for a year, my non-Canadian partner has spent 5 out of 12 months in US during this last year ( left and came back every 5 weeks due to an offshore job). Does the lease do the thing or we have to count each day we exactly lived together? He paid the rent during the year and had no other home ( stayed in hotels abroad mostly and that was paid by his company)
CIC stresses continuous cohabitation. http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/resources/manuals/op/op02-eng.pdf
5.35. What is cohabitation?
“Cohabitation” means “living together.” Two people who are cohabiting have combined their affairs and set up their household together in one dwelling. To be considered common-law partners, they must have cohabited for at least one year. This is the standard definition used across the federal government. It means continuous cohabitation for one year, not intermittent cohabitation adding up to one year. The continuous nature of the cohabitation is a universal understanding based on case law.
While cohabitation means living together continuously, from time to time, one or the other partner may have left the home for work or business travel, family obligations, and so on. The separation must be temporary and short.


So technically the occasional separation for work is acceptable, however this is put there to cover short and temporary absences. Its a bit open to interpretation, but IMO not living together for practically half of the qualifying time, would be way way too much to be considered acceptable.