Common Law Financial Responsibility and Being a Student

[buddhadimple]

Hello everyone,

I'm new to this forum because we're looking to get a Common Law Visa. I'm Canadian and living with my partner in the UK (he is English).

There's a couple of concerns I have with this Visa.

First, there is the 10 year sponsorship (financial) commitment. The commitment itself isn't what's troubling, it is the financial responsibility and how they look at the sponsor's income requirements. In Canada, I earned 33k in 2008 but since moving to the UK I have not made nearly as much due to being underemployed, yadda yadda yadda. So are they likely to invest in the fact that, should you move back to Canada with your partner, you will be financially secure enough?

Also, my partner is currently an Engineering student in the UK. I'd like to go back to University myself but I can't afford to pay the international student fees to study in the UK. If we move back to Canada with this Visa, my partner would be a permanent resident and we could both go to University and pay domestic tuition fees; however, I (and probably both of us) would need a Student Loan. Is this considered "government assistance"? I'm wondering if we should leave our intentions to go back to school out of our application. Because he's currently a student, would they assume he intends to go to school in Canada and therefore assess if I can afford to support him as a student? Or is it perfectly reasonable for us both to go to school with Student Loans in Canada providing we're going to be working with well-paying careers by the end?

Thanks everyone - I hope I made enough sense.

 

[Harju]

You do not mention the children. How are they being provided for now? If you are just sponsoring a spouse with no dependents then isn't the obligation 3 years and there is no financial evaluation?

 

[cowtown gal]

I am a (Canadian) student in the UK and don't have a job lined up yet for when I move back. I am also sponsoring my English husband and have had zero problems being approved for sponsorship. From submission to visa in passport it took us just under 3 months to complete the process. Pretty sure student loans aren't considered assistance (ie. it's not welfare). I'm sure someone will be along shortly to clarify.

Also pretty sure that spousal sponsorship commitment is 3 years and even with dependant children (just yours) pretty sure you don't have the financial evaluation. Assuming your not a citizen by descent, children would be Canadian citizens anyway (I know you didn't ask about that - just clarifying the previous post).

good luck!!

 

[buddhadimple]

Yes, sorry, I was mixed up. We have no children or any dependants so it is a 3-year commitment. The Application to Sponsor (the first form) has a declaration though. It says things like, "I promise to provide food, clothing, etc etc, and will pay back any assistance given to my sponsored person," so it seems like they are going to check the income requirements?

We're not married; it's common-law. Does that make a difference?

The main thing I'm worried about is if they look at us and see that we're not married, would both like to be students, and don't have a huge income, and come to the conclusion that we're not stable enough.

cowtowngal, I was just reading your blog. That's amazing! Any top tips to get such a speedy application processing time? I've got a blog that hasn't been updated in god-knows-how-long but I'll follow you anyway (hehe).

 

[cowtown gal]

The financial forms can be a bit intimidating! I think they just want to know that you're not going to bring someone to Canada and then not take any responsibility. And I think they just want to check what you've been up to, make sure you're not on social assistance and things. I was very worried when we first started our application because although I have a stipend here, I am officially unemployed and won't have a job when I first move back. We emailed an immigration lawyer in Canada who said just to put everything down but not to worry, they don't have a financial requirement for the spousal route. I did include a letter from my parents saying how they'll let us stay with them when we first arrive and things so we had a place to stay.

If you've been living together for more than a year, it shouldn't be a problem as far as being married vs. common law. You just have to provide enough evidence of your relationship. We'd been living together for 4+ years (and married for just over 2) when we applied and had the lease for our flat in both our names and joint bank account statements so we included copies of those. Copies of joint untility/gas/electricty bills, too if you have them.

Not sure if we have any tips - lol!! We did expect to be blogging about the process for a lot longer!! I think it helped that Mr. Cowtown had never lived anywhere else than the UK and apparently had no health issues. One thing that I think helped (and another tip from the lawyer we emailed) is that in the photos that we included we sent as many as we could with other people - friends/family - in them. This goes some way toward showing that your relationship is not only genuine but that other people know about it. Some of the photos were even from nights out with friends, Christmas parties and things but generally photos that were from the whole time of our relationship and with other people (and parents, obviously!). Also - our supporting statements were kinda lame but just really honest, we talked about our shared interests and hobbies and our approach to the relationship, etc, etc.

If you get round to updating your blog, send the link through - it would be interesting to follow someone elses' experience!! And best of luck!!