common law, guidance needed

[Fabiog]

Hi,
I live in Portugal and my gf lives in canada, I want to live in canada for 12 months so I must go for 6 months as tourist and then renew it for another 6 months then I will have to leave canada since my tourist visa will be expired.
I want to ask:
1.Can we live at her parents house for 12 months
2 She already has bills under her name can they change one of the house bills to my name like telefone etc.
3.After 12 months can I leave canada and apply from outbound since I wont be there.
4. Do you think immigration will think its a marriage of convenience since I only stayed there for 12 months for the cohabitation rule.
5. I was there this year for 2 weeks so i assume when I go back to canada I should get a two way ticket for 2 weeks (because telling them im staying for 6 months they might ask how im gonna support myself etc) and then cancel my return flight and just stay until its time to renew my tourist visa in 5 months time.

Thanks for your help.

 

[Rob_TO]

Hi,
I live in Portugal and my gf lives in canada, I want to live in canada for 12 months so I must go for 6 months as tourist and then renew it for another 6 months then I will have to leave canada since my tourist visa will be expired.
I want to ask:
1.Can we live at her parents house for 12 months
2 She already has bills under her name can they change one of the house bills to my name like telefone etc.
3.After 12 months can I leave canada and apply from outbound since I wont be there.
4. Do you think immigration will think its a marriage of convenience since I only stayed there for 12 months for the cohabitation rule.
5. I was there this year for 2 weeks so i assume when I go back to canada I should get a two way ticket for 2 weeks (because telling them im staying for 6 months they might ask how im gonna support myself etc) and then cancel my return flight and just stay until its time to renew my tourist visa in 5 months time.

Thanks for your help.

1 - Yes. Parents should make you an official lease/rental agreement even if you aren't paying rent.
2 - you can ask the companies if they will add you. Some may and some may not.
3 - As long as you get to 365 days you would then be legally common-law and could leave Canada if you needed to. Or you could just apply to extend status again.
4 - Since you won't be married this is kind of irrelevant. Otherwise IRCC will judge your entire relationship proofs so hopefully you have been dating for some time and have met many times in person already.
5 - What length of visitor status you get on initial entry is up to CBSA. You may get 6 months status, or they may give you a much lower amount of time. Same with requesting extension, some people get 12 months extension while others much less.

 

[Fabiog]

1 - Yes. Parents should make you an official lease/rental agreement even if you aren't paying rent.
2 - you can ask the companies if they will add you. Some may and some may not.
3 - As long as you get to 365 days you would then be legally common-law and could leave Canada if you needed to. Or you could just apply to extend status again.
4 - Since you won't be married this is kind of irrelevant. Otherwise IRCC will judge your entire relationship proofs so hopefully you have been dating for some time and have met many times in person already.
5 - What length of visitor status you get on initial entry is up to CBSA. You may get 6 months status, or they may give you a much lower amount of time. Same with requesting extension, some people get 12 months extension while others much less.

Thanks for the good answers, when i visited canada they didnt stamp my passport just printed some form to give to a security guard to let me exit security so i didnt know how long I had right to stay in canada.
what if i just stay for 6 months no matter what they typed on the computer will the alarms go off and they send the police after me if i havent left the country until the date they added on the computer.

 

[Rob_TO]

Thanks for the good answers, when i visited canada they didnt stamp my passport just printed some form to give to a security guard to let me exit security so i didnt know how long I had right to stay in canada.
what if i just stay for 6 months no matter what they typed on the computer will the alarms go off and they send the police after me if i havent left the country until the date they added on the computer.

If there is no stamp on your passport, then it's an automatic 6 months status granted.

If there is a stamp with a specific date on it, or if you're given a "visitor record" documents with a specific date, that is all the time you would be allowed.

You would not be advised to stay beyond what you were granted by CBSA, without going through process to request a visitor status extension first. If you overstay it can create complications later on (will make it look like you're desperate to stay in Canada so PR app will be more heavily scrutinized, will have negative effects on future entries as a visitor, etc).

 

[Fabiog]

Thank you for your help,
How do they know I left the country is it when I boarded the plane? (so I stayed 3 weeks on holiday in May and I want to go back in September for 6 months the calculation is 6months minus 3 weeks = 5 months and one week I have allowed until I have to extend my stay.

So you suggest its best to say im coming for six months and tell the truth? ,im only worried if I have a two way ticket for six months they could ask why I'm staying for six months and how will I support myself, thats why i think since i'm from european visa excempt country I might not get a stamp and therefore I could just say i'm staying for 4 weeks and hopefully they dont stamp me again.

In your opinion if I do make it through 12 months and I leave to go back to Portugal and apply for commonlaw they might ask what were you doing for 12 months without working and your girlfriend supported you financial for 12 months? (I usually overthink stuff so please bear with me lol )

 

[Rob_TO]

Thank you for your help,
How do they know I left the country is it when I boarded the plane? (so I stayed 3 weeks on holiday in May and I want to go back in September for 6 months the calculation is 6months minus 3 weeks = 5 months and one week I have allowed until I have to extend my stay.

CBSA is able to track entries and exits from Canada, using flight manifests is probably one such way. So if you did overstay they may or may not know about it, but I wouldn't chance it regardless.

thats why i think since i'm from european visa excempt country I might not get a stamp and therefore I could just say i'm staying for 4 weeks and hopefully they dont stamp me again.

Yes this sounds like a good approach. These days most visa-exempt travelers get 6 months anyways.

In your opinion if I do make it through 12 months and I leave to go back to Portugal and apply for commonlaw they might ask what were you doing for 12 months without working and your girlfriend supported you financial for 12 months? (I usually overthink stuff so please bear with me lol )

They won't care, the main issue is that you were living together and you had proof/evidence of the cohabitation.

They will also want to know about your relationship before moving in together.

 

[Fabiog]

Do you know if after i get the PR and we decide to no longer be a couple or breakup will I lose the PR?
Do I have to tell government (tax, social security)we are in commonlaw relationship or it doesnt matter since were not married.
3. Do you know if just like spousal the common law she must sign she is responsible for me for years after i get PR?

 

[Rob_TO]

Do you know if after i get the PR and we decide to no longer be a couple or breakup will I lose the PR?
Do I have to tell government (tax, social security)we are in commonlaw relationship or it doesnt matter since were not married.
3. Do you know if just like spousal the common law she must sign she is responsible for me for years after i get PR?

You won't lose PR status in case of separation after you get PR. You though will not be able to sponsor any new spouse for 5 years.

Yes whoever is filing Canadian income tax will need to report change in marital status from single to common-law, after reaching the 12 months of cohabitation.

And yes she will be responsible for you for 3 years after you become a PR, no matter if you relationship later ends or not. This just means if you go on welfare/social assistance, she will need to pay all money back to the government.

 

[Fabiog]

Thanks for your help your the best. (I have clicked on like for all your posts )
My plan now is to prepare to fly to canada and hopefully get 6 months no stamp and then at 5 months i apply for extension for another 6 months to get 12 months and on the 11 month i apply again for extension but this time I say I want to apply for common law which is why i want to extend.
Then stay in canada wait for open work permit (some months) then wait remaining months for PR but ill be working with open work permit while I wait.

I need 2 extensions for this to work.

 

[Fabiog]

what do you think about her living in Portugal for 6 months, and a few days before the 6 months are over we fly to canada and live together on that same day (leave on 25 july and arrive on 25 july in canada to our residence),
Is it even possible 6months Portugal + 6months canada .

 

[ashpash22]

what do you think about her living in Portugal for 6 months, and a few days before the 6 months are over we fly to canada and live together on that same day (leave on 25 july and arrive on 25 july in canada to our residence),
Is it even possible 6months Portugal + 6months canada .

Yes, that's perfectly fine. Just make sure you get good evidence of you living together in Portugal as well.

 

[Fabiog]

I am poor and since i cant work on visitor visa during first 6 months and when i try to extend my visitor visa if they ask for financial funds can I borrow money from her parents and deposit in my bannk account and just say it was cash i had at home or maybe get her parents to sign a form they support me financially?

 

[ashpash22]

I am poor and since i cant work on visitor visa during first 6 months and when i try to extend my visitor visa if they ask for financial funds can I borrow money from her parents and deposit in my bannk account and just say it was cash i had at home or maybe get her parents to sign a form they support me financially?

Don’t lie about where you got money from, it’s fine to say her parents are supporting you.