Common law or Conjugal? Pls help!

[lizzie]

Hello, I am a Canadian citizen and I just moved back to Canada from Greece where I had been staying for almost all my life. I have been with my girlfriend for 1year and 5 months. We lived together for almost a year in Greece but there are no paper work that state that. No bills under my name or letters or anything just hers. Her landlord, however, knew that I was living there. Thing is that what do I apply for? I read somewhere that I have to show my networth. Well.. I just moved here. What is a sufficient fund for them? Secondly, when she comes, how soon can she start working/studying? Is there a way I can invite her to come here without sponsering her? How far in advance are we supposed to do all this paper work? She was thinking of coming end of September to see me. Should she send in the paper work in Greece or when she comes here? Or does she have to give her paperwork to me to write? Next, I saw in a form something about mentioning the family members that know about this relationship.. Well, because we are a same sex couple and we have really relegious parents no family members know anything. Only close friends...

I'm sinking here.. I hope i get some advice! Thank you guys so much for your time..

 

[truesmile]

If it is even possible that you "could have" been married when/where you were living together, then don't even TRY a conjugal application - hard to prove and very LOW success rate. Find a way to prove 'common-law'. I'm sure others will comment also.

 

[lizzie]

Now, how could we have been married when Greece does not allow same sex marriages?

 

[truesmile]

That's a VERY GOOD start . . . (why I worded my response just so). Although I see now Rob_TO has added a good point simultaneously to mine.

 

[Rob_TO]

Now, how could we have been married when Greece does not allow same sex marriages?

You could get married in a country that allows gay marriage (like Canada). Or you could have lived together 1 year. There is no legal barrier stopping you from getting married/common-law (Greece is visa-exempt to Canada)... so there is absolutely zero chance you would apply as conjugal. You need to get married or become common-law before even thinking about applying for PR.

 

[Catou]

You could get married in a country that allows gay marriage (like Canada). Or you could have lived together 1 year. There is no legal barrier stopping you from getting married/common-law (Greece is visa-exempt to Canada)... so there is absolutely zero chance you would apply as conjugal. You need to get married or become common-law before even thinking about applying for PR.

This is right. You need to live together as a couple in an exclusive, committed relationship for at least a year and have plenty of evidence to prove your relationship. Then you can think about sponsoring her. It's not a quick process though and depending on processing times at the time you submit your application it could be a year or more before you get a decision.

If you want her to be in Canada with you this year she probably needs to look at what other options (work permit, for example?) may be open to her.

 

[lizzie]

So basically you're saying that I could get married here in Canada once she comes here from Greece...?

 

[lizzie]

Thank you Rob_TO and Catou! I get that we can't go for CL but conjugal? That's a no no too? Is the work permit process easier?

 

[Sweden]

Indeed - Rob_To is right.

TO answer your other questions: if she is from Greece, she is visa-exempt, She can come as a visitor for 6 months and extend her stay. If you want, you can get married in Canada when she is here, and apply for PR. If you don't want to get married, she can live with you for 12 months, and then you can apply. Conjugal will not work, as you can get married in lots of different places (around Europe, in Canada etc.). Note that if she comes as a visitor, she can not work, so she can either come with money on her own, or you will have to find a way to support her.

If you can get a letter from the landlord stating that he knew that you lived there from that date to that date, and it's at least 12 months, you might be able to apply as common law already. You will have to prove (with letters from friends, and other proofs) that you were not just flatmates, but actually a couple, but it's not unfeasible... you would have to apply soon though, because for now, you qualify as commonlaw,(12 months living together), and it can be considered as "temporary" that you're away from each other.

You don't need to prove a certain level of income, but you need to prove that you have the means to support yourself and your family when her PR is granted. So - if you're staying somewhere for free, state that and get the proofs. If you have a job now, then get a letter from your employer.

When she becomes a PR, she can work, study right away. If she comes as a visitor, she can not do any of that.

Sponsorship can take a while. First stage is 1 month for now, and second stage for Greek residents is done in Rome, which is stated 14 months, but a lot of people are done much faster than that. However, nobody can tell you exactly how long it will take.

Read the first thread ( only the first page) from leon about spousal sponsorship, it will give you an overview. Then download the application package from CIC, get familiar with the paperwork and what needs to be done, and start working on it.

If your family doesn't know about your relationship, it's OK if you explain why, and you can have other proofs that you are a couple.
Good luck,
Sweden

 

[Sweden]

Thank you Rob_TO and Catou! I get that we can't go for CL but conjugal? That's a no no too? Is the work permit process easier?

no - you can't go for conjugal : conjugal is for people that can NOT live together, and can not get married. Anywhere. In your case, you can live together ( you just did, in Greece, and she could come to Canada, as she is visa-exempt, see my previous post), and you could also get married. So either you apply as Common Law because you can prove that you have been living together as a couple for at least 12 months, or you get married (in Canada, or anywhere else that allows same sex marriage), and you apply as married.

Work permit process is another thing, she has to have competencies to qualify. Have a look at CIC website, based on her profession.
Sweden

 

[Catou]

So basically you're saying that I could get married here in Canada once she comes here from Greece...?

You could but it might not help you much. Without evidence to prove you have been living together in Greece it would be really hard for you to prove that the relationship is genuine and that marriage wasn't undertaken just for immigration. Without that evidence its very likely that an application for PR would be refused.

If you can get statutory declarations from the landlord and anyone else who knows you were living together as a couple (and especially from people who can give dates), and gather as much proof of your relationship as possible, you might find that you can get enough evidence together to go for PR now.

Good luck!

 

[Sweden]

Think about other proofs too: pictures, trips together, letters, mails, chat etc. Just start putting it together, and it will become easier.
Good luck,
Sweden

 

[lizzie]

Thank you all for helping me understand how it works.
I do have proof, pictures from going to vacation together, e-mails, talking on skype. How do I collect all that? Should I copy paste the emails and our conversations from other social media in a Word doc for example? And for our pictures, should I print them?

Catou, the landlord did not know we were a couple. My girlfriend had just informed her that I would be staying with her and we lived together for 10 months. When you say people that knew my girlfriend and I lived togther would our friends count? As we had people over. When it comes to our emails the letters are what we call "Greeklish" because we use the English alphabet but in a Greek matter. Like "ti kaneis"? is "How are you" ? Will we need to translate that somehow? I have no problem in marrying her. It's what I've wanted since the first day but the paper work seems endless hahaha..

Thank you SWEDEN! Thank you all for the help!!!!

 

[Sweden]

If you lived only 10 months together, then you don't qualify as common-law. you have to be able to prove 12 months of living together as a couple. If you don't have that, then marry her first, then apply as married. The paperwork to get married in Canada is not that difficult. Look up on the internet how to get married in your province. She can marry you when on a visitor visa, then either stay (make sure she extends her visitor visa before it expires), or go back to Greece and wait.

For proofs: start collecting what you have, and yes, you can copy and paste into a word document. Choose quality over quantity. If you talked every day, show the chat log that shows that it happens daily, and choose the conversations that are more significant. etc. Download the regional guide for your country ( well, Rome in your case), and have a look at that. you can print pictures.

ANything that is not in english will have to be translated. If it's a few words of greeklish here and there, that's OK. If the whole conversation is in greek, then you need to translate them (if it's an official document, like police record etc. then it needs an official translation, if it's your own proof you can translate and sign next to it).
Sweden

 

[Rob_TO]

If you lived only 10 months together, then you don't qualify as common-law.

Just to add to this... your previous 10 months living together can also no longer be used towards getting common-law status. Once you moved back to Canada, the cohabitation was broken so if you ever wanted to apply as common-law the counter is reset and you would need to live together for a new 12 months.

HOWEVER your 10 months of living together is still good proof of the relationship in general. So if you get married and then apply for PR (which seems like your best and quickest option), you should still get letters from friends and old landlord, mail to same address etc... showing you were in fact living together while in Greece.