common law proof
- Thread starter iamcaregiver
- Start date
Louman64
Hero Member
- Sep 22, 2016
- 104
- Category........
- FAM
- App. Filed.......
- 10-04-2019
- Doc's Request.
- No news yet
we have 2 children...and still got denied as common law...you need to present a lot of proof of your relationship
sad to hear,how long had you been living together for? and were you at least living together 12 months before applying?
??
You got denied because you didn't live together for a year after your previous separation and therefore legally weren't common-law.
This person was not common-law and was correctly refused.
https://www.canadavisa.com/canada-immigration-discussion-board/threads/procedural-fairness-letter.473525/
Louman64
Hero Member
- Sep 22, 2016
- 104
- Category........
- FAM
- App. Filed.......
- 10-04-2019
- Doc's Request.
- No news yet
your are correct....what im just saying is having children alone is not enough proof
In all honesty, probably not even close. None of those are direct proof or even compelling evidence of actual cohabitation.
Life insurance lists partner as sole beneficiary, rent receipts cover over a year of cohabitation at the same address with both our names as tenants, IMM 5409 form was administered by an official notary. What proof could I possibly add to my case?
Life insurance doesn't proof cohabitation, unless you have 12 months worth of account statements with both names and one address.
Do the rent receipts list both names and the address?
The statutory declaration is nice, but not determinative.
What about bills/mail/memberships/ID cards with address/account listings that may be individual but show the same address for both people?
Yes, both of our names are listed as tenants.
From my understanding, it serves to list some of the proofs and also as an official declaration from a third party.
We do have a Brazilian civil union certificate made over three years ago. It does not seem to hold much or any value for this Canadian immigration process. Would having it translated help?
That's a start. It helps prove cohabitation.
It's not a declaration from a third party. It's a declaration from the two of you - the notary does not attest to the truth of what is in the declaration, but simply that they saw you both sign the form. That's all notarization is - a declaration that they witnessed the form being signed. The declaration itself is a statement you and your partner make. It's not determinative.
The declaration also doesn't prove cohabitation, just that the relationship is valid.
Yes, this will help, but it doesn't prove cohabitation.
When you're proving cohabitation as part of a common-law relationship, you need to prove that you lived together at the same address for at least 12 months. Proof of relationship is where the insurance comes in, because it demonstrates a significant degree of attachment between the two. Financial support is something else, as is attestations from friends, family, and photos of the couple.
Cohabitation requires proving that over a period of at least 12 months you cohabitated together at 1 address. It can be multiple addresses if you moved over time, but you need to prove you lived together.
Currently, your only real proof of cohabitation is the rent receipts.
Do you know if getting multiple notarized declarations from friends and family would help? If so, we could prove multiple years of cohabitation for sure!
No, because that doesn't prove you lived at the same address - a declaration from family and friends only appears on the checklist as proof of relationship, not cohabitation.
For clarity, to prove a common-law relationship, you must prove:
1. that you have shared the same home for 12 months
(you need proof like bills, rent receipts, mail, etc. - considerably more than just one source)
2. support each other financially and emotionally
(you need proof of a significant degree of attachment, such as insurance, benefits, finanical support, gifts, letters about the relationship history written by each other, etc.)
3. have children, if applicable
(no explanation needed - this isn't determinative on its own, don't get pregnant just to immigrate)
4. present yourselves in public as a couple
(letters from family, friends, social media posts, marriage announcements, photos of you as a couple)
Declarations from friends and family only support point 4 unless they were your landlord. Even then, you need multiple points of proof for each category.