Common-law sponsorship ANYONE?

[lizet]

Hey!
Me and my partner, that I have lived with for a little more than a year, want to apply for the common-law sponsorship. I would like to talk to some people with experience from this. I wonder how "straight forward" these applications has to be.. Right now we live in an apartment together but that is about the only "evidence" of our relationship..

 

[iarblue]

You dont have pictures?They are your best evidence,appartment lease,old and new to show that you have been together for over a year.Joint bank accounts.Joint visa cards,etc.

 

[canadianwoman]

You need proof that you have lived together at least a year in a romantic relationship - that is, evidence that you are not just roommates. If both names are on the lease and utility bills, great. Submit those. Letters and the envelopes to show the date sent addressed to both of you at the same address; if you're not on the lease, an affidavit from the landlord stating he/she knows you are living there with your partner; affidavits, letters, and/or emails from friends and relatives stating that they know the two of you are a couple and have been living together for a year; photos of the two of you, alone and with relatives and friends; evidence that you are involved in both families - eg., you both went to granny's birthday party, both attended celebrations of important events in both families; receipts for gifts you gave each other, and photos of the gifts; copies of birthday, anniversary, and Valentine Day's cards given to each other; evidence of trips taken together; if you belong to any clubs together, show the membership list; the visa officer expects to see an intermingling of your finances, so joint bank accounts, a shared credit card, each listed as a beneficiary on life insurance, each added to the other's medical insurance, proof you jointly pay bills; evidence you both pay for major purchases for the house.

You need more proof than a married couple, and certainly more than just evidence you live together.

 

[lizet]

Thanks for the answers!

We have been living together for a year but we moved in to our own apartment in February.. I guess it would be to hard to prove that we lived at his parents house before that. Since we're just in our early twenties, we don't have a lot of proof. We can prove a trip that we made to Sweden and my family. Letters from both out parents saying that we are in a relationship. A joint visa card. And the lease with our both names on it. Is that really enough? Do I have an other option then common-law?

 

[Swede]

Thanks for the answers!

We have been living together for a year but we moved in to our own apartment in February.. I guess it would be to hard to prove that we lived at his parents house before that. Since we're just in our early twenties, we don't have a lot of proof. We can prove a trip that we made to Sweden and my family. Letters from both out parents saying that we are in a relationship. A joint visa card. And the lease with our both names on it. Is that really enough? Do I have an other option then common-law?

It's always up to the case processing officer to decide whether you have enough proof or not, but I'm sure people have passed the process with less proof than what you have. In any case, try to prove your relationship by providing photos of events you've attended together and mail addressed to you while you were living in his parents' house. Any and all proof is valuable!

Whether you have another option depends on where you live and if you qualify for work immigration. Also, the "last resort" is to get married. After all, sponsoring a common-law spouse is a bigger undertaking than marriage as it is.

Om du har specifika frågor om att ansöka om uppehållstillstånd som svensk medborgare så är det bara att fråga. Lycka till!

 

[canadianwoman]

Thanks for the answers!

We have been living together for a year but we moved in to our own apartment in February.. I guess it would be to hard to prove that we lived at his parents house before that.

Get an affidavit from his parents stating the two of you were living in their house in the same room as a couple. This also shows his parents accept you and the relationship.

 

[lizet]

Ok, we got married! Hopefully that will help too. One thing is sure though, it seem to be less complicated to apply!

 

[matthewc]

Haha. Congratulations. Note, however, that getting married only takes away the need to prove you lived together continuously for a year. You still need plenty of proof that your relationship is genuine and continuing.

See the lists in OP2 sections 5.25 and 5.26. Also (while it is specifically about common-law appliants), anything from 5.35 you include strengthens the case.

http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/resources/manuals/op/op02-eng.pdf

 

[buddhadimple]

We're applying as Common-Law.


We had in our evidence:

-Payslips from the same work place saying we met in Canada
-E-mails discussing moving in together as roommates
-Copies of cashed cheques with memos saying "-my name- and -his name-'s rent for -month-" in Canada for 5 months (the tenancy was only in my name and was informal so there wasn't any real "tenancy agreement")
-Receipts from trips taken together (this is when we became romantic)
-Photos of holidays together
-Photos at family get togethers and weddings
-A copy of the Visa he had in Canada
-A copy of his plane ticket back to the UK before his Visa expired in Canada
-E-mails and Facebook messages to each other discussing our relationship and how we want to continue it
-E-mails discussing finances and shared finances
-A picture, receipt, and note that came with a bouquet he had sent to me on Valentines Day when we were apart
-Proof of him returning to Canada to visit me over Christmas with my family and a private holiday over New Years
-Proof he returned to the UK after his visit (copy of plane ticket home)
-E-mails discussing me coming to the UK to live with him
-A copy of my Visa for the UK
-A copy of my plane ticket to the UK
-Joint tenancy for 18 months in the UK (to present).
-Joint bank account in the UK
-Statutory Declarations from my mom and his mum
-Letters/E-mails from friends who know us as a couple and vouch for our 'genuineness'
-Printouts of our e-mail and Facebook Message Inboxes sorted by our names to show that we e-mail each other on a daily basis (we even e-mail each other from work even though we live together)
-Mobile Phone records showing daily contact
-Statutory Declaration of Common-Law Union sworn in front of a panel of three Justices of the Peace.


Most of this is put in a "Timeline" from the time we met until present.


Hopefully that'll be enough for our Common-Law Application!! Here's hoping.

 

[lizet]

Thanks matthewc, the link really had a lot of information!

It seems like you have plenty of evidence, it should be a problem. I'm just worried since me and my husband met just over a year ago. The last thing I want them to think is that we married "because we had to", that's not the case. We want to live together and what proves it more then getting married??

 

[angelbrat]

I applied Inland through the common law family sponsorship route.

My partner and I had been living together for 2 years, all we sent in was a joint bank account letter and life insurance showing each other as beneficiaries.

I was approved and got my COPR paper in less than 8 months.