Common Law/Sponsorship confusions

[arvindfm]

My wife and I have been living together since August 2021 in an apartment - We were best friends sharing an apartment back then until Nov 2022 when we became a couple.
She is a permanent resident from January 2023; ITA by August and fully submitted by October 2022.
We got married on May 2023 in Toronto when her parents visited us.

Now she is sponsoring me under spousal sponsorship for PR and our address history is the same for the past 3 years - we are worried after trying to look up data on the Internet that there might be flags from immigration mentioning that this might come up like she did not disclose "Common Law Relationship" when she did her PR.

Please note we were not even dating back then when she filed her PR but have been best friends for almost two years.
We shared no documents/payments together - even our lease is under her name, whereas I am an occupant.
Both of us are in Canada since 2019.


I would really appreciate any help on this and how to go about this.
Will a relationship explanation document work or do we have to take different actions?

 

[armoured]

My wife and I have been living together since August 2021 in an apartment - We were best friends sharing an apartment back then until Nov 2022 when we became a couple.
She is a permanent resident from January 2023; ITA by August and fully submitted by October 2022.
We got married on May 2023 in Toronto when her parents visited us.

Now she is sponsoring me under spousal sponsorship for PR and our address history is the same for the past 3 years - we are worried after trying to look up data on the Internet that there might be flags from immigration mentioning that this might come up like she did not disclose "Common Law Relationship" when she did her PR.

Please note we were not even dating back then when she filed her PR but have been best friends for almost two years.
We shared no documents/payments together - even our lease is under her name, whereas I am an occupant.
Both of us are in Canada since 2019.

I would really appreciate any help on this and how to go about this.
Will a relationship explanation document work or do we have to take different actions?

Yes, there is a risk that it will appear to be a common law relationship that was not declared when your (now) spouse became a PR in Jan 2023. If IRCC decides that this was the case (i.e. that you cohabited as a couple and hence became common law in August 22), she cannot sponsor you - ever.

I do not know of a good solution for you. You should, obviously, tell the truth, but I would suggest starting by collecting all information that could possibly support the factual parts of your case: that you were NOT a couple before Nov 22, and were one after that - go for as much factual contemporary evidence (things from the time) as you can. Things from now - like letters from friends / family attesting that you began a relationship well after living together - think about what you could get, possibly start to collect.

Then you'll have to assess what you have and consider how to proceed. Things like not sharing expenses before don't help if you can't show you did afterwards, for example. You may wish to consult an immigration lawyer, but with an idea of what evidence you have. This doesn't mean you have to use a lawyer for the whole process (expensive), but you should expect to pay for a proper consultation about how to proceed and for an independent assessment of the situation.

Side note: if you can qualify for immigration on your own, you are in a much better situation, and you might consider applying for both, even at the same time.

 

[Ponga]

I suspect that the PR status of the OP's sponsor may be jeopardized since she landed as a single person, when she may have been deemed to be common-law when she landed.

This seems to `muddy the waters', IMHO, since IRCC could `connect the dots' that she misrepresented herself regarding her own PR.

 

[armoured]

I suspect that the PR status of the OP's sponsor may be jeopardized since she landed as a single person, when she may have been deemed to be common-law when she landed.

This seems to `muddy the waters', IMHO, since IRCC could `connect the dots' that she misrepresented herself regarding her own PR.

Hypothetically possible, I suppose. But I've not seen such cases. They seem to limit the 'punishment' to lifetime ban on sponsoring their spouse.