Common Law Sponsorship

[cjanssen]

My girlfriend (who is a Danish Citizen) and I (Canadian Citizen) have been together for just over two years and have been living under the same roof for almost a year while she was part of the IEC program. We will be applying for a common law relationship at the one year mark but had a few questions about PR sponsorship afterwards.

-How long does it take to be given a common law status after applying?
-Once we become officially a common-law couple, am I immediately allowed to sponsor her for PR?
-I realize the application processing times are lengthy, but is she allowed to apply for an open work permit before she is potentially accepted?

We are currently looking into all our options and have been coming to continuous dead ends. (detailed below)
-The IEC program is just one year and cannot be extended
-Wanted to do Express entry but she will only have 11 months of consecutive work (Even though she will hit more than enough hours)
-Her employer is a start-up that is willing to do a LMIA but the government forces them to jump through hoops and pay the median provincial salary, which cannot happen at such a small company

I appreciate any help, guidance, or any other suggestions on how to seek PR!

 

[surleplateau]

Common-law status is basically "immediate" as soon as you reach 12 continuous months of cohabitation (with only very short periods apart due to short vacation or short business trips). What you do after that 12months+1day, is up to the Canadian/provincial agency that you're dealing with and what kind of proof they need (actually, I think some provinces have a 3-year time span for their provincial-level programs, but for CIC it's 12-continuous months, and for CRA it may be something different).

The burden of proof is on you and your partner to show Proof of Relationship to Sponsor to CIC. It will be a section on the applicant's checklist/guide (your Danish gf's). You do not need a Statutory Declaration of Common-Law Union for the sponsor's checklist (you cannot have a co-sponsor for sponsoring a spouse/partner), but you can submit a Statutory Declaration of Common-Law Union as part of your Proof of Relationship to Sponsor, among other things.

As soon as you hit 12-months-cohabitation, you are common-law partners, so you can apply to sponsor her immediately after that 12 months. If you want to do that ASAP, then you should be gathering that evidence (in my previous link) now. Do NOT skip any of those 12 months. Common-law partners don't have a "marriage certificate," we have to show documentary evidence of our 12 months of being a genuine cohabitating couple.

If she applies Outland, her processing times will probably be much shorter as she is from a Westernized country (I'm guessing). She can apply for a Change of Status to Visitor/Temporary Resident AND Extend her Stay in Canada as I do not believe that IEC is extendable (correct me if I'm wrong). She request 6 months or a whole year even. If they don't grant her as much time as you'd like, you are free to apply for a 2nd extension (I did ).

In her extension request, you both should write (and attach as a PDF) a letter explaining your plans for sponsorship/PR. Read and consider it at your own risk: Hands down the most often asked question from Inland applicants

An Outland application will not grant her the right to work, no Open Work Permit.

It would be on her company to do the LMIA and continue with her work permit through them if she wants to continue to work (and not switch to visitor status).

The issue with an Inland application is that it can take twice as long (2+ years) from start to finish compared to many Outland applications. And if she ever has a family emergency back home and needs to go home for several months, her Inland application will be tossed out because she's no longer Inland.

There's some speculation on the board about the risks of leaving Canada on short vacation trips while on an Inland application.

Check which Visa Office deals with Danish citizens, check the forum thread to see the recent trends on how long those Outland applications are taking for straightforward cases.

Hope I covered the basics.

 

[cjanssen]

Thanks for all the help.

If she applies inland and has to wait 2+ years to get approval will she be able to get an open work permit in those 2 years. If so, is it a separate application process?

I recently read a link stating "Effective December 22, 2014, eligible spouses or common-law partners have the opportunity to work in Canada while they wait for their application for permanent residence to be processed". However I am not sure about the timing/application process to receive that open work permit.

 

[MilesAway]

The pilot program is supposed to get applicants an open work permit 4 months after their application has been received, however we don't know yet if that's 4 months from mailing the application, or 4 months from when CIC acknowledges that the application has been received. Those are two different timelines.

I would recommend applying outland, since the times are faster. Danes are processed through London, although there have been several cases lately where the files have been kept in Canada, either in Mississauga or Ottawa, and they have seen really fast processing.

 

[cjanssen]

By applying outland she wont get an open work permit, correct?

 

[scylla]

By applying outland she wont get an open work permit, correct?

Correct - no open work permit with outland.