common law spouse sponsorship - question about a timeframe

[Lady_Ashka]

Could anyone confirm or deny that when a couple wants to apply for CL sponsorship for PR and they live together (for the required one year) they cannot be separated in that year for more than 90 days? As in, if he or I go to different places without each other, each day we are separated counts? and if so, do the days we are on holiday together count as well?

thanks!

 

[bigredmoose]

Could anyone confirm or deny that when a couple wants to apply for CL sponsorship for PR and they live together (for the required one year) they cannot be separated in that year for more than 90 days? As in, if he or I go to different places without each other, each day we are separated counts? and if so, do the days we are on holiday together count as well?

thanks!

I'll deny that one. You must co-habitate for one continuous year. The CIC does not give an amount of time that you can be apart. Having said that, I can't imagine a couple of days here and there would make a difference, but I would certainly expect trouble if one of the parties was away for 90 days. Yes, time spent away from home but together is fine.

 

[Rob_TO]

Any break during the 1 year where sponsor and applicant are not living together for even 3-4 weeks in length, and the VO could reject the common-law app. I would always try to keep breaks as short as possible.

As mentioned time spent on vacation or traveling TOGETHER (and having proof of it) fully counts towards the cohabitation. It's just time apart you need to worry about.

 

[Lady_Ashka]

Ok thanks guys!

We were never separated for long, once for 2 weeks, once for a week and then another week later, but unfortunately I had to go back to Poland for 3 weeks before he joined me... all together, it's only been 58 days away from each other throughout the year, but not consecutively, so should I expect problems? If the 3 week trip that I had to take (he later joined me for our holiday) can be a potential problem, than if we wait to submit the PR application for a month or two (and staying together), to extend the time we lived together (minus those days we spent apart), would that help? Or is the risk they will reject the application too high/not high?

 

[bigredmoose]

I would expect problems being apart so often and for so long. However, my crystal ball is broken so there's no way for me to tell you how it would go one way or the other. You could send it now and be ok or you could wait to recover the 3 weeks and be rejected anyway.

 

[bigredmoose]

I would in any case include a note giving a solid explanation for each time that you were apart

 

[Lady_Ashka]

Ok, thanks for your reply...

so just to clarify then - CIC does not give a number of days they allow to be apart because the assume we have to live together all the time,without any breaks? I am trying to understand whether in their understanding if I left to see my family in Poland, or to pass my PhD exams, is that considered to them as a break in cohabitation, seen as how our lease is for both of us for the whole year, and I did not break the cohabitation in a formal sense, but left the country. and how is that indicated in the application, that I/him left on trips separately? or does CIC check travel documentation?

and if we do wait with the application, than how long would you suggest we should wait? a whole year? just a month or two to make up for the "lost time"? I know you can;t tell me for sure, naturally, but I'd rather ask now for opinions than later regret I didn't ask (for example, on a different forum someone told me that the separation is max 90 days cumulatively, but that it won't be a problem, especially if we will be applying outland) :/

we were apart only for good reasons: 1st time I had to go back and wait for my application for my WP to be processed, took 14 days, then I came back to pass my PhD exams here, and then my partner went for a research trip, and will be going for another one (we are both academics).. I found this on immigration.ca "CIC's interpretation of “cohabitation” is of two people who have combined their affaires together and live in one dwelling. The interpretation allows for short periods of separation caused by work, business travel or other obligations however these periods must be temporary and short. Various periods of cohabitation separated by periods apart cannot be combined to meet the 2 year requirement." - it was about the 2 years requirement, but I assume the 1 year applies as well - so why aren't these timelines specific? what does it mean, short periods of separation caused by work/business travel... and if the 1 year is not accumulative, does that mean that we should refrain from applying until one year after the last separation (even if it's a week only?) and if the 1 year is not cumulative, is the separation time cumulative then? I just talked to someone who just received her PR, and she was separated from her partner many times for one-two week intervals throughout the year, and she tells me they do not combine.. can anyone confirm that? or is this all uncertain?

oh and one more thing: in those documents we give the dates we lived together (from 4.09.2014 to xx.xx. 2015) we include the day I moved in, because there is nowhere to indicate the days we were apart?

 

[bigredmoose]

I've never seen anything from CIC that says a couple can be apart for any length of time.

At the very least I would wait long enough so that the 3 week break is not included. If you want as close to a guarantee as possible, then wait a year from your last time apart.

 

[Rob_TO]

There is no specific number of days indicated anywhere. Manuals just use the phrase "temporary and short" or something like that to address breaks in cohabitation. So basically it's entirely up to the discretion of the visa officer who happens to be reviewing your file. As such nobody can tell you here with any certainty if you'll be safe or not.

3 weeks break is what most people throw out, because I think there was a case a while back where a common-law app was rejected based on a few breaks during the 12 months of 3-week times apart. However that does not mean a visa officer will reject every case like this as some people have had longer breaks and still been approved.

 

[Lady_Ashka]

Ok, thanks guys, so I think we'll wait a year from that 3 week break, which was this April, so instead of applying in September, as planned, I guess we will have to postpone until May 2016. Thanks for all your help!

 

[canadianwoman]

and if we do wait with the application, than how long would you suggest we should wait? a whole year? just a month or two to make up for the "lost time"?

I can tell you definitely that staying together for a month or two to make up for the lost time will not work. Either CIC accepts that you cohabited for one year, with a few short breaks; or they will think the three-week break ended your cohabitation. If it is the latter, you will have to start again from when you resumed living together after the three-week break.
[quote author=LA]
oh and one more thing: in those documents we give the dates we lived together (from 4.09.2014 to xx.xx. 2015) we include the day I moved in, because there is nowhere to indicate the days we were apart?
[/quote]
Yes, include the whole year you were together. Don't break it up to show the one week apart, the two weeks apart, etc.

A three-week break when you were both still at the same residence might be OK. As people noted above, it is up to the individual visa officer.

 

[Lady_Ashka]

Thanks for all your answers, we decided that we will wait with the application until a year passed from after I came back from my 3 week trip away. It was, actually, complicated.
I went for three weeks, April 7th to April 28th to my home country, to pass my PhD exams (my supervisor was making it very difficult for me and I had to allow for her changing the dates). Then my partner arrived to start our holiday, so we were, technically, away from Canada for another 2 weeks, but we were together from april 28th until our return together, may 11th. So can we start the cohabitation from april 28th, or should it me may 11th? and then I went for 2 days for a conference, may 14th to may 15th, and he went for a week for a conference, may 23rd to may 30th, and then I had to go back to defend my PhD, June 2rd to June 7th - are these trips going to be any kind of a problem as well?

I assume a few days away is fine, but just to make sure, when do you think we should start counting our cohabitation? and is there anywhere on the application that we can explain we have actually cohabited from september 2014 (submitting the application in, say, may 2016) without someone having a problem with the 3 week break in april? should we explain somehow that the required year of cohabitation we counted from the end of april, but we actually live together from september 2014?

 

[canadianwoman]

You could start the cohabitation from April 28th, but you would need proof you were traveling and staying together. It is only two weeks later, so I would just start it from May 11, when you return to Canada.

The short breaks you mention after that will not be a problem. Basically, if you are only away for a week or less, once in a while, this will not be a problem. Two weeks would be OK too.

On the forms, state you have been living together since September 2014. If the visa officer wants to know why you didn't apply after 12 months together, you can state it is because you were afraid the 3-week break would mean the visa officer would not accept that you had been living together for 12 continuous months. Since your official cohabitation will be 12 months after this break, it should not be a problem.

 

[Lady_Ashka]

This all sounds great, I am so happy I asked you guys instead of just going ahead and applying in September Indeed, two weeks are a small difference, I was just worried that there would be some kind of a problem with the fact that we traveled immediately after the official cohabitation started, but you are right, rationally thinking there shouldn't be any problem with that. Is there anywhere on the form a place that specifically asks for time of cohabitation in contrast to the time we started living together? I couldn't find anything like that, just since when we lived together in a common-law relationship, but it is a bit confusing. So if the form would be perfect, it would allow me to say:

1. lived together since: September 2014-May 2016 (although we won;t stop living together, so is this 'end date' understood to be just the moment of applying, or should we put 'ongoing' or something like that instead of the date?)
2. Common law started: September 2015
3. Common law cohabitation: April 2015 - april 2016...

Is there a way to convey all that on the form? and should we explain that we didn't apply immediately because we were afraid the 3 week break would jeopardize the application, or wait until we are asked to do it?

thanks again!

 

[canadianwoman]

There are several questions where you could explain all this. There is also a question that asks you to write a letter explaining anything else you think the visa officer should know. You could explain your timeline there.
Explaining that you were apart for three weeks, but not 'separated' would be fine. (You could also not mention that period specifically, and if the visa officer has questions, you can explain then. I think explaining in the application might be better - if they have questions, they might ask for an interview.)
I would put your common-law period started in September 2015. (You can put the 'end' date as the date you fill in the forms, or hand write 'present'.) You don't have to apply right after living together for 12 months, after all. You can say you waited until 12 months after you had been apart for 3 weeks because you were afraid the visa officer might find that that had broken your 12-month cohabitation requirement.