Common Law Spouse

[C.M.]

Thanks

 

[zardoz]

Good Morning,
Me and my wife are separated but live in the same house together, we still pay bills together to keep costs down . Question is,
Can i sponsor my common law from the U.S. to live with me in my house in Canada in this situation?

I am confused. Are we talking about 2 separate women here?

 

[Graihn]

No. Common-law requires a "conjugal" relationship. Your separation breaks that.

I think he means that he has a girlfriend living in the US, while still living with his wife in Canada.
If you have not lived together for 12 consecutive months, you won't qualify as common law partners.

 

[Graihn]

I am confused. Are we talking about 2 separate women here?

I think so.

 

[zardoz]

I think he means that he has a girlfriend living in the UK, while still living with his wife in Canada.
If you have not lived together for 12 consecutive months, you won't qualify as common law partners.

Yeah, I revised my response when it dawned on me that might be the case. I agree with your analysis.
Not only that, but CIC might be suspicious that polygamy is afoot. That's naughty... http://yourlaws.ca/criminal-code-canada/293-polygamy

 

[Graihn]

Advise:

Suggestion 1) Get divorced, move in with your US girlfriend for a year (in Canada or in the US depending on what each of your statuses in respective countries are), apply as common-law after having cohabited for a year

Suggestion 2) Get divorced, move in with your girlfriend for 6 months (some say 3 is enough, some say 12 months, but I have seen cases from 4-6 months with strong proof of genuine relationship), get married and then apply for a PR

See how suggestion 1 and 2 both start with "Get a divorce" and move out from your wife's house.

 

[zardoz]

2) Should have included "get married", I suspect...

 

[Graihn]

2) Should have included "get married", I suspect...

I have no idea what you mean... lol

 

[MofC2014]

We are separated but live in the same house, we will be divorced soon but was thinking of bringing my Common Law over before that . I guess i should wait then untill we are divorced. Thanks for the reply

How can you be common law if you are living in canada with your soon to be ex wife and your girlfriend lives in the US?

 

[MofC2014]

To be common law with your girlfriend you need to have lived together for a consecutive period of 12 months without interruptions.

 

[SenoritaBella]

Not sure how much you've thought this through but I seriously doubt your soon to be ex-wife and new girlfriend will want to live in the same house. There will be competition. lol Recipe for disaster.

We are separated but live in the same house, we will be divorced soon but was thinking of bringing my Common Law over before that . I guess i should wait then untill we are divorced. Thanks for the reply

 

[MofC2014]

Not sure how much you've thought this through but I seriously doubt your soon to be ex-wife and new girlfriend will want to live in the same house. There will be competition. lol Recipe for disaster.

LOL clearly in the end it would be a case of the poor guy living in a house with an ex-wife and and ex girlfriend.

 

[Rob_TO]

We are separated but live in the same house, we will be divorced soon but was thinking of bringing my Common Law over before that .

The easy answer is no, you can't. Read here: http://www.cic.gc.ca/ENGLISH/RESOURCES/manuals/op/op02-eng.pdf
5.38. What happens if the common-law partner (principal applicant) is married to another person?
Persons who are married to third parties may be considered common-law partners provided their marriage has broken down and they have lived separate and apart from the spouse for long enough to establish a common-law relationship – at least one year. In this case they must have cohabited in a conjugal relationship with the common-law partner for at least one year.
Cohabitation with a common-law partner cannot be considered to have started until a physical separation from the spouse has occurred. A common-law relationship cannot be legally established if one or both parties continue their marital relationships.
Officers must be satisfied that a principal applicant is separated from and no longer cohabits with a legal spouse

Also i'm not sure if you understand the definition of "common-law" but for you and your new gf to be common-law you would have had to physically live with her in the same home for 12 consecutive months.