Common Law

[BarryOSullivan]

Hi there,

I arrived in Canada on June 17th on an IEC Co-op visa and began working on the 19th. I live with my girlfriend, a Canadian citizen, and we are hoping that we can apply for common law status after one year living together. We are worried about how stringent the office is however, because my name was signed on to the apartment lease (first and primary piece of evidence that we live together) within the first week of getting here, but my visa ends on June 16th 2018, leaving a gap of a week or so if it must strictly be 365 full days.

Does anyone know about exceptions when your visa ends slightly before the finish line? I plan on applying for a visitor/tourist visa to keep me present while I await an answer - will this be all I need to fill out the remaining days? Any knowledge of the interim work visa that is granted to the sponsored person while the common law application is processed would also be welcome.

Many thanks!

 

[scylla]

The 365 days is strict. Anything less than that and you're not common law. Can you get the landlord to sign an affidavit confirming you started living there earlier?

As for the work permit question, if you apply inland and submit an open work permit along with the inland application - the open work permit will be granted approximately 4 months after a complete sponsorship application is received.

 

[canuck_in_uk]

Hi there,

I arrived in Canada on June 17th on an IEC Co-op visa and began working on the 19th. I live with my girlfriend, a Canadian citizen, and we are hoping that we can apply for common law status after one year living together. We are worried about how stringent the office is however, because my name was signed on to the apartment lease (first and primary piece of evidence that we live together) within the first week of getting here, but my visa ends on June 16th 2018, leaving a gap of a week or so if it must strictly be 365 full days.

Does anyone know about exceptions when your visa ends slightly before the finish line? I plan on applying for a visitor/tourist visa to keep me present while I await an answer - will this be all I need to fill out the remaining days? Any knowledge of the interim work visa that is granted to the sponsored person while the common law application is processed would also be welcome.

Many thanks!

Hi

There are no exceptions. Apply to change your status to visitor before your IEC permit expires. That will allow you to gain the full year and some additional buffer time before you apply.

 

[BarryOSullivan]

Very helpful, thank you both. I will have to apply for a visitor visa then. If I apply for the visitor visa in advance, will I lose my current status though? Should I wait until a month before the current visa ends before applying for the visitor visa extension or is it something that only comes into force after this one ends?

 

[canuck_in_uk]

Very helpful, thank you both. I will have to apply for a visitor visa then. If I apply for the visitor visa in advance, will I lose my current status though? Should I wait until a month before the current visa ends before applying for the visitor visa extension or is it something that only comes into force after this one ends?

No, you won't lose your current status. Apply a few weeks before your IEC permit expires.