Completing rough draft of paperwork, have a few questions?

[throwmyapples]

Hi,

Thanks for taking the time to read this. I am a dual Canadian/US citizen who has been living with my American partner for just about 4.5 years in the U.S. and we are getting ready to apply under common-law/family class from outside Canada. We plan on moving together once the process has been completed. We have been filling out the paperwork on our own, as professional advice is not a financial possibility for us right now, and have run across a few questions I was hoping to get some help with:

1. My partner lived with an ex-partner for long enough that it could constitute a common-law relationship but it was never declared as such and there were not plans of forever. On the other hand, a lease was shared for over a year. Should this ex-partner be declared in the application, or left out?

2. My partner and I have had plans to spend our futures together for some time, but have not had any type of ceremony or specific date where our relationship was declared permanent by any means. We moved in together in 11/06, and signed our first lease together 12/07, but we have been waiting to be able to have a marriage certificate and official ceremony, and this has not happened where we currently live. We have had the intention of living and marrying in Canada together and building our future there for just about 4 years now, but this transpired over a period of time rather than occurring on a specific date. What do we do about the date of declaration of the common-law relationship?

3. I am sponsoring only my partner, there are no dependents involved. With regard to showing proof of current income, I am not actually bringing in that much at the moment. I have done some very part-time childcare work, too small to declare, in the past year however. Should I include that? I am worried about seeming incapable of single-handedly supporting my partner despite the fact that I can and will make sure we are okay when we get there.

4. IMM 1344 P.1 Q. 11 - I was born in the U.S. to a Canadian mother and obtained a canadian citizenship card to formalize this in 2003. How should this be presented with regard to my citizenship status and citizenship-by-descent?

5. I have never filed taxes in Canada. I worked my first job at 18, graduated from high school into some really bad personal life circumstances, and decided suddenly to stay with my father in Ohio for a few months before College. I ended up staying in the states for college, where I met my wonderful partner. In the meantime, I have only ever filed taxes in the U.S., so I'm not sure about what to include as far as tax info like option C.

Any help would be so SO appreciated!!

Thanks!!!

 

[canadianwoman]

1. My partner lived with an ex-partner for long enough that it could constitute a common-law relationship but it was never declared as such and there were not plans of forever. On the other hand, a lease was shared for over a year. Should this ex-partner be declared in the application, or left out?

To be safe, declare her.

2. What do we do about the date of declaration of the common-law relationship?

Put the date you moved in together.

3. I am sponsoring only my partner, there are no dependents involved. With regard to showing proof of current income, I am not actually bringing in that much at the moment.

You don't need any income to sponsor a partner. But provide what proof you can of both of your current incomes, your US tax returns in lieu of option C, and plans for work in Canada. The visa officer wants to see that you can support yourselves in Canada. As well, you will have to provide proof that you will be going back to Canada. Evidence of a job search is one possible type of evidence.

 

[waitingintz]

1. Should this ex-partner be declared in the application, or left out?

Common law is not an automatic status... if they did not declare themselves then they were not common-law partners. I would leave them off.

2. What do we do about the date of declaration of the common-law relationship?

You can declare common-law once you had been living together for one year.

3. Should I include that? I am worried about seeming incapable of single-handedly supporting my partner despite the fact that I can and will make sure we are okay when we get there.

Spouses/Common-Law applications are exempt from the minimum requirement. Just submit the option C (or US equivalent - something showing your income) and then, as canadianwoman said, proof of returning to Canada.

4. IMM 1344 P.1 Q. 11 - I was born in the U.S. to a Canadian mother and obtained a canadian citizenship card to formalize this in 2003. How should this be presented with regard to my citizenship status and citizenship-by-descent?

I don't remember the options they give you but it asks you the date you became a citizen on there so you put 2003.

5. I have never filed taxes in Canada.. about what to include as far as tax info like option C.

I would suggest applying for an option C print out as you would because that will tell them you don't have any welfare debt, etc in Canada. Then include a note explaining that you have not lived and worked in Canada since x year. You won't be the first person applying who hasn't lived in Canada for a while. I don't believe they reject you on the basis of missing a tax payment several years ago but it might be worth making the effort to pay it off anyway (and of course, you'll get hit for it on your first tax claim when you move back anyway)

 

[missmini]

the date the common-law relationship starts is the date when u start living together...

as for declaring ur ex-partner it looks that it's entire up to u: if u declare her then u need official paper that that common-law relationship ended (like a divorce paper) which means that u need to involve his ex-partner into this whole process; if u don't declare her make sure they will never find out from other people (his family friends in case they knew her) or at a later stage (interview! hopefully not); ask urself also how long they have lived together, how serious it was, were they declaring themselves as common-law (he was not, was she?)

don't worry abt ur income; if u have some family/friends left in Canada and get a letter from them that u can live with them and/or they can help u / support u at the beginning it's good; start applying for jobs there and u can show them correspondence between u and future potential employers, invitation for interviews, etc; focus more on showing ur clear plans of moving back to Canada as soon as he gets his PR

 

[canadianwoman]

1. Should this ex-partner be declared in the application, or left out?

Common law is not an automatic status... if they did not declare themselves then they were not common-law partners. I would leave them off.

If they were living together for a long time, the visa officer might well consider them common law, and so if the applicant doesn't admit this relationship and the visa officer finds out about it, there might be some problems. True, the visa officer may never find out about it.

2. What do we do about the date of declaration of the common-law relationship?

You can declare common-law once you had been living together for one year.

For immigration purposes, you have to live together for a year before you can sponsor your partner as a common-law partner. But for this question, they do not mean the date when you have completed your one-year residency together. Definitely put the date you moved in together. If you put date when you finally completed one year together, the visa officer will think that is the date you moved in together, and will then expect to see one more year of cohabitation after that.

 

[throwmyapples]

as for declaring ur ex-partner it looks that it's entire up to u: if u declare her then u need official paper that that common-law relationship ended (like a divorce paper) which means that u need to involve his ex-partner into this whole process; if u don't declare her make sure they will never find out from other people (his family friends in case they knew her) or at a later stage (interview! hopefully not); ask urself also how long they have lived together, how serious it was, were they declaring themselves as common-law (he was not, was she?)

don't worry abt ur income; if u have some family/friends left in Canada and get a letter from them that u can live with them and/or they can help u / support u at the beginning it's good; start applying for jobs there and u can show them correspondence between u and future potential employers, invitation for interviews, etc; focus more on showing ur clear plans of moving back to Canada as soon as he gets his PR

Thanks for the help! While my partner cared very much for her ex-partner, they did not consider themselves to be an official common-law couple, and thus simply ended their lease prematurely and went their separate ways when they broke up. There isn't any proof that they ended their relationship, as they did not have label themselves common-law or make future plans together. I don't want to withhold information by any means, but I hesitate to complicate the application process by referring to an ex that might not technically be considered an official common-law partner. I don't know what to do..

That is great to hear about income, though. I know that once we are there, we will be okay, this year has just brought about some income changes for our household. I am worried about finding a job as I have no idea when we will be able to actually move there. We would like to move to Canada at the same time together, so I will be waiting until my partner gets her PR. It seems like I wouldn't be taken very seriously if I was applying for future jobs with an unknown starting date... I don't have a clear career path in my life right now, so it isn't as simple as looking for something in my field. I have my B.A. in Psychology and I'm working in part-time event planning and part-time childcare.. I'm not sure what to do besides apply at some daycares or in retail/service, and I can't imagine they'd want to bother interviewing someone who will be in the U.S. until the paperwork goes through. Do I need to be getting feedback from these potential employers in order for my intent to settle and provide in Canada to be considered apparent?

Also, thanks for clarifying the common-law start date. I think I feel good about putting down the date we moved in together now.

 

[missmini]

yeah, i understand what u mean that u don't want to start applying for jobs since u don't know the date when u move back; i'm in the same situation; but u can still start applying here and there and if something comes up after u submitted the application, u can send the additional proof later (same goes for ur partner)

still, u need to show proof of ur intent to resume residency: lease on ur name, did u keep any Canadian bank accounts/credit cards or maybe some memberships? also, if u intend to study again, u could start contacting university staff, asking info abt programs, apply to some program...this communication can be shown as proof too; filling taxes in Canada would have been good also, u could start now maybe

if u do have correspondence between u and potential employers, it's good to show; overall they need to see that u r able to support u and ur partner when u move back to Canada; there is no minimum income requirement in this category but they still need to be satisfied of ur clear settlement and support plans

 

[throwmyapples]

Thanks missmini! Maybe I will check into some potential opportunities and then print out the emails I have sent and/or received to/from prospective places of future employment. Would emails be enough proof?

 

[missmini]

hi throwmyapples so sorry i didn't see ur reply sooner...of course, emails sent to them or received from companies r good...they show ur intent of finding a job and moving back to Canada...it's not the best proof but sometimes when we don't have that we just show what we have (better than nothing at least)

good luck!! (and don't worry...this is an ongoing process - do ur best to send as much proof as possible, then during the process if u manage to gather more proof update them...the sponsor needs to be eligible to pass the 1st stage but also when the applicant will get the PR, through the whole process)