Conjugal Partner or Common Law

[totolan1208]

Hi,

Can anyone please advise me on what's the best to apply for my partner outside canada?

I am a canadian citizen with stable job and I have a partner which I have 2 kids, the older is 4 and the youngest is4months old.
I seldom went home due to my work schedule and do that occassionally every twice or thrice a year.

My older son was born during when I had complicated relationship with my ex-wife here in canada in year 2009. My ex and I decided to apply divorced and approve feb 2012.

As a proof of cohabitation, I have my join bank account with my partner, my RSP benefit where I used to add her as beneficiaries and more proof that we have joint properties. However, what I'm worried about is that the one year continous requirement.

Here is my scenario:
1. I have lived together with my partner about 3-4month when I counted staring my divorced approval way back feb 2012.
2. If I start to count during the birth of my oldest son, It will be probably lived together for 6-7months.

Can someone suggest or make any comment regarding my situation? What will be the best option to apply, is it conjugal partner or common law?

 

[Rob_TO]

Hi,

Can anyone please advise me on what's the best to apply for my partner outside canada?

I am a canadian citizen with stable job and I have a partner which I have 2 kids, the older is 4 and the youngest is4months old.
I seldom went home due to my work schedule and do that occassionally every twice or thrice a year.

My older son was born during when I had complicated relationship with my ex-wife here in canada in year 2009. My ex and I decided to apply divorced and approve feb 2012.

As a proof of cohabitation, I have my join bank account with my partner, my RSP benefit where I used to add her as beneficiaries and more proof that we have joint properties. However, what I'm worried about is that the one year continous requirement.

Here is my scenario:
1. I have lived together with my partner about 3-4month when I counted staring my divorced approval way back feb 2012.
2. If I start to count during the birth of my oldest son, It will be probably lived together for 6-7months.

Can someone suggest or make any comment regarding my situation? What will be the best option to apply, is it conjugal partner or common law?

If you are able to get married but you choose not to, then you do NOT qualify for conjugal.

In order to be common-law you MUST live together in same home for 12 consecutive months, with no breaks. I'm not quite sure how to read your timeline of living together. Time spent living together even if you were still married to other spouse, still counts towards common-law.

Without being married or common-law, you can't apply for sponsorship.

 

[totolan1208]

Hi Rob_TO,
I appreciate your response, thank you very much. Seems my situation is frustrating.

Thanks

 

[screech339]

Hi Rob_TO,
I appreciate your response, thank you very much. Seems my situation is frustrating.

Thanks

It is frustrating to the impatients

 

[totolan1208]

Definitely right, thanks for your comment. No worries, I will proceed with the application. For now, I am collecting useful information that can help me process.

However, I have one more question regarding my situation. Is haveing children with my partner be considered as a solid proof for cohabitation? I actually send finacial support monthly since my oldest son was born.

appreciate anyone who can respond.

Best regards

 

[Ponga]

How can you proceed?
Based on your story you don't qualify as conjugal or common-law?

It seems that getting married and THEN applying is the only was you can `proceed' with an application at this point.

I don't think that having children helps your case for cohabitation. Many couples have children without cohabitation.

Good luck!

 

[scylla]

However, I have one more question regarding my situation. Is haveing children with my partner be considered as a solid proof for cohabitation? I actually send finacial support monthly since my oldest son was born.

appreciate anyone who can respond.

Best regards

Having children does not prove cohabitation. You can easily have children together and not live together. To prove cohabitation (i.e. that you are physically living together and have so for at least a year), you need proof such as: joint lease agreements, joint utility bills, statements (e.g. bank statements) showing the same address, mail in each of your names sent to the same address, other bills or statements showing the same address (e.g. pay stubs, credit card statements, cell phone bills, etc.). You can also include a notarized letter from your landlord confirming that both of you have lived together at that same address for at least one full years. Note that the period of cohabitation needs to be fairly uninterrupted to count for common law. In other words, if you live together for six months and then you leave for more than a month - then you will have to start counting again from scratch. You really need a solid year together to qualify under common law. Accumulating a year of living together over 2-3 years will not make you common law.

 

[Rob_TO]

Definitely right, thanks for your comment. No worries, I will proceed with the application. For now, I am collecting useful information that can help me process.

However, I have one more question regarding my situation. Is haveing children with my partner be considered as a solid proof for cohabitation? I actually send finacial support monthly since my oldest son was born.

appreciate anyone who can respond.

Best regards

Cohabitation means living together under the same roof. Having a child together may show the relationship is genuine, but even if you have a child if you are not living together all the time then you are not cohabiting.

You need to physically live together for any 12 consecutive months. To prove cohabitation you would show things like a shared lease/rental agreement, shared utility bills, shared bank acct or credit card with common address on a bill, mail to both of you going to same address, testimony letter from landlord, etc etc.

Or you could just get married, which is often much quicker to qualify for family sponsorship.

 

[Avadava]

What others have said. You need to get married to be able to sponsor. Besides, having proof of sending money monthly to your son will work against you. People who live together (cohabit) don't send money to each other monthly. So you would actually prove the contrary, that you weren't living together.

You can't prove living together if you haven't actually lived together. And you con't go the conjugal way either, because there is nothing stopping you from becoming common law or getting married. As of now, you have two options:
1. You get married and then apply (quickest way)
2. You start living together at the same address, under the same roof for 12 consecutive months and then apply under common law. Make sure you open joint bank accounts and gather all the proof you can to show this cohabitation (letter from landlord/friends/family stating you are living together, bills sent in both your names at the same address, etc.)

 

[totolan1208]

Thanks everyone,
Appreciate all your response. Just one more crazy question. If not possible, I will understand that the only thing I need to do is to get married back home.

Is visit visa possible to my partner, then make a reason for immigration that she will stay with me for a year by that time we can get married? I am asking this because Im having issue with my previous marriage in the Philippines knowing there is no divorce in there and applying annulment is an expensive with long process.

Apology for this question but appreciate if someone can reply.

Regards

 

[zardoz]

If you are a Canadian citizen, I seem to remember that you can apply for recognition of a foreign divorce. Maybe somebody can confirm?

 

[totolan1208]

Thanks,

Yes, I have read something to file a court petition in philippines for a judicial recognition of my divorce.

best regards

 

[totolan1208]

Hi,

Haven't got any reply for this...Anyone please???

Is visit visa possible to my partner, then make a reason for immigration that she will stay with me for a year by that time we can get married? I am asking this because Im having issue with my previous marriage in the Philippines knowing there is no divorce in there and applying annulment is an expensive with long process Apology for this question but appreciate if someone can reply.

Regards

 

[canadianwoman]

You can try for a TRV with this reason, but it is highly unlikely it will succeed.
You could live with her for 12 months, and then apply common-law. If you have good reasons why you cannot live together for 12 months (with no breaks), then let us know what they are. Some people on this forum have successfully applied for a PR based on a conjugal relationship, which might work for you. Conjugal is for people who cannot get married and cannot live together for 12 months. The Philippines is one country where a conjugal app sometimes works, because of the no divorce rule.
However, CIC does not accept not wanting to give up a job as a sufficient reason for not living together.
The refused TRV would be one piece of evidence showing you tried to live together but could not. If you fear that if you live together in the Philippines (that is where your partner is, right?) you might be arrested, this is also evidence of an inability to live together.

 

[totolan1208]

Hi canadianwoman,
Thank you very much for your info. As what you mentioned, think the closest that I need to do is the Conjugal application. Moreover, I just want to know what will be the best reasons to support my application?

I have this following scenarios which I am not sure, I can use:
1. I am married previously in the Philippines during when I was not a canadian citizen. I am not allowed to marry my partner due to the current laws that if I will to marry her, I will have a duplication of marriage. can this be a solid proof??
2. I cannot have continuous 12 months cohabitation due to I am working here in canada to support my kids in the Philippines. I cannot go back and cohabitate for one year in Philippines due to I dont have source of income from there.
3. " If you fear that if you live together in the Philippines (that is where your partner is, right?) you might be arrested, this is also evidence of an inability to live together"..Having said this, I cannot think of any reasons to this as I don't have any criminal or illegal cases But I agree, and a good idea that it will be a good reason.

Appreciate your response. You help me lot to think about the options.

God bless and take care