Conjugal Partner Sponsorship

[MsSnickers]

Yes, it is becoming common that people are going to Canada on a visit visa to live with their partner and applying for an extension after 5 months. I do believe the extension is granted for another 6 months but of course what you can do is request the extension until a certain date based on wanting to qualify for a common law relationship. If your extension were denied, then you would be in the position to apply as conjugal partners based on real immigration barriers. And then of course you can apply for another extension when the 2nd one is running out. You have to make sure to keep yourself legal in Canada while you wait for your PR and continue to apply for extensions if they are about to expire on you.

You can not apply as common law partners until you have lived together for 12 months. Joint lease, joint utilities, joint insurance, joint bank account etc. will all help proving your relationship as well as having mail at the same address to prove that you really live together.

Sorry to hijack another users thread, but I am researching every possible angle to find a solution to legally reside with my sweetheart in Canada. Information I have gotten from this thread puts us closer to that solution. I have read so much that I think my head will explode. Just when I think I have it figured out, I get confused all over again. Being from the US, I know I don't need a Visa to visit him and for us to start living together. However, I would need/want to work as well. It looks like I could apply for a Temporary Work Permit, but have I misread? If I could apply for a permit and work, then I could apply for an extension to remain in Canada, using the "exploring the relationship" reason?

 

[Leon]

A temporary work permit is a completely different story. If you want a temporary work permit, you have to in most cases find an employer who will apply for a labour market opinion to hire you and if he gets it, you can apply for your work permit based on that. You would have to show that you plan on returning to the US when your work permit expires. When the permit is about to expire after 1 or 2 years, you and the employer can apply for a new labour market opinion and extend the work permit. You can not extend a work permit based on having a Canadian boyfriend.

If your occupation is under the NAFTA agreement, it becomes a lot simpler because then you can just get a job offer and then apply for a work permit. No need for the labour market opinion. You can find the NAFTA occupations here: http://www.canadavisa.com/nafta-temporary-work-permit-canada.html

The labour market opinion is a piece of paper that basically verifies that the employer has advertised the job for so-so long and that he is paying market wage and that he still did not find anybody who wanted or was qualified for the job.

Employers do generally not like the hassle of applying for a labour market opinion so they will rather try to find Canadian staff, besides, a labour market opinion wouldn't be approved anyway if they could easily be finding Canadian staff.

 

[MsSnickers]

Thank you so much for answering, Leon. Yes, I know the work permit is different, I may have worded that question incorrectly. No, my occupation doesn't come under the NAFTA agreement. I have also checked out the skilled worker program, and even though I have 20+ years (bookkeeper) in my occupation, I don't score enough to qualify.

The part of this thread that originally caught my eye was the requirements for qualifying as a conjugal partner. We qualify in every way in that category except for the length of time we have been "together" and I suppose that there aren't any loopholes in that.

I probably am grasping at too many straws at once in my reading and researching on here. He and I want to be together, but the problem is I don't seem to qualify for any one way to legally reside (and work) in Canada.

 

[BeShoo]

The part of this thread that originally caught my eye was the requirements for qualifying as a conjugal partner. We qualify in every way in that category except for the length of time we have been "together" and I suppose that there aren't any loopholes in that.

No, there are no loopholes in the length of time. That requirement is absolute.

 

[MsSnickers]

Thanks for responding, BeShoo. I guess I need to learn the fine art of patience

 

[Leon]

Even if you did qualify for conjugal partner regarding length of time, it's still a very hard class to get approved. It's basically for people who can not qualify for common law or get married.

 

[journeyman]

1) If our circumstances for not being able to live together in the past are financial difficulties (both from not having the money, and because I would not be able to work legally in Canada), will we be denied?


QUOTE FROM RACOON:

1) It is a legitimate reason for not being able to live together

Based on my personal experience, and quoting from a letter recieved from Immigration Canada, denying our first application under Conjugal Partner, it reads

".....there appears to be no impediment to a common law relationship. The additional evidence you have submitted regarding a possible impediment, appear to be choice you have made for ecomical reasons.....and do not qualify under IRPA..."

IRPA = Immigration and Protection Act.

They do not consider financial difficulties an impediment. Our application was refused even though we felt we had demonstrated a strong case.

We do not know if we would have won on appeal, since shortly after recieving the refusal, I was then in a legal position to marry (which I could not do prior to submitting the first application), so we chose that route. It was shorter and less costly than going the appeal route.

 

[MsSnickers]

Even if you did qualify for conjugal partner regarding length of time, it's still a very hard class to get approved. It's basically for people who can not qualify for common law or get married.

Well Leon, the get married part we have aced, as he is only legally separated at this point in time, so no can do. As to common law, we can't live together that long, without one of us working, to be considered common law, so it has to be conjugal partner. At this point, this option is our only hope.

Journeyman, I would love to know more about your situation at the time you applied. I had hopes for this way until seeing your comments

 

[Leon]

Like journeyman said, they do not consider financial problems a reason to not live together. Many people are will go and live with their loved one on a visit visa and get it extended every 6 months as long as it takes even if they can't work. In the instructions for conjugal partners, they even say that this class is not for people who are unwilling to move because they don't want to give up their job.

The fact that you are not allowed to work in Canada is not considered a real immigration barrier keeping you apart. A real immigration barrier would be if you are from a country where you need a visit visa and can't get one. You can still try applying though. Maybe you get lucky with a visa officer but don't get your hopes up.

 

[AllisonVSC]

MsSnickers, I sent you a private message. Allison

 

[MsSnickers]

Thank you, Leon, yes it seems as though I was a bit hasty in getting my hopes up.

Hi Allison, got your message

 

[mariabo]

Hello Everyone,

I am new to this forum and I am wondering if anyone has had my experience. I have sponsored my Conjugal Partner from Italy and was approved right away to be his sponsor. If you do not know, Conjugal Sponsorship is valid if you have been able to maintain a genuine and continuing relationship but have not been able to live together due to immigration barriers. This is the case for us, we have been together for 4 years and we have both been travelling back and forth trying to spend as much time together. I have enclosed airline tickets, travels, letters, phone bills, pics with family and friends, testimony from friends and family, pictures recognizing our union, we have proven to combine our affairs as much as possible but since we are not residents in each others countries, we are not able to have joint bank accounts, properties, wills, etc together, hence why we have applied under Conjugal Partnership and NOT Common Law.
After much wait, my partner finally got his letter and he was refused. The Counsellor reviewing our case stated that we have no proof of financial assets together, no properties together, he is not on my will etc. BUT, these are NOT requirements for Conjugal Partnership. Actually, once a partner is apporoved, he can then come into Canada and only after, can we combine our affairs. On our refusal letter, the officer kept referring to Common Law and not Conjugal Partner. Is there any way that the officer could have made a mistake, and if yes, how can we go about bringing this to their attention without going through the long battle of appealing. This is so frustrating esp bc we were refused for something that was NOT a requirement for our application. Also, I was approved as his sponsor, I am working, able to support him...so why would they refuse him.....esp for something that was not a requirement. We are so disasppointed and are looking at a black tunnel, we do not know what to do next. I am currently in Italy visiting my partner, maybe we should go to the embassy in person!!!
Any advice or experience would be amazing!! thanks!

 

[journeyman]

Hello Everyone,

I am new to this forum and I am wondering if anyone has had my experience. I have sponsored my Conjugal Partner from Italy and was approved right away to be his sponsor. If you do not know, Conjugal Sponsorship is valid if you have been able to maintain a genuine and continuing relationship but have not been able to live together due to immigration barriers. This is the case for us, we have been together for 4 years and we have both been travelling back and forth trying to spend as much time together. I have enclosed airline tickets, travels, letters, phone bills, pics with family and friends, testimony from friends and family, pictures recognizing our union, we have proven to combine our affairs as much as possible but since we are not residents in each others countries, we are not able to have joint bank accounts, properties, wills, etc together, hence why we have applied under Conjugal Partnership and NOT Common Law.
After much wait, my partner finally got his letter and he was refused. The Counsellor reviewing our case stated that we have no proof of financial assets together, no properties together, he is not on my will etc. BUT, these are NOT requirements for Conjugal Partnership. Actually, once a partner is apporoved, he can then come into Canada and only after, can we combine our affairs. On our refusal letter, the officer kept referring to Common Law and not Conjugal Partner. Is there any way that the officer could have made a mistake, and if yes, how can we go about bringing this to their attention without going through the long battle of appealing. This is so frustrating esp bc we were refused for something that was NOT a requirement for our application. Also, I was approved as his sponsor, I am working, able to support him...so why would they refuse him.....esp for something that was not a requirement. We are so disasppointed and are looking at a black tunnel, we do not know what to do next. I am currently in Italy visiting my partner, maybe we should go to the embassy in person!!!
Any advice or experience would be amazing!! thanks!

We got an almost identical reply. I was also approved as sponsor. Basically they acknowledged that there while was a barrier to marriage there was not to common law. And we did not meet conjugal partner even though we provided much of the same information as you did. We chose not to appeal and are now waiting on approval of a spousal application.

 

[journeyman]

MsSnickers,

Empty you inbox..................... ;D

 

[mariabo]

We got an almost identical reply. I was also approved as sponsor. Basically they acknowledged that there while was a barrier to marriage there was not to common law. And we did not meet conjugal partner even though we provided much of the same information as you did. We chose not to appeal and are now waiting on approval of a spousal application.

Journeyman,
Thank you for your reply. Why did u not appeal? Is it a lengthy process??