Conjugal Partnership Between seafarers

[starnaenae]

You are common-law spouse once you have live together for 12 months. You do not have to continue to live together during the application to "maintain your common-law relationship".

You will have very unconventional proof of cohabitation but you do have proof from the application to your company to live together by requesting "companion linked" and you physically moved into his room.

You can get life insurance regardless of your age (it's actually cheaper to start young) and make each other the beneficiary. You can ask coworkers, common friends and if your supervisors know write letter about your relationship. Do you have shared finances? Joint bank accounts? (I think he can be added to your account in Canada and create this joint account)

As much as you think it's hard to proof common-law, it's harder for you to qualify as conjugal. There is no legal barrier. He is from a visa exempted country and marriage is possible. Since you are already going through the Procedural Fairness step, be prepared that your application will likely be rejected.

Have he look into getting working holiday visa in Canada? He can work up to 6 months and stay up to 12 months in Canada.

http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/work/iec/eligibility.asp?country=it&cat=wh&#country_category_name

You can also consider doing a court wedding or a small wedding. Since you two are committed anyway, it may be a natural step.

A note to this. Common law is attained after living together for 12 consecutive months with no long breaks (more than 2 weeks apart)

 

[BlueRodeoFan]

Another possible option is many ship's captains are able to perform marriage ceremonies. I know this applies to cruise ship captain, not sure about cargo ship captains (not sure where you work). Some cruise line captains are also able to perform marriage ceremonies at sea (I believe Celebrity and Princess have some captains able to do that, not sure if there are any other cruise lines that are able to do that).

 

[Rob_TO]

This is the problem.... even you guys who are posting replies aren’t reading our situation....

Our work keeps us together. We are common law and have lived together for more than one year continuously. Due to the nature of how we lived together, we cannot claim common-law.

We have all read your sitauation, but you don't seem to be understanding the key issue here. And that is work/employment reasons are not considered valid barriers by IRCC to getting married or becoming common-law.

Yes getting married is a personal choice and IRCC can't force it, but they are very clear that if you aren't married you must be common-law. If you can't become common-law, but can get married but are choosing not to, this will not be accepted as a conjugal relationship.

https://www.canada.ca/content/dam/ircc/migration/ircc/english/resources/manuals/op/op02-eng.pdf
5.45. What is a conjugal partner?
Because of Supreme Court decisions, the choice not to marry is a constitutionally protected choice. Thus, CIC cannot require couples to marry in order to immigrate. However, if they are not married, they must be common-law partners. There is NO provision for fiancé(e)s or “intended common-law partners” in IRPA. If a Canadian and a foreign national can get married or can live together and establish a common-law relationship, this is what they are expected to have done before they submit sponsorship and immigration applications.

As well, for these individuals, marriage is usually not an available option. The conjugal partner category is mainly intended for partners where neither common-law partner status nor marriage is possible, usually because of marital status or sexual orientation (both analogous grounds of discrimination under the Charter), combined with an immigration barrier.

5.46. Can conjugal partners be substitutes for fiancé(e)s?
Canadians and their foreign national fiancé(e)s are expected to be married before the immigration process takes place, i.e., the foreign national must be married to the Canadian sponsor and apply to immigrate as a married spouse.

If you have actually lived together for 12 consecutive months, with very few breaks (of say 2-3 weeks at most) during this time, they you may already be classified as common-law. You should in this case request your app be changed from conjugal to common-law, and hope they accept your proofs of cohabitation. You haven't really explained your specific living situation for the 12 months period you may qualify, so not entirely sure if it would be meet the common-law requirements.

 

[commonlaw2018]

We have all read your sitauation, but you don't seem to be understanding the key issue here. And that is work/employment reasons are not considered valid barriers by IRCC to getting married or becoming common-law.

Yes getting married is a personal choice and IRCC can't force it, but they are very clear that if you aren't married you must be common-law. If you can't become common-law, but can get married but are choosing not to, this will not be accepted as a conjugal relationship.

https://www.canada.ca/content/dam/ircc/migration/ircc/english/resources/manuals/op/op02-eng.pdf
5.45. What is a conjugal partner?
Because of Supreme Court decisions, the choice not to marry is a constitutionally protected choice. Thus, CIC cannot require couples to marry in order to immigrate. However, if they are not married, they must be common-law partners. There is NO provision for fiancé(e)s or “intended common-law partners” in IRPA. If a Canadian and a foreign national can get married or can live together and establish a common-law relationship, this is what they are expected to have done before they submit sponsorship and immigration applications.

As well, for these individuals, marriage is usually not an available option. The conjugal partner category is mainly intended for partners where neither common-law partner status nor marriage is possible, usually because of marital status or sexual orientation (both analogous grounds of discrimination under the Charter), combined with an immigration barrier.

5.46. Can conjugal partners be substitutes for fiancé(e)s?
Canadians and their foreign national fiancé(e)s are expected to be married before the immigration process takes place, i.e., the foreign national must be married to the Canadian sponsor and apply to immigrate as a married spouse.

If you have actually lived together for 12 consecutive months, with very few breaks (of say 2-3 weeks at most) during this time, they you may already be classified as common-law. You should in this case request your app be changed from conjugal to common-law, and hope they accept your proofs of cohabitation. You haven't really explained your specific living situation for the 12 months period you may qualify, so not entirely sure if it would be meet the common-law requirements.

They are posting their story everywhere. They just want to read what they want to read and ignore everything else. The sponsor is just landed as PR in early 2018. They said their relationship started 5 years ago. And the sponsor failed to declear the would-be applicant as non-accompany spouse/partner.
I think they would be rejected definitely under any kind of categories cause of convenience of relationship.

 

[YVR123]

They are posting their story everywhere. They just want to read what they want to read and ignore everything else. The sponsor is just landed as PR in early 2018. They said their relationship started 5 years ago. And the sponsor failed to declear the would-be applicant as non-accompany spouse/partner.
I think they would be rejected definitely under any kind of categories cause of convenience of relationship.

But here she said that she is a Canadian citizen, born and raised in Canada. That will totally change this case.

 

[canuck_in_uk]

They are posting their story everywhere. They just want to read what they want to read and ignore everything else. The sponsor is just landed as PR in early 2018. They said their relationship started 5 years ago. And the sponsor failed to declear the would-be applicant as non-accompany spouse/partner.
I think they would be rejected definitely under any kind of categories cause of convenience of relationship.

OP has only 6 posts and they are all on this thread, so I'm not sure where you are getting this from.

 

[zardoz]

OP has only 6 posts and they are all on this thread, so I'm not sure where you are getting this from.

They have posted on one other site and as yet, there are no responses. https://www.africanada.com/conjugal-partnership-between-seafarers/

Actually, I think that website is leeching off this forum... (in fact, I'm absolutely certain that it is)

 

[canuck_in_uk]

They have posted on one other site and as yet, there are no responses. https://www.africanada.com/conjugal-partnership-between-seafarers/

That still doesn't explain the post by commonlaw2018.

 

[zardoz]

That still doesn't explain the post by commonlaw2018.

Ah.. You are referring to the "just landed as a PR" comment... Not a clue.

 

[A.magri41]

We have lived together the majority of the time aboard a ship, where we don’t pay bills, have leases, possessions etc. Then, when we’re on land together, we stay with family or air bnb’s. It’s true we have lived together, but don’t know how to present this to cic to prove that we are common law without the typical documents they request.

Everyone is reading it. You don't seem to be understanding the answers you are receiving. Your work does not keep you together. You could quit and live together in either of your countries. You have made the personal decision to not do that, therefore you do not qualify for conjugal.

If you are common-law, you should have applied as such. I don't know what you mean by "cannot claim common-law". You easily could if it is true.



You do have the right to not get married, hence the option for common-law.

IRCC would have no issues with a simple court wedding for a Canadian-Italian couple that have been together for a few years.

have

 

[A.magri41]

At the time of application We didn’t have 12 consecutive months, because our contracts break us apart sometimes. After the application we did reach 12 months together, with 2 periods of 2 weeks apart.

A note to this. Common law is attained after living together for 12 consecutive months with no long breaks (more than 2 weeks apart)

 

[A.magri41]

Yes ours can perform on land (cruise ships). But I would assume that if we did that and applied as a spouse, IRCC wouldn’t be happy that it’s not a wedding with family, friends, wedding party etc....?

Another possible option is many ship's captains are able to perform marriage ceremonies. I know this applies to cruise ship captain, not sure about cargo ship captains (not sure where you work). Some cruise line captains are also able to perform marriage ceremonies at sea (I believe Celebrity and Princess have some captains able to do that, not sure if there are any other cruise lines that are able to do that).

our

 

[A.magri41]

Living situation:

April 2016 -June 2016: on ship
August 2016: Italy, partners apparetment
October -November 2016: ship
January - April 2017: ship
April - May 2017: Canada with family, Italy air bnb
June -September 2017: ship
October 14-January 2, 2017: Italy, air bnb. And Canada, with family
Jan. 20 - present: Ship

We have all read your sitauation, but you don't seem to be understanding the key issue here. And that is work/employment reasons are not considered valid barriers by IRCC to getting married or becoming common-law.

Yes getting married is a personal choice and IRCC can't force it, but they are very clear that if you aren't married you must be common-law. If you can't become common-law, but can get married but are choosing not to, this will not be accepted as a conjugal relationship.

https://www.canada.ca/content/dam/ircc/migration/ircc/english/resources/manuals/op/op02-eng.pdf
5.45. What is a conjugal partner?
Because of Supreme Court decisions, the choice not to marry is a constitutionally protected choice. Thus, CIC cannot require couples to marry in order to immigrate. However, if they are not married, they must be common-law partners. There is NO provision for fiancé(e)s or “intended common-law partners” in IRPA. If a Canadian and a foreign national can get married or can live together and establish a common-law relationship, this is what they are expected to have done before they submit sponsorship and immigration applications.

As well, for these individuals, marriage is usually not an available option. The conjugal partner category is mainly intended for partners where neither common-law partner status nor marriage is possible, usually because of marital status or sexual orientation (both analogous grounds of discrimination under the Charter), combined with an immigration barrier.

5.46. Can conjugal partners be substitutes for fiancé(e)s?
Canadians and their foreign national fiancé(e)s are expected to be married before the immigration process takes place, i.e., the foreign national must be married to the Canadian sponsor and apply to immigrate as a married spouse.

If you have actually lived together for 12 consecutive months, with very few breaks (of say 2-3 weeks at most) during this time, they you may already be classified as common-law. You should in this case request your app be changed from conjugal to common-law, and hope they accept your proofs of cohabitation. You haven't really explained your specific living situation for the 12 months period you may qualify, so not entirely sure if it would be meet the common-law requirements.

We

 

[A.magri41]

You can request to change it to common-law???

I put all of our reasoning of why we went with conjugal instead of common law in response to the procedural fairness... but I could email them asking their opinion... maybe they will answer, probably not. I have yet to come across other people in this situation as seafarers.

The reason why we don’t quit and live on land is because he doesn’t seem eligible to work in Canada. However, in a few weeks, when we are in italy, we’ll try for an open work permit.

We have all read your sitauation, but you don't seem to be understanding the key issue here. And that is work/employment reasons are not considered valid barriers by IRCC to getting married or becoming common-law.

Yes getting married is a personal choice and IRCC can't force it, but they are very clear that if you aren't married you must be common-law. If you can't become common-law, but can get married but are choosing not to, this will not be accepted as a conjugal relationship.

https://www.canada.ca/content/dam/ircc/migration/ircc/english/resources/manuals/op/op02-eng.pdf
5.45. What is a conjugal partner?
Because of Supreme Court decisions, the choice not to marry is a constitutionally protected choice. Thus, CIC cannot require couples to marry in order to immigrate. However, if they are not married, they must be common-law partners. There is NO provision for fiancé(e)s or “intended common-law partners” in IRPA. If a Canadian and a foreign national can get married or can live together and establish a common-law relationship, this is what they are expected to have done before they submit sponsorship and immigration applications.

As well, for these individuals, marriage is usually not an available option. The conjugal partner category is mainly intended for partners where neither common-law partner status nor marriage is possible, usually because of marital status or sexual orientation (both analogous grounds of discrimination under the Charter), combined with an immigration barrier.

5.46. Can conjugal partners be substitutes for fiancé(e)s?
Canadians and their foreign national fiancé(e)s are expected to be married before the immigration process takes place, i.e., the foreign national must be married to the Canadian sponsor and apply to immigrate as a married spouse.

If you have actually lived together for 12 consecutive months, with very few breaks (of say 2-3 weeks at most) during this time, they you may already be classified as common-law. You should in this case request your app be changed from conjugal to common-law, and hope they accept your proofs of cohabitation. You haven't really explained your specific living situation for the 12 months period you may qualify, so not entirely sure if it would be meet the common-law requirements.

an

 

[A.magri41]

Hello commonlaw2018,

Please get your facts straight before posting things that are incorrect.

I have not posted my story anywhere else. Especially on a Africanada site... neither of us are African.

I am reading what people have to say. However, it’s hard to accept opinions and/or ideas when they are still not coming from people who are in our situation.

I’m a citizen since 1989. Also says it in that post you referenced from the African site. Don’t know where you’re getting landed pr from 2018 from.

Maybe you should take up a job with The Onion, just so you can make up wild stories!

They are posting their story everywhere. They just want to read what they want to read and ignore everything else. The sponsor is just landed as PR in early 2018. They said their relationship started 5 years ago. And the sponsor failed to declear the would-be applicant as non-accompany spouse/partner.
I think they would be rejected definitely under any kind of categories cause of convenience of relationship.

They are posting their story everywhere. They just want to read what they want to read and ignore everything else. The sponsor is just landed as PR in early 2018. They said their relationship started 5 years ago. And the sponsor failed to declear the would-be applicant as non-accompany spouse/partner.
I think they would be rejected definitely under any kind of categories cause of convenience of relationship.