Conjugal Sponsorship for Same-"gender" couple

[room1646]

This is our situation. I wish to bring my partner here in Canada. I am a naturalized Canadian Citizen and I have a stable job.

We met online on January 7, 2008 and became a couple on January 22, 2008 and have maintained a strong and serious long distance relationship. On March 20-30 2009 we met and spent time together in Hong Kong. Her Mother and Grandmother were also there for 2 days and I got to meet them. We have proof of our relationship as we communicate daily through text messages, long distance phone calls, and we have records of me providing her financial support. We have proof of that trip we took together (tickets, boarding pass, hotel receipts), pictures and testaments from our family and friends attesting that we have this relationship.

We've been prevented in living together because of :
1. an immigration barrier
2. our sexual orientation (we are in a same-sex relationship and same-sex marriage is not permitted where she lives)

Her sister is also a naturalized Canadian citizen and twice we've tried for her to come here on a Tourist Visa. Both attempts were denied. It was her sister that sponsored her on a Tourist Visa and since our relationship was not known to her sister yet, I was not mentioned in those two attempts for a TRV.

Can anyone please assure that we'll be granted approval given that all documents can be provided in support of our application?

Thanks!!

Any advise or tip would be greatly appreciated.

 

[Leon]

I think you have a strong case for a conjugal relationship. The criteria is that you can't get married and you can't live together and that is absolutely true in this case.

 

[room1646]

I have a friend who knows about this other couple (also in the same-sex relationship) and they were also in a long distance relationship. They did not try out for conjugal sponsorship. What they did was, the girl who lives in the Philippines applied for a Tourist Visa and stated that she has to come here in Canada to marry her partner as it is not legal nor permitted to do so in her country. She was granted the Tourist Visa after her interview with the Cdn Embassy in the Philippines and she came here and got married a couple of days after. She applied for her PR while staying here in Canada and in less than 9 months was granted one.

Do you think this is the better way to go? or should I still proceed with Conjugal Sponsorship?


Thanks in advance for replying.

 

[Leon]

You can definitely try it. If you get refusal for the temporary visa, you can always go back to conjugal sponsorship and then you'd have an even stronger case.

 

[room1646]

Thanks Leon!

 

[room1646]

Like I mentioned on my first post, my partner previously applied for a TRV twice and was denied on both occasions. Her sister lives here and is a citizen and so she was the sponsor and who invited her to come here for a visit. Our relationship was not known to her sister yet therefore I was not mentioned in either of the application.

Will this affect our chance of applying for a TRV for my partner and also our application for Conjugal Sponsorship since they have her previous attempts on record?

 

[Leon]

Write in the application that her sister does not know about your relationship but you thought she might have a stronger visa application if her sister invited her. You still need to show that she will go back at the end of the visit visa to actually get a visit visa so say that you plan for her to return after the wedding and then you will sponsor her for PR. If your plans change after the wedding, that's another matter. Maybe you will decide that it's faster for her to go back and you to sponsor her than to have her stay and do it that way. There is no guarantee to get PR in 9 months with an inland application. It is in many cases much slower.

 

[room1646]

leon, i need your help on this one.

i went to this seminar legit.ca for same-sex immigration sponsorship and i was told by the consultant that i may have a hard time getting approved under Conjugal Sponsorship based on :
Immigration barrier

i'm a natural-born Filipino citizen but became a naturalized Canadian citizen 8 years ago. my partner as I've mentioned is also Filipino, therefore, aside from economic reasons, I can go back home to Philippines and be with her. The thing is, with my current status I am only allowed (without visa) to stay in Philippines for 1 year. We really do not have an intention in staying and living in Philippines since I don't have any property there, my immediate family is here and basically my life is here.

Can you please offer some suggestions on how we could prove our case that we can apply for Conjugal Partner Sponsorship and have this "Immigration Barrier" as one of the main reasons why we cannot live in Philippines?

I'm sure you already know same-sex unions are frowned upon and are not legal in Philippines.

 

[Leon]

Other people have done it. If you apply for the TRV stating that you want to get married so you can sponsor your partner for PR and they deny the TRV, then apply for conjugal based on that you can not live in the Philippines, your partner can not live in Canada, you can't get married in the Philippines and you can't get married in Canada. That absolutely constitutes immigration barriers.

 

[room1646]

Thanks Leon!
What that consultant said kind of discouraged me a bit but what you said makes a lot of sense and we'll certainly address that in our application.


Again, thanks for your help.

 

[BCguy]

Relax,I can personally vouch for 3 same sex couples who got approved for Common law Relationships Sponsorship and 2 were Filipino

 

[room1646]

thanks BCguy although common law are a lot easier to prove.. but i guess for my case, since we'll be applying under Conjugal Partner Sponsorship -- and as long we can prove to the immigration that our relationship really IS true then we'll be fine.. i certainly hope we'll get approved.. thanks!

 

[room1646]

Other people have done it. If you apply for the TRV stating that you want to get married so you can sponsor your partner for PR and they deny the TRV, then apply for conjugal based on that you can not live in the Philippines, your partner can not live in Canada, you can't get married in the Philippines and you can't get married in Canada. That absolutely constitutes immigration barriers.

Hi Leon, we're leaning into applying for TRV first with the intent of getting married here in canada but also state that she has to go back to Philippines because we're processing the Out-of-Canada application for her PR.

question is should we mention in the Letter to the embassy about her 2 previous TRV application in which her sister was the sponsor?

 

[Leon]

You can mention it because they will see it anyway. You can say that she has a sister in Canada that she has tried to visit two times but has been denied. If you want, you can say that you already had a relationship at that time but thought that she would have a better chance if the sister applied and that the sister does not know about your relationship or did not at the time. If they say no to her TRV and you can prove that you have a relationship, you have a very strong case for conjugal, that's what I think anyway.

 

[room1646]

leon,
i just finished drafting my letter of invitation. we will try applying for a TRV for my partner. However, I know I still need to write something that would somehow convince the visa officer that my partner is going back to her country and do you know any procedural reason that she has to go back? Once we are married we can then apply under family Class and sponsor her as my spouse. So should I say she is required to go back because she has to take necessary steps in completing and submitting her medical forms, police clearance and when required for an interview, be actually there??
any suggestions would help.

please.

and thank you.