conjugal sponsorship

[thisyoung]

I appreciate any info, suggestions and advices. I´m from the philippines and my partner who is a PR in Canada would like to sponsor me. We have lived together for 7 years in the philippines before he went to canada and we have sufficient proof - letters, emails,photos, ID´s, legal documents. I can´t marry him because I had a previous marriage - FYI Divorce is not allowed in the Philippines - I´m currently processing my annulment it has been on process for almost 2 years and i don´t know when the decision will be finalized i heard sometimes it takes 5 years. We have been together for 7 years without a child which i think makes it a little complicated through i have medical records to show that we have tried infertility work outs.
He also declared me as his common law in Canada and I'm his beneficiary in his insurance policy.
We are planning to submit out application this month, I'm quite worried... does anybody have the same experience? I´d really appreciate any advice. and can anybody tell me if I have any chance of acquiring a visa?
many thanks

 

[canadianwoman]

When he applied for his own PR visa, did he declare you as his common-law partner on his forms? If no, why not? If yes, why couldn't you go with him to Canada then?
And when he landed in Canada (when he arrived at the airport with his PR visa and they processed him), did he tell the border official about you, and that he had a common-law spouse?

If he had been living with you for seven years before he went to Canada, but didn't declare you on his immigration forms and at the border when he entered, then he can't sponsor you now.

 

[needmyhushand]

So you cant remarry even after the first marriage was ended wow i think your boyfriend should get a lawyer in canada to help him

 

[thisyoung]

He went to canada with a work visa and applied for PR after sometime. He declared me as his common law spouse when he applied for his PR , I am also his benefiary in his health insurance. I'm just worried we don't have a child which is a strong evidence. Thank you canadian woman for the info. I don't get a lot of positive views with regards to my situation.
My annulment proceedings had been on going for two years and still awaiting decision....unfortunately annulment in the philippines takes a long time and is expensive but in due time we will get married.

 

[BeShoo]

I'm just worried we don't have a child which is a strong evidence.

Having a child is poor evidence at best. It doesn't prove much. I suppose it proves that you once had sex with someone. If it could be established somehow that your partner is the father of the child, it would prove that you once had sex with him. It doesn't prove that you are in love with him or that you have a committed/ongoing relationship, or that you have plans for your future life together. Casual sex does exist and you can get pregnant from it. Even unwanted sex exists. Same thing.

So... having a child together means very little. It could be a factor in your favour, but a very minor one if any. It certainly is far from a requirement.

Read this list I posted: http://www.canadavisa.com/canada-immigration-discussion-board/spousal-sponsorship-t46995.0.html;msg357760#msg357760 and the other reply right after it. These are the kinds of things you need to establish. The "presence of children" is mentioned somewhere in those 20 or 30 points, but even then, the question is how the children are treated if there are any present. It's important to stress that all of the factors don't have to be present. Many of them will not apply to your situation.

 

[canadianwoman]

It sounds like you have a good chance of being accepted. You don't have to be married to him - being common law is good enough. The visa officers in Manila know about the problems there with being unable to divorce.
Send in proof with your application that you are trying to have a child and have undergone treatment for infertility, if possible. Not having a child will not hurt your chances.

 

[BeShoo]

I agree with canadianwoman. Common law is just fine and is the only thing you can do in the present situation. I will repeat that the presence or lack of a child is not a problem.

 

[Stumpedmom]

He went to canada with a work visa and applied for PR after sometime. He declared me as his common law spouse when he applied for his PR , I am also his benefiary in his health insurance. I'm just worried we don't have a child which is a strong evidence. Thank you canadian woman for the info. I don't get a lot of positive views with regards to my situation.
My annulment proceedings had been on going for two years and still awaiting decision....unfortunately annulment in the philippines takes a long time and is expensive but in due time we will get married.

If he included you in the original application for PR as a common law spouse, would you not have had to go through all the medicals and background checks even as non accompanying spouse???

Maybe I am just confused about that...

 

[thisyoung]

Thanks guys... ;D

 

[Boracay]

The fact that he declared you on his PR makes it no problem. I don't know if he needed to declare you on his work visa or not but if he didn't on the work visa and did on the PR....maybe just maybe it would complicate things....but I doubt it.

Canada does not require you have children with your spouse or common law partner of proof of anything. many people prefer to get married and never have children, that's your decision and the Canadian government need not get involved. Having a child together may prove a bit that you are together if you showed lots of pics of a family, remittance slips to support your child etc. But it wouldnt prove much so I wouldn't worry about it.

The most important thing is the proof that you cohabited for at least a year and that it was recent as possible. For example if you lived together for one year and you spent 5 years apart it's a lot more difficult to prove common law. The fact that you lived together for 7 years helps you a lot, but you must prove it, thats the important part.
Also proof that you guys are trying your best to get back together as soon as possible will help a lot. Applying for a TRV so you can at least visit would be great, if it gets denied, it's evidence you at least tried. If 6 months go by, try again!

Also good evidence would be if he has come to visit you at any point.

Sounds like if you have sufficient proof of your relationship and he declared you on his PR you will be OK! =)

 

[thisyoung]

thank you for all your encouragements... however
I feel so depressed because of what i found out. all the while i thought that my common law partner had declared a common law status when he applied for a work permit and PR but when i called the agency that proccessed his work permit and PR i found out that he had a single status in his application, my partner wasn't aware of because the agency processed all his papers. all he was aware of is that he declared a common law status in his T4 and insurance and declared me as his beneficiary but with regards to his PR he was declared single.
do i still have chances of being sponsored as a common law spouse? thank you for all your comments

 

[scylla]

That's not good news.

Just to confirm, were you medically examined as part of his PR application? Were your police certificates included in his application? If these things weren't done, then you definitely were not included.

I'm not sure what to say. Hopefully others will jump in and comment. CIC won't care that the agency made this mistake. Your partner had to sign all of the paperwork before it was submitted and by signing he agreed that it was all correct.

I'm not sure common law is still doable under these circumstances. Can you qualify to immigrate independently as a skilled worker?

 

[pinklady]

It definitely doesnt look good.
Sorry.
But if you weren't included on your partners PR application then he won't be able to sponsor you now.

 

[canadianwoman]

Since he declared himself as single on his PR application, he cannot sponsor you now. When someone applies for PR, he or she has to declare their spouse or common-law partner. Then the spouse or partner is examined as part of the PR application. If someone does not declare their spouse or partner when they apply for PR, they can't sponsor them later.

Your best bet would be to try to immigrate to Canada on your own - through the Live-in Caregiver Program, or Federal Skilled Worker, or one of the business classes.

 

[thisyoung]

thank you for the advice pink lady and to all you posted their comments thank you ....i really feel devasted about this, we had already completed our application and had sent it to CIC before i found out about the status of my partner.