Very interesting to read of how others have approached this!
I've just begun my application for a Canadian Common Law visa. I'm Australian and have lived in Australia for the past three years with my Canadian partner, whom I met in 2006 while in Canada on a Working Holiday visa. We came to Australia in 2007 and in 2008 we applied for and were granted her Australian Defacto visa (same as Common Law). I remember how stressful it was for her, but now it's my turn as we're returning to Canada.
I have to say, both visa application processes are very similar and about the only difference I've found is that in "sponsoring" me, she has to announce her income and earning potential. In my case, I just had to agree that I would support her if the need arose.
Anyway, for her application we supplied about 10 photos, a 1-page account of our relationship (each), 2x joint bank account statement, 2x joint rental agreements, a letter from both our mothers declaring they knew our relationship to be true and continuing, 5-6 emails to each other throughout our relationship, copies of our joint flight to Australia, and photocopies of some Christmas cards sent to both of us.
We had a final interview as part of the process and our interviewer hardly even read what he had prepared! He flicked through the photos, scanned our parents' declarations, saw our joint bills/etc, and said, "You're all good!" What he did impart was that he received a lot of applications with missing or lacking information, and that hampered the process. He said it was a very repetitive process and that he could tell straight away if an application was genuine or not.
So my advice is (and what I remind myself during my application!) - Answer every question, send every required piece of required information, but don't stress out too much... this visa is here for people like us
