EE FSW question: Not common-law yet, but both partners meet FSW requirements

[npoe]

Hi,

This is a somewhat complicated set of questions with regards to a potential EE FWS application.

My partner and I have been in a committed relationship for five years but are not yet living together. As a consequence, we do not qualify as common law partners.

Now I have come across the following passage (https://www.canada.ca/en/immigration-refugees-citizenship/services/immigrate-canada/express-entry/eligibility/federal-skilled-workers.html):

Principal Applicant

If you are applying on your own, you are the principal applicant.
If you have a live-in partner, either you or they can apply under Express Entry as a principal applicant if:

• you are:
  • married
  • common-law partners, which means you:
    • are an opposite-sex or same-sex couple
    • have lived together in a marriage-like relationship for at least one year
• both meet the requirements to apply as a Federal Skilled Worker

Your principal applicant should be the one of you most likely to:

• meet the eligibility requirements
• earn the most points in the section factors
• earn the most points under the Comprehensive Ranking System for Express Entry

My partner and I both and independently meet the FSW eligibility requirements and we will start living together soon. For our situation, the most important questions are:

1. Do the topmost black bullet points ("you are", "both meet...") represent a logical AND or a logical OR?
   
   • To me, it seems that they must be OR, as it would otherwise be impossible to bring along a spouse who does not meet the requirements (e.g., a stay-at-home parent). It would also contradict the paragraph just below ("Your principal applicant should be the one of you most likely to meet the eligibility requirements.") So what I read is (you are married OR common-law) OR (you both meet the FSW requirements). But correct me if I am wrong.
2. What is a "live-in partner"?
   • I have not yet come across a definition for this term in this context. It is obviously a partner who lives with you, but is there a minimum duration? I would assume not, because otherwise there would be no need to restate that duration when defining "common-law". Again, correct me if I am wrong.

If my interpretation is correct, my partner and I will soon be "live-in partners" (not common-law) who "both meet the requirements to apply as a FSW", hence, we will be able to apply as a couple. Is this correct? I have not found any similar cases in this forum, so my gut feeling is that I am missing something.

Some related questions:

If we cannot apply as a couple, we have the following options:

1. Wait a year.
   
2. Submit two independent applications. If both of us are invited, great. If one of us is invited, add the partner to the application the moment we have lived together for 12 months. Which brings up the following questions:
   
   • Up until which point can you add a common-law partner to your application? Before ITA I assume yes, but how about the later stages? (I.e., how long before the 12 month mark does it become safe to accept an ITA without risking to leave the partner behind?)
     
   • Could the fact that we "became" common-law only halfway through the process be held against us? As far as I know, we would have to state, initially, that the principal applicant is "single", as there is no option for "living together but not long enough". Could this be construed as a lie and would it help to include a letter stating our situation and intents?
3. (Obviously there is also marriage, but we would prefer not to.)

Thanks a lot to anyone who takes the time to read this, and good luck to all!
N.

 

[scylla]

Hi,

This is a somewhat complicated set of questions with regards to a potential EE FWS application.

My partner and I have been in a committed relationship for five years but are not yet living together. As a consequence, we do not qualify as common law partners.

Now I have come across the following passage (https://www.canada.ca/en/immigration-refugees-citizenship/services/immigrate-canada/express-entry/eligibility/federal-skilled-workers.html):

​

My partner and I both and independently meet the FSW eligibility requirements and we will start living together soon. For our situation, the most important questions are:

1. Do the topmost black bullet points ("you are", "both meet...") represent a logical AND or a logical OR?
   • To me, it seems that they must be OR, as it would otherwise be impossible to bring along a spouse who does not meet the requirements (e.g., a stay-at-home parent). It would also contradict the paragraph just below ("Your principal applicant should be the one of you most likely to meet the eligibility requirements.") So what I read is (you are married OR common-law) OR (you both meet the FSW requirements). But correct me if I am wrong.
2. What is a "live-in partner"?
   • I have not yet come across a definition for this term in this context. It is obviously a partner who lives with you, but is there a minimum duration? I would assume not, because otherwise there would be no need to restate that duration when defining "common-law". Again, correct me if I am wrong.

If my interpretation is correct, my partner and I will soon be "live-in partners" (not common-law) who "both meet the requirements to apply as a FSW", hence, we will be able to apply as a couple. Is this correct? I have not found any similar cases in this forum, so my gut feeling is that I am missing something.

Some related questions:

If we cannot apply as a couple, we have the following options:

1. Wait a year.
   
2. Submit two independent applications. If both of us are invited, great. If one of us is invited, add the partner to the application the moment we have lived together for 12 months. Which brings up the following questions:
   • Up until which point can you add a common-law partner to your application? Before ITA I assume yes, but how about the later stages? (I.e., how long before the 12 month mark does it become safe to accept an ITA without risking to leave the partner behind?)
     
   • Could the fact that we "became" common-law only halfway through the process be held against us? As far as I know, we would have to state, initially, that the principal applicant is "single", as there is no option for "living together but not long enough". Could this be construed as a lie and would it help to include a letter stating our situation and intents?
3. (Obviously there is also marriage, but we would prefer not to.)

Thanks a lot to anyone who takes the time to read this, and good luck to all!
N.

No - you will not be applying as a couple. You can only apply as a couple once you are either married or after you have lived together for at least one full year continuously. Starting to live together is not enough to be classified as a couple for immigration purposes. The term "live in partner" is clearly defined in the text you quoted above. It's someone you are either married to or who you have a common law relationship with. You meet neither requirement.

Right now your only option is to submit independent applications. You can add a partner to your application quite late in the process - even after you obtain your COPR. If you add your partner late in this process, it will delay processing by a number of months while the additional paperwork is processed.

Nothing here could be constructed as a lie. For immigration purposes you are both single since you aren't married and aren't common law.