Eligibility for common law sponsorship

[villeray]

Hello. I have read thread after thread and I am unsure whether our situation would be accepted for common law sponsorship.
The past 5 years I have been in a serious relationship with a US based flight attendant, while i live in Canada. A year ago we moved to a new apartment in Montreal and signed a lease together. The previous apartment did not mention her in the lease. Because of the nature of her work, she doesn't spend more than 6 months per year in Canada, but she does live here in between trips. We split living expenses, have a joint bank account, frequently meet each other's families and friends, basically spend almost all of our non-working lives together. I sometimes go down south to see her family we also spend a few weeks a year on vacation.
The way we see it, whether I lived in the US or Canada, we would be spending just as much time together due to her current job.
Could our case meet common law sponsorship requirements?
Is it black or white that we have to physically be together 365 days a year or is there some gray area that would allow for our scenario to be admissible?
What could improve our case?

Thanks in advance!

Edit: for clarification, she is a US citizen and I am a Canadian citizen (and resident)

 

[k.h.p.]

The amount of time she spends living with you will be an issue. There was a thread here recently of a married couple who did not cohabit because the husband stayed close to work three or four nights a week, but at home the rest of the time. It will be hard to argue that you have cohabited for twelve months, although I understand that you will have proof of relationship in spades.

If you got married, proof of relationship will be easy. However, if you applied inland, even then I think it would be very hard to prove cohabitation. You're in a tough spot.

As an American/Canadian couple, though, you could easily apply outland as married. No cohabitation issues there.

 

[canuck78]

You also are somewhat lucky because she is a flight attendant immigration isn’t questioning why she is “living” in Canada and crossing the border often. Anyone else would have been refused entry a long time ago. US citizens trying to establish common law have to avoid the border as much as possible. She must be declaring her permanent location elsewhere for taxes.

 

[villeray]

Thanks for your replies! I like how active this forum is.
I do consider myself lucky as her job has allowed for our relationship to continue and grow.
Regarding time spent "living" together: how would the Canadian government treat the scenario if I was in the US and she still worked as a flight attendant? She would be home about just as often, but it seems to me that this might somehow meet the common law requirement.
I guess I might be trying to cling to the idea that the sponsorship could work.

Marriage is one way. Just not the way we have envisioned to live our lives currently.
For taxes, she's s considered a US resident in her home state. That can't really be changed until she can claim resident status somewhere else.

 

[k.h.p.]

Thanks for your replies! I like how active this forum is.
I do consider myself lucky as her job has allowed for our relationship to continue and grow.
Regarding time spent "living" together: how would the Canadian government treat the scenario if I was in the US and she still worked as a flight attendant? She would be home about just as often, but it seems to me that this might somehow meet the common law requirement.
I guess I might be trying to cling to the idea that the sponsorship could work.

Marriage is one way. Just not the way we have envisioned to live our lives currently.
For taxes, she's s considered a US resident in her home state. That can't really be changed until she can claim resident status somewhere else.

You would still have to prove that you cohabitated. Again - there was a married couple who reported on this forum receiving a procedural fairness letter because the visa officer was not satisfied that they had not cohabitated because the husband spent Monday-Thursday sleeping at a place closer to his work because his commute is 2.5 hours. In that case, the visa officer was going to refuse the application because that is not cohabitation.

Your case would be similar to that one. No matter the country of residence, if your partner is not actually cohabitating with you, there's no grounds for common-law. I know it's frustrating with a job like this, but it will be hard to prove cohabitation.

If she cannot claim residence outside of her 'home base' in the US, it'll be even harder to prove cohabitation in Canada.

 

[villeray]

I hear you.

If she cannot claim residence outside of her 'home base' in the US, it'll be even harder to prove cohabitation in Canada.

For that part, she can claim residence in Canada with her employer. But as far as the IRS is concerned, that would not be true until she's officially a permanent resident here.