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Irish Colleen

Star Member
Aug 8, 2010
82
0
Ontario
Category........
Visa Office......
London
Job Offer........
Pre-Assessed..
App. Filed.......
13th December 2011
File Transfer...
7th February 2012
Med's Done....
9th December 2011
LANDED..........
20th May 2012
Hi,

I would love some help with this please - I have now been in Canada for over 4 months living with my Common Law Partner. I want to apply to extend my visitor status.

What do I give for my reasons for extending my stay? We realise that we have to show proof that we have lived together for 12 months before we can apply for Permanent Residence for me, so do we say this on the forms for the Visitor extension?

Any info would be appreciated

Thanks
 
When I did a visitor permit extension application before I kept the reason as simple as possible ("To see more of your beautiful country") and it was approved. I then tried another one that was refused however that was because I was trying to change the reason for the visit to "business" - big mistake! My advice for any encounter with any immigration, is to only offer up information that they need to know. Personally I wouldn't mention the fact that you intend to settle permanently, or even that you plan to apply for PR merely just that you want to extend your stay as a visitor, giving them evidence that you will not need to work and that you have the means to get "home" when your time is up. Also showing that you have ties to "home" will make it harder for them to refuse. In most cases, they will just renew your visa unless you give them grounds for refusal by complicating your application.

Of course I am not a lawyer so please take my advice with a generous pinch of salt.
 
Tell them you wish to stay here with your partner and that you will be applying for PR in the near future .

I did this years ago and I was never denied an extension.
 
Irish Colleen said:
Hi,

I would love some help with this please - I have now been in Canada for over 4 months living with my Common Law Partner. I want to apply to extend my visitor status.

What do I give for my reasons for extending my stay? We realise that we have to show proof that we have lived together for 12 months before we can apply for Permanent Residence for me, so do we say this on the forms for the Visitor extension?

Any info would be appreciated

Thanks

The best thing to tell them is......... "the truth" :)

IMO, pay online (in full) for the PR application and include a copy of the receipt with your application to extend your visit.
Many people are granted an extension of 12 months in this situation.
 
Do you mean that you can pay all the necessary fees for PR online while waiting for the rest of the documents to arrive for PR applications? And with these receipts, you can can apply for extension of visa as visitor?
 
newlife23 said:
Do you mean that you can pay all the necessary fees for PR online while waiting for the rest of the documents to arrive for PR applications? And with these receipts, you can can apply for extension of visa as visitor?

Yes, but as I have said before, there are no 100% guarantees :)
 
Yes, I see. Tks :)
 
Thanks for the advice. :)

Can I just ask one more thing?

When filling in the application for the extension, do I name my partner as my common law partner? We have been a couple for three years now, but we have only lived together since November 2010. My understanding is that he cannot be named as my common law partner on the application forms until we have lived together for a year?


Thanks
 
I am guessing that if you do that, they may want you to prove he is your common-law partner and subsequently fill in a "declaration of common-law union" (or whatever it's called) and provide the necessary evidence that he is as said (such as what you would in your PR app). I guess this all depends which way you are going - telling them you're renewing as you're about to apply for PR (as a sponsored common-law partner) or that you're just going to be wanting to stay in Canada as a visitor for a bit longer.

Good luck whatever you do. I expect you'll be coming back here lots in the future.