fastest way to sponsor a boyfriend from the philippines

[DJCT]

hello everyone, im new here and i hope someone can help me. i just received my immigrant visa last august 2011 and i am planning to go to canada before the year ends. i have a boyfriend and we have been living together for two years already. however, marriage is not an option right now since i might be leaving anytime soon. my question is, when i get to canada, what would be the fastest way to sponsor him? and would it be possible to sponsor my parents (who are living in the US) and my boyfriend (living in the philippines) at the same time? i hope someone can help me on this. thank you in advance for replying! God bless you!

 

[shamsia]

You can apply as 'common-law'. Read this post to understand the implications of it all:

http://www.canadavisa.com/canada-immigration-discussion-board/spousal-sponsorship-t46995.0.html

And for the proof you need to collect to prove you are in a common law relationship, you might find this link helpful:

http://www.canadavisa.com/canada-immigration-discussion-board/-t9893.0.html

Hope this helps!

 

[scylla]

How did you obtain PR status? Did you include your boyfriend in the application and was he medically examined? If you landed as "single" in August 2011, this is going to create problems in sponsoring your boyfriend.

 

[DJCT]

thanks shamsia. i am just wondering if sponsoring him is possible since during my application, i did not declared him as a common law partner. i just read a thread now stating that you cannot sponsor someone as a spouse/common law partner/conjugal partner if i moved into canada already and during the application, they werent interviewed and examined. im getting more confused. thanks for the help again.

 

[DJCT]

hi scylla. i applied under FSW. that's exactly my case. so are you saying that sponsoring him would be impossible already? what would be my other options then? im so regretful right now.. i hope you can help me.

 

[shamsia]

hi scylla. i applied under FSW. that's exactly my case. so are you saying that sponsoring him would be impossible already? what would be my other options then? im so regretful right now.. i hope you can help me.

Oh I assumed you were a PR alreeady! Since you have a long relationship history, you can try the option of getting married & then informing CIC about your changed relationship status. It could be a simple ceremony so that you get your marriage certificate. Then your bf can apply for an open work permit and hopefully get it.

But you need to be a PR in order to sponsor a person. Or he could indivually try for a FSW himself. You get 5 points for having a spouse in Canada I believe.

Just my two cents. The more senior members can give you better advice

 

[CharlieD10]

You cannot sponsor him if you did not declare your relationship with him when you applied to immigrate. Even if you were to marry him now, you would still be unable to sponsor him. You should have declared your status as common-law on your application, since you were living with him, or else you should have informed the embassy BEFORE they issued your visa or BEFORE you landed. Since you landed as single, you cannot now claim and sponsor a common-law partner who was not declared and not examined when you landed.

 

[DJCT]

Oh I assumed you were a PR alreeady! Since you have a long relationship history, you can try the option of getting married & then informing CIC about your changed relationship status. It could be a simple ceremony so that you get your marriage certificate. Then your bf can apply for an open work permit and hopefully get it.

But you need to be a PR in order to sponsor a person. Or he could indivually try for a FSW himself. You get 5 points for having a spouse in Canada I believe.

Just my two cents. The more senior members can give you better advice

yes shamsia. i am a PR already but im still here in the philippines. i'll be leaving by october-november, hopefully. the problem is, marriage is really not option as of now. if we have no other way, probably he could just try applying for FSW also. but we would have to wait until he finishes his master's degree. im not sure though if he could include me as a common law partner in his application since i did not declare it when i applied. thank you very much for your patience. in case you learn something about my case, i would really appreciate it if you'll share it with me. God bless you!

 

[DJCT]

You cannot sponsor him if you did not declare your relationship with him when you applied to immigrate. Even if you were to marry him now, you would still be unable to sponsor him. You should have declared your status as common-law on your application, since you were living with him, or else you should have informed the embassy BEFORE they issued your visa or BEFORE you landed. Since you landed as single, you cannot now claim and sponsor a common-law partner who was not declared and not examined when you landed.

thanks for your answer charlie although i have to admit that i got disappointed after i read it. i just dont get the part that even if i marry him now, i would still be unable to sponsor him. why is that so? what if after staying in canada for some time, i'll visit the philippines then marry him. would i be able to sponsor him already in that case? how about him getting a visitor visa then us getting married in canada? would that be valid? thank you so much for your time.

 

[CharlieD10]

thanks for your answer charlie although i have to admit that i got disappointed after i read it. i just dont get the part that even if i marry him now, i would still be unable to sponsor him. why is that so? what if after staying in canada for some time, i'll visit the philippines then marry him. would i be able to sponsor him already in that case? how about him getting a visitor visa then us getting married in canada? would that be valid? thank you so much for your time.

Representing yourself on the forms as "single" when you were involved in a common-law relationship runs contrary to Section 16(1) which places on all immigrants a duty to answer all questions honestly. Section 117(9)(d) prohibits recognising as members of the family class any spouses, children or relatives not declared at the time of the application or at landing (as a last resort). Those are the two reasons why you would not be able to sponsor him.

If you have not already landed, then I suggest you inform CIC BEFORE you do so, declare him on your application as your common-law partner, and have him medically examined. Even if he does not accompany you immediately, it would mean that you retain the option to sponsor him later.

If you go ahead and land without declaring your relationship with him and without him getting the medical done, you CANNOT EVER SPONSOR HIM. Even if you waited a few years, went back home and sponsored him, you would end up mis-representing yourself when you landed, since you already are in a common-law relationship which you have not declared, OR you would mis-represent yourself when you sponsored him as a spouse. Either way, you would not be able to sponsor him, and you could find yourself subject to a report for misrepresentation. You really don't want that headache.

Declare him NOW, if you haven't landed as a PR yet. Add him to the application, get his medical done.

If you already landed as a PR, there is nothing to be done, you have forfeited the opportunity to sponsor him as a spouse, common-law or married, and he will have to try to immigrate under another stream.

 

[canadianwoman]

I agree with Charlie. If you have not used your PR visa yet to 'land' in Canada, tell the Manila visa office that you are in a common-law relationship. They will cancel your visa, and issue a new one once he has been examined. If you are already in Canada, it is too late.
If when you come to Canada you say you are single you will never be able to sponsor him, even if you marry him later. The only way would be to lie on the application form. You could not sponsor him common-law, since to do so you would end up telling CIC that you were common-law before you landed, not single. So you could get married, then sponsor him as your husband, and never admit that you lived together. But if the visa officer found out you lied, he would be banned for misrepresentation, and your own PR could be in jeopardy.
The best course would be to get married now and add him to your PR application - this is only if you have not already landed in Canada.

 

[sthomas]

Hi, sorry to interrupt.

But does she really need to tell them that she has a common law partner?

I mean after she lands in Canada and come back to the Philippines, she just can marry him and sponsor.

I mean, she doesn't have to tell them they were lived in partners before that.

Philippines doesn't have this law that declares you as a common law, so no one would know unless you tell them.

 

[CharlieD10]

Yes, she needs to tell them she has a common-law partner, this is not about the law of the Phillipines, this is about Canadian immigration law. That is why Canada will recognise Phillipine conjugal and common-law partners of Canadian citizens and PRs when they are married to someone else they cannot get divorced from in the Phillipines because there is no divorce in the Phillipines, Canada makes its own laws on what it will recognise.

An immigrant must answer all questions put to them truthfully, as per Section 16(1). By representing herself as single when she is involved in a long-term relationship, especially with someone she later hopes to sponsor, she is not abiding by that requirement and risks forfeiting the option to sponsor him. If she lies on her application to sponsor him by marrying him and sponsoring him later without mentioning the common-law relationship, and this comes to the attention of Canadian immigration for ANY reason, they both stand to lose. She could find herself married to someone she is barred forever from sponsoring, and further find herself the subject of a misrepresentation report, and she can lose her PR for it.

It is best to be honest right from the start.

 

[canadianwoman]

Hi, sorry to interrupt.

But does she really need to tell them that she has a common law partner?

I mean after she lands in Canada and come back to the Philippines, she just can marry him and sponsor.

I mean, she doesn't have to tell them they were lived in partners before that.

Philippines doesn't have this law that declares you as a common law, so no one would know unless you tell them.

Yes, if she did not admit that they were living together before she came to Canada, she would probably be able to sponsor him as her husband. She definitely could not sponsor him common-law, though, because to do so she would have to admit they were living together when she got her PR visa, which would 1. put her PR in jeopardy for misrepresentation, and 2. make it impossible to sponsor him, since he was an undeclared dependent when she got her PR.
However, she must realize how difficult it is to lie on these forms and get away with it. They were living together for years, so they would have to make up separate addresses for each of them during this time, they would have to make sure no family members would inadvertently give it away, they would not be able to use a lot of relationship evidence because it would show them living together, and they would have to be sure not to inadvertently let something slip during the interview. The visa officer will grill the husband about how they met, how the relationship developed, etc. Should the visa officer find out they were common law, the husband will be banned from Canada and the wife might lose her own PR.

 

[inlimbo]

Yes, she needs to tell them she has a common-law partner, this is not about the law of the Phillipines, this is about Canadian immigration law. That is why Canada will recognise Phillipine conjugal and common-law partners of Canadian citizens and PRs when they are married to someone else they cannot get divorced from in the Phillipines because there is no divorce in the Phillipines, Canada makes its own laws on what it will recognise.

An immigrant must answer all questions put to them truthfully, as per Section 16(1). By representing herself as single when she is involved in a long-term relationship, especially with someone she later hopes to sponsor, she is not abiding by that requirement and risks forfeiting the option to sponsor him. If she lies on her application to sponsor him by marrying him and sponsoring him later without mentioning the common-law relationship, and this comes to the attention of Canadian immigration for ANY reason, they both stand to lose. She could find herself married to someone she is barred forever from sponsoring, and further find herself the subject of a misrepresentation report, and she can lose her PR for it.

It is best to be honest right from the start.

Agreed. Be honest.