FEAR OF MISREPRESENTATION. Please help

[VITbman]

Hi everyone.

I have the following situation and would like to hear your opinion.

In 2013 I was living with my girlfriend till the end of 2015. When we filed out taxes in 2016 for 2015, our accountant mark as as a common-law partners.
During the whole period of my immigration, I have never stated that I was in common-law (marked Single status in all applications) as I was not sure if that applies to those relationships (we don't have common-law in my home country). In January 2018 I received later from CRA that they have changed my marital status to common-law based on the 2015 assessment. I've submit documents to put it back to single since my relationships ended in 2016 and we were completely separated by that time.

Now I'm doing sponsorship for my current wife and it asks me questions if I ever been in common-law marriage. Since in all my previous documents I was alway show Single status, I'm afraid that now if I'll state that I was in common law I might face misrepresentation in my PR application and all previous visa and permit extensions (PR since Mid 2017).

Please advice.

 

[jatt-going-canada]

First, common law marriage rules vary by province. In BC if you lived with your girlfriend for more than 2 years then yes, you were in common law marriage.

From the CIC website, it appears that they consider you "common law partner" for sponsorship purposes if you have lived together for 12 months.
http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/helpcentre/answer.asp?qnum=346&top=14

Since you lived with your girlfriend from 2013-2015, you would likely be considered common law partners. Your tax returns also show your status as married/common law. Therefore, you should say yes to that question.

As far as it being considered misrepresentation, i don't think it would be a problem because when you applied for PR, the relationship was already over and you were no longer a common law partner. Did the PR application form ask if you're currently in a common law relationship or did it ask if you have you ever been in a relationship? If it was the former question, then you're in the clear.

Either way, it should not be a huge problem because CIC is likely just checking to see if you have sponsored someone previously. Applicants with 2nd marriages or common law relationships do face extra scrutiny when it comes to PR applications.

 

[Canucks and Hawks]

Yeah, it’s better to be honest. If you lived with your partner for more than a year, it’s a common law partnership. I don’t think it matters if you declared it or not through CRA