Few questions on outland application for spousal sponsorship

[Ponga]

Thank you so much everyone for giving me this extremely valuable info. I was going to be gonest in my sponsorship app but it seems now that i cant be 100% honest. Only thing is I have to make sure my girlfriend and I are not common law partners. Then we should be fine right? The overstaying part is what im worried about! God blesses me then! Thank you so much!

Why are you doing this?!?! LISTEN to what people are telling you!

Return the CoPR and add her to your application NOW! If you don't...I hope you get caught for misrepresentation!!

God will only bless you if you tell the truth, right?!

 

[Aquakitty]

Thank you so much everyone for giving me this extremely valuable info. I was going to be gonest in my sponsorship app but it seems now that i cant be 100% honest. Only thing is I have to make sure my girlfriend and I are not common law partners. Then we should be fine right? The overstaying part is what im worried about! God blesses me then! Thank you so much!

You have it wrong, the overstaying is not so much the problem. The problem is omitting her on your original PR. The whole point of the PR is to LIVE in Canada, so they are not likely to kick you out over applying for something to get you living legally in Canada. You have to fix your current application as you outright lied on it, saying you had no spouse when you did. These people here know what they are talking about.

 

[Ponga]

@ tannguyen

Besides...if you DON'T add her to YOUR application, she will be in Canada WITHOUT STATUS for at least another 18 months after you [eventually] submit the application to sponsor her. Why would you do that to her? What would you do if she was deported (or at least removed from Canada) during that time? Would you feel bad?

Don't you think that she's already nervous enough for being here illegally for so long?

Adding her to your application NOW, is the only smart choice...because it gets her legal ASAP! You only need to add $550 to your application (for her application), pay for her medical and police check. That's a pretty cheap way to get what you both want, right? It will probably only add a couple of months to your processing time and you'll both be legal permanent residents of Canada.

Read through this thread:
http://www.canadavisa.com/canada-immigration-discussion-board/i-overstayed-my-visitor-visa-foralmost-7-years-s-t273237.15.html

You'll notice this important part:
I explained all my situation and was 100% honnest with CIC about my overstay and everything. I think this is why they didnt ask for an interview or even for more informations.

Don't screw this up!

 

[canuck_in_uk]

I'm calling troll on this one.

 

[tannguyen]

Thank you everyone! I am really in a middle of everything right now and I cant do 1 way or another. Anyways thank you everyone a lot for trying to help me out of this.

 

[ThadJarvis]

Unless it asks specifically for the original, a photocopy is fine, no need for certification. We had nothing certified for our application.

We had members of both families complete the stat dec, 3 in total.

IMM008 I put 1 for this, as my common law partner is my sponsor. I assume this is correct, if not please correct me I'm yet to send in my forms haha

Thanks for your response. I'm going to glaze over the thread hijack and get back to my questions ;P

- Can anyone confirm that I should put 1 for number of people on application in IMM008 (I have no dependents, my Canadian common-law partner is sponsoring me)?

- Also others have said that Dec of Common-Law Union is not req'd, which makes things easier (one less thing to get done before submitting) but can someone explain this statement from the guide?
"This form must be completed and signed by the sponsor and common-law partner, only if the latter is a co-signer on the application"...not quite sure about co-signing and what that means. I don't believe it applies to me, but wanted to check.

- Is there a pre-formatted statutory declaration? Either CIC-approved or just a good template to work off?

- My common-law partner is a student with a part time job. So far she has only entered info about her small job. I want to convey the fact she is in school. In reality I support myself and her, but my income is not tested in this application by the looks of things. Can I have some insight from people who applied where there sponsor was a student, and the main applicant employed?

I just want to say thanks for helping so much too. And sorry if I confused anyone by bringing this thread back after the hijack. I'll start with a clean thread if mods want me to.

 

[Majromax]

- Can anyone confirm that I should put 1 for number of people on application in IMM008 (I have no dependents, my Canadian common-law partner is sponsoring me)?

Yes. Only one person (yourself) is applying to obtain permanent residency.

"This form must be completed and signed by the sponsor and common-law partner, only if the latter is a co-signer on the application"...not quite sure about co-signing and what that means. I don't believe it applies to me, but wanted to check.

That's for the sponsorship of dependents, which has an income requirement. There, the statutory declaration certifies that the co-signing common-law partner is eligible to be a co-signer.

- Is there a pre-formatted statutory declaration? Either CIC-approved or just a good template to work off?

Form IMM5409 (pdf, English version linked).

- My common-law partner is a student with a part time job. So far she has only entered info about her small job. I want to convey the fact she is in school. In reality I support myself and her, but my income is not tested in this application by the looks of things. Can I have some insight from people who applied where there sponsor was a student, and the main applicant employed?

My partner/sponsor is unemployed and has been for some time; I am employed. I recently received my CoPR without any issue. For sponsorship of just a spouse, there is no income requirement. CIC only cares that the new immigrant will not require welfare or social services. Since you're already employed in Canada, there's no question at all about welfare -- it's not like you'll have a job search.

 

[ThadJarvis]

Thanks Majromax, that is very helpful. Some follow up questions:

RE IMM5409, I am aware of this doc but I am asking about statutory declarations given by friends and relatives as to the authenticity of our relationship - is there any Government document which should be used?

Another question that has come up: Will I need a Canadian police check? I did not for my work permit, but I suspect I might need one for the PR application since I'm living in Canada? It is not an issue, just trying to cut down on the unnecessary. If so is this an RCMP check or do I just head to my city police station?

 

[Majromax]

RE IMM5409, I am aware of this doc but I am asking about statutory declarations given by friends and relatives as to the authenticity of our relationship - is there any Government document which should be used?

Those you can and should wait for a request on, unless there's some reason you think CIC would have questions about you living together. (Edit: The preceding was incorrect.) Remember that "authenticity" is a separate check than a common-law relationship -- CIC only really cares about the authenticity if they suspect that the relationship is one of convenience, but for a common-law union you need documented proof of living together to qualify under the statutes. It's possible for very sincere, earnest relationships to still fail the one-year-cohabitation requirement.

Another question that has come up: Will I need a Canadian police check? I did not for my work permit, but I suspect I might need one for the PR application since I'm living in Canada? It is not an issue, just trying to cut down on the unnecessary. If so is this an RCMP check or do I just head to my city police station?

You do not need a police check from Canada unless CIC specifically asks you for it (and they very, very rarely do). CIC can (and does) ask the RCMP about you themselves.

 

[ThadJarvis]

Those you can and should wait for a request on, unless there's some reason you think CIC would have questions about you living together. Remember that "authenticity" is a separate check than a common-law relationship -- CIC only really cares about the authenticity if they suspect that the relationship is one of convenience, but for a common-law union you need documented proof of living together to qualify under the statutes. It's possible for very sincere, earnest relationships to still fail the one-year-cohabitation requirement.

Understood.

Our situation is that we cohabited from Dec 2011 to present with only 2 interruptions - 6 weeks in May/June 13 (no visits, settling in Canada, she flew over before me, I took some time to travel) and 3.5 months in 2014 (she went away to work for the summer, multiple visits back and forth.)

So we cohabited for at least 16 months before the first interruption, however we were travelling a lot.

I have done my best to document our addresses, even if some were brief, and I have included a lot of photos.

Come August 22nd, 2014 we have a year in Canada uninterrupted, maybe it's best to wait for that before submitting.

 

[canuck_in_uk]

RE IMM5409, I am aware of this doc but I am asking about statutory declarations given by friends and relatives as to the authenticity of our relationship - is there any Government document which should be used?

No, there is no template. The last thing you want is for these letters to sound like a form letter. They should be written in the person's own words. It should state how they know either of you, how they met the other person and that you are in a genuine common-law relationship. You can have them describe a time they were with you both, like a party or family get-together. You can also have them state how long you have been living together.

Those you can and should wait for a request on, unless there's some reason you think CIC would have questions about you living together. Remember that "authenticity" is a separate check than a common-law relationship -- CIC only really cares about the authenticity if they suspect that the relationship is one of convenience, but for a common-law union you need documented proof of living together to qualify under the statutes. It's possible for very sincere, earnest relationships to still fail the one-year-cohabitation requirement.

??

Bad advice. Common-law apps require 2 Statuatory Declarations from family/friends confirming a genuine relationship. These are required documents listed on the checklist and must be included in the app.

 

[Majromax]

Bad advice. Common-law apps require 2 Statuatory Declarations from family/friends confirming a genuine relationship. These are required documents listed on the checklist and must be included in the app.

Oh! You are indeed correct! I have edited my post above to strike out the very bad advice, and I apologize for any confusion I may have caused.

I wish that the requirement were more conspicuous. It is indeed on the document checklist, but I can't find it in any of the instruction guides.

 

[ThadJarvis]

Majromax - no worries, I had caught that on the checklist, and the other advice you have provided is invaluable.

So basically the stat dec is a typed up document, signed by the friend/family member and then simply notarized? I just don't want to miss anything out of it that may be considered esssential to it constituting a 'stat dec'.

 

[DanSlh]

Majromax - no worries, I had caught that on the checklist, and the other advice you have provided is invaluable.

So basically the stat dec is a typed up document, signed by the friend/family member and then simply notarized? I just don't want to miss anything out of it that may be considered esssential to it constituting a 'stat dec'.

Yes, that's it.

 

[canuck_in_uk]

So basically the stat dec is a typed up document, signed by the friend/family member and then simply notarized? I just don't want to miss anything out of it that may be considered esssential to it constituting a 'stat dec'.

The letter needs to be signed by the person in front of the notary, but yes, that's it.