I’m a European citizen who came to Canada on a 6 month ETA at which time I applied for study permit. I was granted my study permit effective January 2023 (left the country and went to the United States then crossed at the land border to authorize my study permit). I am now looking to change my program of study and would not be commencing school until September 2023. I have been living with my girlfriend since arriving in Canada in May. Would it be possible for my girlfriend and I to apply for common-law sponsorship in May 2023 as we will have been residing together for one year (despite me not starting school under my study permit)?
From study permit to common law spouse Sponsorship
- Thread starter japa46
- Start date
- Yes, you can apply for common law sponsorship in May 2023 provided you have evidence to prove you have cohabitated continuously since May 2022 (e.g. joint leases, joint bank accounts, etc dating back a full year).
- Note that if you are changing schools, you'll need to apply for a new study permit.
Hey
thanks for your reply.
Do you mind checking your private message, I have a few things I will like to ask you.
Please post your questions to the forum.
I'm not an immigration consultant or lawyer.
If you're looking for private advice, then I would recommend hiring an immigration lawyer.
Hi thanks for your reply.
we actually think it’s best we apply for the pr and hope everything gets sorted out before school in September to enable me make local student tuition payment.
I do have a questions:
1) we don’t have a joint lease as she already signed her lease before I moved in. Do you think we will have any issues with ircc, if we have officials letters showing that we both reside on the same address ?
2) we have joint accounts with a Canadian bank, how can we document this ?
3) my lady has a secondary address in Quebec (both resides here) while she works and has her primary address in Ontario . Do you think that would be significant issue to our application?
Overall, you should move over to the Family Sponsorship section of the forum since these questions really related to that application process. You'll get the most feedback there.
My thoughts:
- If you are submitting your application in May 2023, you definitely will not have PR by September.
1) The joint lease isn't mandatory but you must have enough evidence to convince IRCC that you meet the 1 year continuous cohabitation requirement.
2) You would want to provide bank statements / credit card statements (should be very easy to pull those online) that show these accounts were live back in May 2022 with both of you listed and with the same address. Again, the evidence you provide much show that you've cohabitated together for a full year so you're looking to provide evidence that dates back to May 2022.
3) I'm not clear which is the address where you both reside. Is it the Quebec address or the Ontario address? Her primary address should be the place where you live together. If it isn't, that could create complications. Her documents (e.g. work, school, tax, bank, etc.) should all have the address where you are living together.