Help! Not sure of MY current marital status!

[jktokyo]

Hi everyone and thanks in advance for any help with this. I am currently going through a long drawn out divorce but would like to sponsor my Japanese girlfriend under a common-law sponsorship. I have been separated from my wife for 7-years and have been living with my Japanese girlfriend for 5-years. We both currently live in Japan.

Anyway, I am trying to fill out the application for sponsorship and I wanted to put legally separated for my marital status but then the next question is "Enter the date (year, month, day) you were married or you entered into your current common-law relationship." Does this mean the one with my current girlfriend or my soon to be ex-wife?

Then, the next question is "Write the family name(s) and given name(s) of your current spouse or common-law partner" Again, who are they referring to? My now common law partenr or my soon to be ex???

Any help with this would be much appreciated.

 

[moochops]

They are referring to your girlfriend that you have now - not your ex - thats what current means. There is a section in which you can fill in the details about the date you separated from your ex.

 

[Steph C]

I agree, for both questions it's asking about your girlfriend because she is your only partner for the purpose of the application.

If you need to add any clarification I think you can add an extra page to write an explanation.

 

[jktokyo]

Thanks for the help but I am still a little confused. For my marital status I should put common law (meaning common law with my current partner) and not separated?

Also, I am using the online form and when it asks when I was married before it asks for a to-from date but the marriage is not legally over yet. It will only accept a date not a N/A or the word present. Any ideas about this??

Thanks again

 

[KJG]

Thanks for the help but I am still a little confused. For my marital status I should put common law (meaning common law with my current partner) and not separated?

Also, I am using the online form and when it asks when I was married before it asks for a to-from date but the marriage is not legally over yet. It will only accept a date not a N/A or the word present. Any ideas about this??

Thanks again

no your legal marital status is separated.......

if you have a legal separation - I mean a binding Separation Agreement you put the date it states on that as the from date....if you don't have a separation agreement whatever date you left your former spouse......

 

[hogaishaadi]

If the marriage aint legally over then me thinks u cant really sponsor a new partner...

 

[KJG]

If the marriage aint legally over then me thinks u cant really sponsor a new partner...

well it is definately a grey area and open for debate.......and personally I would have divorced first then applied or least start the divorce now.......

 

[CharlieD10]

If the marriage aint legally over then me thinks u cant really sponsor a new partner...

Not true. So long as there is a definite demarcation between the two relationships, he can so sponsor a new partner. Obviously, she can't be his wife, because he is still legally married to someone else until he has his divorce decree. He is not prevented from sponsoring the person he is currently living with as his common-law partner however, because they have a clearly conjugal relationship and have cohabited for at least 12 months. CIC permits him to sponsor her as his common-law partner, without regard to the fact that he may still be legally married to someone else, so long as he can show that his conjugal relationship with his wife clearly ended and is no longer subsisting.

 

[jktokyo]

OK, so I should put as follows

8 a) current marital status: Legally separated.

b)Enter the date (year, month, day) you were married or you entered into your current common-law relationship.
(if I enter Legally separated I am not allowed to fill in this date.)

c)Write the family name(s) and given name(s) of your current spouse or common-law partner.
Again, I can not fill this space in if I write legally separated.

Question 9
Check the box to indicate whether you have previously been married or in a common-law relationship. If you checked “Yes”,

Does this mean my current wife who I am separated from or is this for other previous relationships?

Sorry for all the questions but I guess the form isn't really made for someone who is married and also common law??

 

[hogaishaadi]

Although u can have 100's of gf's or bf's at a time, but legally u can only call one of them ur partner/spouse, and in this persons case he already has a wife, wont be able to sponsor his gf under common law as long he does not produce a divorce letter.

 

[hogaishaadi]

Not true. So long as there is a definite demarcation between the two relationships, he can so sponsor a new partner. Obviously, she can't be his wife, because he is still legally married to someone else until he has his divorce decree. He is not prevented from sponsoring the person he is currently living with as his common-law partner however, because they have a clearly conjugal relationship and have cohabited for at least 12 months. CIC permits him to sponsor her as his common-law partner, without regard to the fact that he may still be legally married to someone else, so long as he can show that his conjugal relationship with his wife clearly ended and is no longer subsisting.

best of luck to him then, although he will run into a wall eventually...

 

[jktokyo]

Thanks again for all the quick replies. I am in fact going through the divorce now but it is taking forever! I did want to wait for the divorced to be finalized but it has just been delayed once again. I am now hoping for a final judgement in late September or by mid-October by the latest (I guess no July wedding this year!). The reason I am deciding to apply now is I really want to be back in Canada by the beginning of next year and I we have putting this off for almost a year now due to a very slow lawyer and court system.

 

[CharlieD10]

Although u can have 100's of gf's or bf's at a time, but legally u can only call one of them ur partner/spouse, and in this persons case he already has a wife, wont be able to sponsor his gf under common law as long he does not produce a divorce letter.

Legally, you may only have one spouse. For Immigration purposes, you may be legally married to someone else, but are able to sponsor another person as your common-law or conjugal partner, and since we are not discussing his legal options but his Immigration ones, yes, he may sponsor her. I suggest you read OP2.

 

[CharlieD10]

OK, so I should put as follows

8 a) current marital status: Legally separated.

b)Enter the date (year, month, day) you were married or you entered into your current common-law relationship.
(if I enter Legally separated I am not allowed to fill in this date.)

c)Write the family name(s) and given name(s) of your current spouse or common-law partner.
Again, I can not fill this space in if I write legally separated.

Question 9
Check the box to indicate whether you have previously been married or in a common-law relationship. If you checked “Yes”,

Does this mean my current wife who I am separated from or is this for other previous relationships?

Sorry for all the questions but I guess the form isn't really made for someone who is married and also common law??

Question 8a: Your current marital status for CIC's purposes is Common-Law. Remember to answer all questions in relation to your current relationship, in regards to the person you are asking to sponsor. "Legally separated" applies to your past relationship and you are not trying to sponsor her, obviously.

8b - Enter the date when your relationship with your current partner began.

8c - Put your current partner's name.

9. Indicate that you were married, and then indicate the date of your separation when it asks when that relationship ended. You may need to explain on a separate sheet of paper that you do not yet have a divorce decree, and attach some form of documentation relating to the current stage of your divorce proceedings.

Plenty of Pinoys (Philippinos) are sponsored by their Canadian partners while married to someone else, because divorce is not legal in their country. You just need to know how to fill out the forms, and you will do fine.

 

[Steph C]

Although u can have 100's of gf's or bf's at a time, but legally u can only call one of them ur partner/spouse, and in this persons case he already has a wife, wont be able to sponsor his gf under common law as long he does not produce a divorce letter.

What you're saying is untrue, and even Canadian law backs up what he is doing. In Canada it is legal to be not yet divorced and living common law with someone else. He said himself that he had difficulty obtaining a divorce and it's not your job to judge him or anyone on it.

To the original poster - My partner and I had the same problem - he is unable to obtain a divorce because his ex keeps asking for more money which we don't have. Also, he is Filipino and divorce is illegal but not impossible to obtain. We tried for one but it was stopped in paperwork and we didn't have deep enough pockets. We are sponsoring Conjugal but for his Marital status I put Common Law because there was no answer for Conjugal and I was told that the forms should pertain to me and him, and not to him and his ex. My opinion would be that for your marital status you should put common law because that is your current status, common law with your girlfriend.