How does the goverment expect people to continue relationships w/o marrying?

[acer925]

I am really confused to how the goverments of Canada and the U.S. expect my girlfriend and I to live together, date, and work in the same country. This doesnt seem possible to me unless we get married. We are not ready for marriage but we want to live together and both be able to work, not 800 miles apart! What are people who are in my situation supposed to do? Now I can see why there are so many "fraud marriages" b/c people want to live together and work under the same household but cannot do so without getting married? Am I missing something here?

 

[babynsx]

Common-Law and conjugal partners can be sponsored...

 

[acer925]

Common-Law and conjugal partners can be sponsored...

I thought I read that you can only be considered common law if theres a reason why you cannot get married such as the law of your contry or same sex marriagge? If accepted as common law partners would that allow each of us to eventually work in each others home country?

 

[bobshynoswife]

I thought I read that you can only be considered common law if theres a reason why you cannot get married such as the law of your contry or same sex marriagge? If accepted as common law partners would that allow each of us to eventually work in each others home country?

You're confusing it with conjugal partners, which are people who are unable to marry or be common-law because of border/legal issues.

You can sponsor a common-law spouse to move to Canada, but in order to be common-law you must have lived together continuously for at least 1 year. In a US/Canadian realationship you can live 6 months in Canada and then 6 months in the US, but both partners cannot be working unless they have secured another type of working visa.

You have to understand that Canada is only interested in letting people immigrate through the spousal class who are committed to their relationship through marriage or common-law. Since we have a system whereby a new immigrant receives permanent residency immediately, I'm sure you can understand why boyfriends and girlfriends are not immigration candidates.

 

[Harju]

The common-law category is not meant to include people who want to live together until they are ready to get married. Being "not ready for marriage" is an admission that you are not committed to the relationship and do not qualify under the spousal class.

 

[RobsLuv]

What you're experiencing is one of the disadvantages to having met someone from another country - it's not that easy just to move in together and figure out where the relationship is going. Although Canada and the US are close and share a border, they are two separate countries and each has its own immigration policy.

There is such a thing, in the States, as a "fiance visa" - which allows someone to bring their intended partner into the country to stay and to work . . . but then, after a period of time, you must marry or the sponsorship is withdrawn. If the relationship doesn't last, neither does the status. That's oversimplifying it, I'm sure - but the point is that Canada is not nearly so generous with their "temporary residence" policy. It is not possible to sponsor someone you think you might want to marry - you have to either get married, or you have to be common-law partners (having cohabitated for at least one continuous year) in order to be eligible to sponsor/apply for spousal permanent residence.

There are several ways to immigrate to Canada apart from spousal sponsorship, and there are ways to get temporary residence in Canada without it having to be about the relationship . . . someone could get a Study Permit, or if they find an employer willing to hire them who can get a positive Labour Market Opinion for the position (which involves proving that there are no qualified Canadian applicants), they can apply for a work permit. If the foreign national in your relationship can get into Canada through one of these methods, then that sets up the ability to "live" legally in Canada for long enough to be able to provide evidence of common-law qualification and then set the sponsorship process in motion after a year. It's also, sometimes, possible for a US citizen to come to Canada to visit for six months, and then get that status extended for another six months for a cumulative total of one year co-habitation . . . but it's not easy, there are no guarantees the visit would be extended, and there wouldn't be any ability to work or attend school. In addition, you live together for a year just to get to the point of qualifying to submit the PR application - after which you have another 6-12 months before permanent status is assigned . . . and the foreign national won't be working, basically, until that's done.

So, yes, they make it difficult - but it really isn't the government's responsibility to provide us all with a satisfying love life! And, while I get your point, this particular situation really has nothing to do with "fraud marriages". People in your situation actually want to be together (even if you haven't quite figured out whether it's for keeps), but find it difficult to do across immigration borders without benefit of marriage. People who enter into a fraudulent relationship (by immigration's definition) really don't want the relationship at all - they just want to get into Canada. So while it's true that Canada does their best to try to keep foreign nationals from entering the country and staying indefinitely, it's really not that unfair. The objective is to protect the integrity of the job market and healthcare for Canadians. There are an awful lot of illegal aliens in the States who are burdening the welfare system, taking jobs from Americans, and taxing the legal system. Canada, I think, is trying to do better for themselves. Where the US is finding it difficult to be tough on illegals, Canada is striving to prevent them from getting into the country in the first place.

 

[angelbrat]

I wanted to explore my relationship with my Canadian partner before I committed to marriage. Therefore, I came over to Canada from the UK as a visitor, whilst in Canada I got a job, LMO and work visa for 2 years. This enabled us to live together and also commit ourselves to the relationship. After 18 months, I applied for PR Inland, was approved and landed in less than 8 months.

It is possible to have a common law relationship and succeed in gaining your PR without getting married.

 

[acer925]

You're confusing it with conjugal partners, which are people who are unable to marry or be common-law because of border/legal issues.

You can sponsor a common-law spouse to move to Canada, but in order to be common-law you must have lived together continuously for at least 1 year. In a US/Canadian realationship you can live 6 months in Canada and then 6 months in the US, but both partners cannot be working unless they have secured another type of working visa.

You have to understand that Canada is only interested in letting people immigrate through the spousal class who are committed to their relationship through marriage or common-law. Since we have a system whereby a new immigrant receives permanent residency immediately, I'm sure you can understand why boyfriends and girlfriends are not immigration candidates.

Thank for the info. Heres the problem, I have lived in Canada with her for over a year without getting an extension or anything. At the time of 6 months, we considered applying for the extension but she was worried that they would reject it and make me go back. She was in no position to move to the states b/c she is a homeowner in Canada and had other obligations to be there. I am nota homeowner and had no obligations to be in the US. So now its been over a year and I dont believe we would be able to apply for common law because I overstayed.

 

[BeShoo]

Heres the problem, I have lived in Canada with her for over a year without getting an extension or anything.

Where are you now? In the U.S.? They're not going to retroactively deport you 6 months ago if they never noticed that you overstayed.

 

[YorkFactory]

The common-law category is not meant to include people who want to live together until they are ready to get married. Being "not ready for marriage" is an admission that you are not committed to the relationship and do not qualify under the spousal class.

This is not true. If you live together and have commingled your affairs to the extent possible, whether you are ready to get legally married is irrelevant.

 

[BeShoo]

This is not true. If you live together and have commingled your affairs to the extent possible, whether you are ready to get legally married is irrelevant.

Yes and no. If you're not ready to get married because you haven't yet reached the level of commitment that marriage would involve, then you're not yet in a qualifying relationship. If you're not married because marriage would be too permanent, that's really bad news, and that's what they'll assume unless you can convince them otherwise.

From the OP 2 processing manual:

Fiancé(e)s are individuals who intend to marry and intend to establish a conjugal relationship. In
most cases, they have not yet established a conjugal relationship. They intend to combine their
affairs and become mutually interdependent, but have not yet done so. Even if they have a sexual
relationship, they have not yet achieved the level of mutual interdependence that characterizes a
conjugal relationship although they intend to do so at some point when they marry.

 

[acer925]

Where are you now? In the U.S.? They're not going to retroactively deport you 6 months ago if they never noticed that you overstayed.

Still in Canada, but I've been to the states twice for a week each time during my stay here in Canada.

 

[acer925]

so can we still go through the process of common law sponsorship even though I've stayed in Canada for over a year and can prove it?

 

[acer925]

so can we still go through the process of common law sponsorship even though I've stayed in Canada for over a year and can prove it?

bump

 

[rjessome]

Thank for the info. Heres the problem, I have lived in Canada with her for over a year without getting an extension or anything. At the time of 6 months, we considered applying for the extension but she was worried that they would reject it and make me go back. She was in no position to move to the states b/c she is a homeowner in Canada and had other obligations to be there. I am nota homeowner and had no obligations to be in the US. So now its been over a year and I dont believe we would be able to apply for common law because I overstayed.

The overstay does not prevent you from applying as common law partners.