How much is enough?

[jo-macral]

We are finally getting all our documents together for my wife's PR, and am curious about 'how much' we need to actually include?

I am aware that some write close to nevel-sized documents about their relationship, etc.. however I feel this is overkill, and would rather provide enough to get the point across, rather than having the VO sit down for a week trying to read over everything.

How much do I NEED to write in regards to relationship, etc. I have little proof such as no emails, chat logs, phone logs, etc.. as we have been living together for over 4 years. I do have statements from friends & family, including plenty of photos of our wedding, etc..

What I am curious about, is how many have got their PR on a skinny, yet detailed and to-the-point application? I am sure the 3Kg applications are not necessary - or at least, shouldn't be.

 

[KJG]

We are finally getting all our documents together for my wife's PR, and am curious about 'how much' we need to actually include?

I am aware that some write close to nevel-sized documents about their relationship, etc.. however I feel this is overkill, and would rather provide enough to get the point across, rather than having the VO sit down for a week trying to read over everything.

How much do I NEED to write in regards to relationship, etc. I have little proof such as no emails, chat logs, phone logs, etc.. as we have been living together for over 4 years. I do have statements from friends & family, including plenty of photos of our wedding, etc..

What I am curious about, is how many have got their PR on a skinny, yet detailed and to-the-point application? I am sure the 3Kg applications are not necessary - or at least, shouldn't be.

jo-macral....there is no right or wrong sized application....it really boils down to your VO, your relationship and your comfort level. Many people take the point of view a good offense is better than a defense and therefore larger applications.......if you have been living together for 4 years then just inlcude rental agreements, joint bank account statements, anything that proofs you reside together as well as pictures.....statements from relatives are necessary for common-law but if you are married you don't necessarily need this.....as far as writing a novel about your relationship they just basically want to know the progression of your relationship....some people are creative and wordy, others are not....again this boils down to what you are satisfied with.

 

[Isometry]

Not sure what you'd count as skinny, but here's what I sent. We were successful and my spouse and I did not live together prior to the application

8 pages of chat excerpts
2 letters from friends stating that the relationship is genuine
2 screenshots of email inboxes showing emails between us
9 pages of photos (19 pics total)
22 pages of phone bills (1 per month)
4 trip itineraries showing visits
4 paypal transfers showing us splitting the cost of the tickets
(2) receipts for our wedding/engagement rings
~ 5 pages, photocopies of boarding passes/passport stamps showing visits

Total proof: 58 pages, which sounds like a lot, but is nowhere close to the several-kg packages that some people have sent. Then we had another 32 pages from the forms that the CIC gives you, plus another few from *censored word* certificates, medical, background, etc, and our entire application package was probably around 100 sheets of paper total, which works out to 1 pound, or a little over 1cm thick

 

[ragluf]

jo-macral....there is no right or wrong sized application....it really boils down to your VO, your relationship and your comfort level. Many people take the point of view a good offense is better than a defense and therefore larger applications.......if you have been living together for 4 years then just inlcude rental agreements, joint bank account statements, anything that proofs you reside together as well as pictures.....statements from relatives are necessary for common-law but if you are married you don't necessarily need this.....as far as writing a novel about your relationship they just basically want to know the progression of your relationship....some people are creative and wordy, others are not....again this boils down to what you are satisfied with.

If you are married - I don't think you need to put in a lot of references - an authenticated marriage certificate would suffice.

If you are on a common-law relationship, this you need to show. On the skinny, why don't you try to first create a time line of your relationship - over 4 years. Then pickout the major milestones - highlights that show progression of your relationship such as:
- date of marriage - proof: marriage contract
- first house - proof: deed of purchase, lease/loan/mortgage agreement
- birth of child - proof: birth certificate
- travel together: passport page showing dates, a few pictures, ....
and so on...

Then you can take a pick to try to skinny them to what you think will be enough to show a continuous, progressive relationship.
Then write a brief cover letter - summarizing what your intentions are and what you submitted. This to direct attention of the VO to what you intend to show as proof of your relationship. I would think, that given the amount of applications, the VO, when presented with voluminous proof - would bat an eyelash ;D ;D ;D. But if he/she sees a preface letter - he/she will be piqued to read it first, before sorting out the proofs and supporting documents listed. And perhaps the VO may not go through it all, and take your word on the preface letter .

/hope this helps - and good luck...

 

[achander]

We are finally getting all our documents together for my wife's PR, and am curious about 'how much' we need to actually include?

I am aware that some write close to nevel-sized documents about their relationship, etc.. however I feel this is overkill, and would rather provide enough to get the point across, rather than having the VO sit down for a week trying to read over everything.

How much do I NEED to write in regards to relationship, etc. I have little proof such as no emails, chat logs, phone logs, etc.. as we have been living together for over 4 years. I do have statements from friends & family, including plenty of photos of our wedding, etc..

What I am curious about, is how many have got their PR on a skinny, yet detailed and to-the-point application? I am sure the 3Kg applications are not necessary - or at least, shouldn't be.

If you are married, then you don't have to worry as much as others. This is what we submitted for our application (I was married in August and we submitted our application in October. About 1.5 months after our marriage)

- Pics from all our trips
- Pics from engagement, wedding and reception (Include pics that show family members and relatives)
- Pics from Honeymoon
- Itineraries of all our trips
- Marriage certificate and letter from temple for our engagement
- Hotels reservations for our stays during our trips
- Wedding and reception invitations
- Photocopy of passport pages that show immigration stamps for our visits (Tricky but this is solid)
- We did not submit any emails, phone records etc etc

I don't know if I'm forgetting anything, but you can include anything else you might like. When you are married and its a genuine marriage, you should have no issues. Remember, if you were married in a temple, church, mosque etc etc (religious background) then your case will be solid compared to others (This is what i understand from a lot of cases)

I got my COPR in 124 days or so...never had to submit anything extra or never had any questions asked. Good luck

cheers

 

[Deutschbug]

Definitely very skinny application here- less than 15 pics, many of them not even with both of us but me and in-laws for example. Half a page description on how we met and outings. No phone bills, chat logs, emails, cards, tickets, letters. No statements of relatives. Very small wedding with less than 10 people. No shared bills. Send update a few month ago with bank statements that show us as beneficiary, but no shared accounts. Photos printed 2 per page on normal letter paper in black and white. Most of what you read here is greatly exaggerated and not necessary to be approved if your relationship is genuine and your relationship proof shows development and continuity. It really is quality rather than quantity. Our application fit into a manila envelope.

 

[Deutschbug]

I don't think getting married in a church is any better than other proof- we had a very small civic wedding in a rented bar.

 

[jo-macral]

Thank you all for your great input. I have never been so stressed before.

We have been living together for almost 5 years, and married for just over two. We have a two year old daughter as well.

We had a good ceremony with about 100 members, mostly from my wife's side, with a few of my close friends. My family was unable to attend the wedding. but also offered a letter stating why, and their knowledge of our relationship, and marriage.

I think I am over thinking things, and worrying about nothing.