Leaving Canada for business/government trip while continouing common law partner

[elfut]

Hi


I have been staying in Canada since 2004 (legal entry thru airport/immigration) and I have been in and out of the country ever since. In Feb 2007, I met my Canadian girlfriend who is my common law partner and in August 2007 I have to make a trip back to country for business/government convention for 3 weeks in Singapore. I am a Singapore citizen and does not require a Visitor Visa to enter Canada, only allowed to stay in Canada for 6 months.

So I am coming back to Canada after my trip..the question is how do I tell the Canadian immigration officer that I am a common law partner to my girlfriend? Prior to that I do not have documents saying that we are common law because we need a continous relationship of 1 year before we can apply one thru CIC. The only documents that we can show are our shared bank accounts and house rent.

Currently, I am in Canada.

Questions:
1) How do I tell the immigration officer?
2) Should it be a good idea to apply an extension length of stay at the Canadian Embassy in Singapore or should I wait till I get back to Canada to apply for one?
3) Can the immigration officer issue me a visitor visa or extend the length of stay for 1 year (for our application in the common law sponsorhip program)?

So, I am running out of time before my 6 months stay in Canada expire in August.
I would appreciate if you can suggest something better. Thank you for reading.

 

[thaiguy]

Your relationship doesn't meet the definition of "common-law" until you have lived together for 12 months. Since you haven't lived together for 12 months, you can't call it common-law. An immigration officer won't issue you a visa just so you can meet the 1 year requirement.

You could try finding a job and getting a work permit in Canada, or going to school. You could also ask your girlfriend to live with you in Singapore for 12 months - assuming she could get the visa.

Outside of this, you could consider marriage.

 

[elfut]

You quote "Outside of this, you could consider marriage."

How do we get married while in Canada? as in the processing time and paperwork. Any idea?