Hello guys,
I submitted my CSQ application on August, 16, in which I added my partner as a "de facto" spouse - we have been living together since at least March/2015, but aren't married yet.
Recently, while checking the required documentation (immigration-quebec.gouv.qc.ca/publications/en/dcs/documents-dcs-en-dyn.pdf), I noticed that they state that "if you and your spouse apply as
de facto spouses, you must prove that you have co-habited continuously for at least 12 months." This really shouldn't be an issue for us, however it also states that to prove that you need at least TWO of the following documents (with a document that goes back more than one year and a document with a recent date):
– Mortgage or dwelling lease
– Statements of joint bank accounts
– Utility bills (electricity, natural gas, telephone or Internet service)
Here's the issue though: we probably don't have those two documents going as far back as 12 months. In the first place we lived, there was only one utility bill, which was in my mom's name (all other utilities were provided by the condominium). My spouse had only credit card and maybe some phone bills mailed to that address. After that, we moved to a new apartment, but since I took care of everything, I ended up putting all the utility bills under my name and she only got credit card bills mailed to our new address (we cancelled the phone service after moving, and her cellphone was provided and paid by her employer). We just requested a change of the name on our gas bill, but that will only be good for the "document with a recent date" requirement.
Also, we don't have (until now at least) a joint bank account or a mortgage.
However, we do have a notarized declaration (that was signed before the application) stating that we are de facto spouses since march/2015 which is enough under Brazilian law to get our union officially recognized here. Also, it's possible to get a judge to judicially recognize our de facto union, but a judicial decision is not specified as an "eligible document" according to the form I linked.
What should we do?
There's one more thing: we intended to get married probably in November or December, which is most likely before Quebec requests our documents. Should we just amend our form to apply as a married couple and then just send our marriage certificate instead of the de facto spouse documentation? Is that even possible?
Thanks a lot for any help!
I submitted my CSQ application on August, 16, in which I added my partner as a "de facto" spouse - we have been living together since at least March/2015, but aren't married yet.
Recently, while checking the required documentation (immigration-quebec.gouv.qc.ca/publications/en/dcs/documents-dcs-en-dyn.pdf), I noticed that they state that "if you and your spouse apply as
de facto spouses, you must prove that you have co-habited continuously for at least 12 months." This really shouldn't be an issue for us, however it also states that to prove that you need at least TWO of the following documents (with a document that goes back more than one year and a document with a recent date):
– Mortgage or dwelling lease
– Statements of joint bank accounts
– Utility bills (electricity, natural gas, telephone or Internet service)
Here's the issue though: we probably don't have those two documents going as far back as 12 months. In the first place we lived, there was only one utility bill, which was in my mom's name (all other utilities were provided by the condominium). My spouse had only credit card and maybe some phone bills mailed to that address. After that, we moved to a new apartment, but since I took care of everything, I ended up putting all the utility bills under my name and she only got credit card bills mailed to our new address (we cancelled the phone service after moving, and her cellphone was provided and paid by her employer). We just requested a change of the name on our gas bill, but that will only be good for the "document with a recent date" requirement.
Also, we don't have (until now at least) a joint bank account or a mortgage.
However, we do have a notarized declaration (that was signed before the application) stating that we are de facto spouses since march/2015 which is enough under Brazilian law to get our union officially recognized here. Also, it's possible to get a judge to judicially recognize our de facto union, but a judicial decision is not specified as an "eligible document" according to the form I linked.
What should we do?
There's one more thing: we intended to get married probably in November or December, which is most likely before Quebec requests our documents. Should we just amend our form to apply as a married couple and then just send our marriage certificate instead of the de facto spouse documentation? Is that even possible?
Thanks a lot for any help!
