Hello -I asked this question a few days ago but appreciate feedback:
They ask for a common-law statutory declaration for the ONLINE PR Renewal application. I am in a common-law relationship but why is this relevant? It doesn't ask for one in the paper document checklist. Do I still have to provide one? If I don't provide one will they send it back? I'm asking because when I sign something like this it costs extra time and money and for what relevance.... Thank you!
Note: probably better (more likely to get relevant responses) to pose queries related to applications by PRs (in contrast to applications by FNs) in the part of the forum about settlement in Canada and PR Obligations in particular.
Main thing: as long as the total number of days you have been absent from Canada, within the last five years (or since becoming a PR if a PR for less than five years) is less than 1095, most of the additional documents/documentation referenced as "
if applicable" are indeed
NOT applicable. The documentation of a marital or common-law relationship is
NOT applicable.
For a PR living in Canada who has been settled and living here for more than two years, who has not been outside Canada more than 1095 days during the reported travel history period, there really is no need to overthink things.
Documentation as to a marital or common-law relationship is only required to establish credit for days outside Canada under Situation B or Situation C, as described in Appendix A in the guide (which spells out in detail what documentation needs to be included). Note, for example, the reference to this documentation in the checklist is the proof to be submitted as specified in "Appendix A: Residency Obligation" which lists the documents required for Situations B and C, respectively. (This is the second item listed in the checklist, right below where the checklist lists the application itself, right above the fees.)
When filling in the travel history portion of the application just because you traveled with a spouse/partner does not preclude checking "
other" for the "
reason," listing vacation or business or whatever (what the other reasons are is not important, but they should nonetheless be honest), rather than B or C. Reasons B and C are reasons pursuant to which a PR can qualify for RO credit while outside Canada, which includes claims for credit based on "
accompanying" a spouse or common-law partner. So again if no such credit is needed (days outside Canada do not total more than 1095), there is no need to check reason B or C, so checking "
other" and giving a general (brief and honest) description of the reason for being outside Canada will suffice, and again there is no need to include any documentation to show marital or common-law status.
Some Observations About Confusing Online Application:
I see that the online application is indeed confusing. Even though I am no expert, I am very familiar with applications to renew/replace a PR card, and have reviewed the instructions many dozens of times (perhaps hundreds), including reviewing the more recent instructions many times, examining and exploring a wide range of issues. Yet I still find the online application confusing and a little difficult to navigate.
To some extent my difficulty with the online application may be personal because I am an old dude far more familiar with pdf interactive forms (which are not much different from paper forms, with which I have had far more experience), and navigating the online application does not overtly facilitate hypotheticals, making it difficult to use exploratory examples. (Since I have been a citizen now for more than a decade, so am not currently a PR, the only way I can explore how the online application works is via hypotheticals, and it is obvious that IRCC does not intend to facilitate, let alone encourage this.)
So I get your frustration, your anxiousness. But again, if you are a PR who is living in Canada and who has been settled and living here for more than two years, who has not been outside Canada more than 1095 days during the reported travel history period, it is not that complicated, not that tricky, no need to claim time for accompanying a partner, no need to include documentation of common-law relationship.
