Possible Denial Under Para 117(9) - non declaration of family member

[scylla]

hello everybody! I would like to seek for a very good advice from anybody here who has knowledge or had experience the same situation.
I had a same sex partner when I was still living in the Philippines we started living together from Dec 2008 to Dec 2010 till me and my family received our PR.

You actually have two problems:
1) Because you failed to declare your common law partner, you can never sponsor him to Canada.
2) Because you were common law, from CIC's perspective, you were likely no longer your parents' dependent and likely did not qualify to immigrate with them. In other words, from CIC's perspective, it's quite possible you have have obtained PR through misrepresentation.

I assume that in your parents' PR application, you were listed as living at your parents' address - rather than at the address you were really living with your common law partner? (If so, this was also misrepresentation.) The best option is for your partner to qualify to immigrate to Canada independently (e.g. as a skilled worker). I think any other option either involves more misrepresentation or won't succeed.

 

[myboss]

Me and my partner were living in the same address as my parents. The time our application was approved oct 2009 we haven't fulfill the 1 yr requirement yet. Due to processing time we were able to live together for almost 2yrs. And as what ive said we really didnt know that common law partner applies for same sex couple.
Say i want to marry him on any 3rd country like mexico? So we get a legal marriage cert does anybody here knows what the requirements are? How long the process will be? Any advice? Tnx!

 

[margobear96]

Me and my partner were living in the same address as my parents. The time our application was approved oct 2009 we haven't fulfill the 1 yr requirement yet. Due to processing time we were able to live together for almost 2yrs. And as what ive said we really didnt know that common law partner applies for same sex couple.
Say i want to marry him on any 3rd country like mexico? So we get a legal marriage cert does anybody here knows what the requirements are? How long the process will be? Any advice? Tnx!

You should contact a lawyer about your specific case. Having a same sex partner living with you and your parents probably isn't a very common situation....

That said, I think the following...based on common sense and other tangentially related posts:
1) If you are barred from sponsoring because you did not declare your common law partner, I don't think getting married is going to get you around the bar. Because let's face it, that would be one freaking big loophole.
2) Look into what constitutes a dependent for PNP purposes. Generally a non-minor is only dependent so long as they're single.... If you became common law while your parent's application was in process, I think you ceased to be dependent and no longer qualified to immigrate with them. I don't know for PNP, but for family class CIC asks you upon landing if your circumstances have changed...and even if you weren't common law earlier in the process, surely you were when you landed?
3) Ignorance of the law is not a valid excuse for legal purposes. And CIC is concerned about common law as defined under it's regs, not in the Philippines.
G.L.

 

[truesmile]

Agree with margobear 100%! It WON'T get you around bar, guaranteed (and everything else she/he said). Unless you happen to realize your dates surrounding what address your partner has lived at over the years is mistaken.

 

[canadianwoman]

Me and my partner were living in the same address as my parents. The time our application was approved oct 2009 we haven't fulfill the 1 yr requirement yet. Due to processing time we were able to live together for almost 2yrs. And as what ive said we really didnt know that common law partner applies for same sex couple.
Say i want to marry him on any 3rd country like mexico? So we get a legal marriage cert does anybody here knows what the requirements are? How long the process will be? Any advice? Tnx!

Not knowing about same-sex common-law rules does not make any difference to CIC. They will not accept that as an excuse for not declaring him. You cannot sponsor him common-law. I think if you try, you might even put your own PR in jeopardy, and you certainly won't succeed in sponsoring him.

If you marry him, you could then sponsor him as your spouse. BUT you would have to lie on the application. You could not mention that you lived together for a year or more - because then CIC will say you should have declared him then, no excuse for not declaring him will be acceptable, and again your own PR will be in jeopardy. I would just say that prior to you immigrating to Canada, he was your boyfriend, that you continued your relationship long-distance, and that you then decided to get married. Don't mention the cohabitation. This will only work if he does not have your parents' address as his official address on government documents.

And I know we should not be telling people to lie on their applications, but tell me, how else will he be able to sponsor this man? It sounds like an honest mistake, not fraud, given that same-sex relationships are illegal in his home country, and he did not know about the possibility of sponsoring a same-sex partner.

To do it legally, your partner would have to qualify to come to Canada on his own, through one of the other immigration classes. If he is educated, this is a possibility you should look into.

I am not advising him to lie - I am just telling him that if he wants to sponsor, telling the truth will not work. I think the best option is independent immigration for the boyfriend.

 

[myboss]

hi canadianwoman thanks for the advice! anyway, after all the research we've done and after reading some of the informative advices from this forum, I think I'll just ask him to apply to Canada by his own, it will be more easier and less complicated, he is educated and has work experience which I think would qualify him as SW. As much as I want to pursue our application as Family Class under spousal sponsorship, I don't want to risk anything and forced ourselves to lie to CIC. It's just really frustrating that a genuine couple who just wanted to be together has to go all through this. I know it a RULE but I found it sometimes too subjective especially on a case like us. I just hope CIC would consider something like this into account and give more leniency for a situation like this. thank for all your comments and suggestions! I am looking forward for posting here again when we start our new application for PNP. God Bless everyone!

 

[jcoco]

Hi kleiden. I am also from the Phils. We are actually on the same page and I would like to ask how many affidavits in total did you gather from friends and officemates? Were these affidavits notarized?

 

[kratos25]

HI anyone pls advise .. Going to submit my PR application soon but I'm a little confuse .. I am living with my girlfriend for 10 moths now.. That means we are not considered as common law yet.. So can I submit my application as single in my status ?? And I believe that getting AOR takes like 3 to 4 months so I will fall in CIC's definition of common law by then.. So I don't know what to do.. Pls advise thanks in advance

 

[MilesAway]

HI anyone pls advise .. Going to submit my PR application soon but I'm a little confuse .. I am living with my girlfriend for 10 moths now.. That means we are not considered as common law yet.. So can I submit my application as single in my status ?? And I believe that getting AOR takes like 3 to 4 months so I will fall in CIC's definition of common law by then.. So I don't know what to do.. Pls advise thanks in advance

You are still single, so indicate that in your application. Once you hit the one year mark, update CIC and include your common-law partner in your application. You can even start gathering the documents required for her, and as soon as you receive AOR (which will include a section that tells you to notify CIC if your marital status changes), advise them of your new status and send in the forms and documents.