Provincial Nominee - Applying for PR with same-sex conjugal partner

[marso]

Hello, I am a new member in this forum but I have been going through the threads here for a while now. I have read a lot of helpful advice from old and new members ever since I started my application as a Provincial Nominee, but I still have a few more questions that I cannot find an answer of.

Situation:
I am all set to leave my home country (Philippines) next month, and the nomination program that I am in requires me to apply for Permanent Residence as soon as I set foot in the province that nominated me. The visa application took a very long time, and my nomination is about to expire so time is of the essence. I am currently in a relationship with a same sex partner and we would love to build a future in Canada. We have been together in a conjugal relationship for about a year now, but the reality is we don't have any legal proof of our relationship since gay-relationship is not legal in our country. I've read that conjugal relationships are very hard to prove and it is more often denied than accepted.

Question 1:
Given these information, should I declare her as a non-accompanying conjugal partner in my PR application? If so, do you think my PR application process would be delayed or compromised considering that it will be very difficult for us to prove that our relationship is genuine?

Question 2:
If I wont declare her as my conjugal partner now, will I lose the chance of sponsoring her in the future once my PR application is approved?

I am quite confused if I should declare her as my conjugal partner despite the fact that it is very hard to prove right now considering that we do not have any joint ownership of properties etc and we are not completely financially dependent to each other despite being mutually supportive when it comes to our basic needs and wants. OR should I just wait for my PR application to be approved before I start a sponsorship application later on, but risk being denied since I have not declared her in my PR application...?

Any advice or opinion regarding this matter will be very much appreciated. I hope to hear from you guys soon.

 

[scylla]

You can only include a spouse you are actually married to or a common law partner on your application (common law means you have lived together for a minimum of one full year). Have you actually lived together for at least one full year?

 

[marso]

I have read in the CIC website that conjugal partner is "a person outside Canada who has had a binding relationship with a sponsor for at least one year but could not live with their partner. The term refers to both opposite-sex and same-sex relationships." So I thought that if you do not qualify as a common-law partner where in you've lived together with your partner for at least a year, you can declare the person as "Conjugal partner".

My partner and I have not lived together for personal reasons (we live in a society that is not very accepting of same sex relationships), thus we appear to be close friends to strangers. Only our closest family and friends know of our relationship. She does stay over at my place almost 4 times a week for a year now, but we do not live together.

 

[trini_ac]

Canada is very aware of the problems lgbt people face in countries not as accepting so your situation will not be news to them. You should put her on your forms from now and you could always include a cover letter explaining the situation. It will be much harder to sponsor her later and they may ask why you didn't include her to begin with.

 

[marso]

Thanks for sharing your thoughts regarding this matter. To tell you the truth, I am worried that my PR application will be delayed if I declare her as conjugal partner yet I cannot prove it at all based on their requirements. All I have are close friends and family members (on my side of the family) who can attest to our relationship. We have given each other gifts and have mutually supported each other but we transact in cash. Had I known I will need proof of our relationship, I probably had done so earlier in our relationship but well, in real life we don't really anticipate having to prove to someone that a relationship is genuine. I wish I had known better though.

 

[marso]

hi guys, I have decided to include my partner in my PR application as a conjugal partner, but now I am confused how.

In the Generic application form for Canada IMM 0008, question #13 "your current marital status" there is no Conjugal-Partner among the options.
The options available are: A. Annulled Marriage B. Common law C. Divorced D. Legally Separated E. Married F. Single G. Widowed

In the other forms where-in family members are supposed to be listed, there is no “Conjugal Partner” in the options, only “common-law” or “spouse”... This is also the case in the declaration of dependents form (IMM 0008DEP) form and in the additional family information form (IMM 5406).

How can include a (non-accompanying) conjugal partner in the PR application?

 

[traxton]

hi guys, I have decided to include my partner in my PR application as a conjugal partner, but now I am confused how.

In the Generic application form for Canada IMM 0008, question #13 "your current marital status" there is no Conjugal-Partner among the options.
The options available are: A. Annulled Marriage B. Common law C. Divorced D. Legally Separated E. Married F. Single G. Widowed

In the other forms where-in family members are supposed to be listed, there is no “Conjugal Partner” in the options, only “common-law” or “spouse”... This is also the case in the declaration of dependents form (IMM 0008DEP) form and in the additional family information form (IMM 5406).

How can include a (non-accompanying) conjugal partner in the PR application?

You'll have to list your partner under "common-law".

 

[marso]

Thanks, I will do so.

Do you think I will have to fill out the Statutory Declaration of Common-law union as well? The form has a blank for the number of years living together, but since I am applying as conjugal I was wondering if I should just put N/A to that certain blank, or I should just not submit a statutory declaration altogether.

 

[traxton]

Thanks, I will do so.

Do you think I will have to fill out the Statutory Declaration of Common-law union as well? The form has a blank for the number of years living together, but since I am applying as conjugal I was wondering if I should just put N/A to that certain blank, or I should just not submit a statutory declaration altogether.

You should fill that up. As for the number of years living together, you have to proof that you two have been living together for at least a year. This can be easily proved, for example, by changing your partner's credit card bill statement to be that of your home address and have that statement with the address and date stamp as proof. If you don't meet at least one year of residence together, it'll be very very tough to prove common-law union unfortunately. If you didn't make these initial plans and want to apply for PR before you can meet one year of residence together, I'd suggest y'all make a trip to Canada (or any country where gay marriage is legal) and get married if y'all truly are in a legit relationship. A marriage certificate makes the whole application a lot easier.