Proving Common Law Status

[ts123]

We're applying with myself as principal applicant & my boyfriend as my common law partner.

Do we have to prove this at any point in the application process? We ARE common law (we're not lying!) but have very little to prove it except for an old rental agreement. We have been living together and travelling in a van for the last 6 months, so have no documents for that. We do have a joint bank account but it has very little in it.

Also... he is still officially married to an American woman. They've never bothered getting a divorce. Will this be an issue? Their relationship was over well before we met. Will CIC even know this?!

 

[scylla]

You mention that you've been living and traveling together for the last 6 months. Is this it - or have you been living together longer? Common law requires you to have lived together continuously for a minimum of one full year. And no - you don't have to prove the year immediately. However you will have to satisfy officials later in the process with evidence (rental agreements, shared bank accounts, etc.).

Yes - CIC will know your boyfriend is still married (but separated) because he will have to declare this in application. Failure to declare this relationship is misrepresentation. It will be caught in background checks if he lies and result in a refusal of the application - possibly even a 5 year misrepresentation ban.

Being married but separated does not prevent you from being common law.

 

[ts123]

Awesome, thanks. I didn't know if he had to declare it or not, and if that prevented us from being common law. We have no reason to lie about it, unless it was going to influence our common law status.

We've been together 2 1/2 years, living together for 1 1/2 of those, but only in a house for about 10 months of that. We have a 6 month joint rental agreement from that time, and can get a signed letter from the friend we rented a room off the rest of the time. The remainder of our time 'living together' has been living in a van, and will continue to be until we submit. So yes, we have lived together continuously for more than 12 months, but some of that has been in a very 'unoffical' way.

I also DIDN'T declare him as my common law partner on my IEC application, as we had only been living together for about 11 months then, not the full 12. I assume this won't be a problem, as it was the current situation at that point.

 

[scylla]

Sounds like you should be fine.

 

[jes_ON]

We're applying with myself as principal applicant & my boyfriend as my common law partner.

Do we have to prove this at any point in the application process? We ARE common law (we're not lying!) but have very little to prove it except for an old rental agreement. We have been living together and travelling in a van for the last 6 months, so have no documents for that. We do have a joint bank account but it has very little in it.

The joint bank account will help. Another document that is extremely useful (not to mention legally required) is the Change of Marital Status document for the CRA. After living together for 1 year, you legally become "common law" for tax purposes, and are required to file this document. If you haven't, better late than never.

http://www.cra-arc.gc.ca/E/pbg/tf/rc65/README.html

 

[Pippin]

Ok, back up the van...I see a different problem here. You mention a joint bank account with very little in it. Do you have another account with the required proof of funds in it?

 

[ts123]

The joint bank account will help. Another document that is extremely useful (not to mention legally required) is the Change of Marital Status document for the CRA. After living together for 1 year, you legally become "common law" for tax purposes, and are required to file this document. If you haven't, better late than never.

OK, we are from the UK (where we were living together), then came to Canada in Jan. We stayed Jan - May as tourists (renting a room in a friend's house). Neither of us were eligible to work. We then moved into the van, travelled to the States, stayed there until August. During this time my IEC came through. Now we are back in Canada. I have an IEC WHV, my boyfriend is still on tourist status. We will return to the UK in Jan as his status will expire.

So, surely we don't have to file a Canadian tax form? (although I will look into the UK equivalent)

 

[ts123]

Ok, back up the van...I see a different problem here. You mention a joint bank account with very little in it. Do you have another account with the required proof of funds in it?

We're good on funds, just they're all in separate bank accounts (my name or his name). We used the joint account in the UK to pay household bills etc. Here we are still spending £s but do so entirely on my credit card (as it's no foreign fee) then sort the difference out at the end of the month.

 

[jes_ON]

OK, we are from the UK (where we were living together), then came to Canada in Jan. We stayed Jan - May as tourists (renting a room in a friend's house). Neither of us were eligible to work. We then moved into the van, travelled to the States, stayed there until August. During this time my IEC came through. Now we are back in Canada. I have an IEC WHV, my boyfriend is still on tourist status. We will return to the UK in Jan as his status will expire.

So, surely we don't have to file a Canadian tax form? (although I will look into the UK equivalent)

OK, so your work experience in Canada is limited, and if neither of you have filed a return before, the no, you do not need to file the form.

You say now you have the IEC visa, but you don't say whether you have worked in Canada this year; if you HAVE worked in Canada, of course you will have to file a tax return next year in Canada. If you have not worked, then no, you do not need to file a return.

 

[ts123]

OK, so your work experience in Canada is limited, and if neither of you have filed a return before, the no, you do not need to file the form.

You say now you have the IEC visa, but you don't say whether you have worked in Canada this year; if you HAVE worked in Canada, of course you will have to file a tax return next year in Canada. If you have not worked, then no, you do not need to file a return.

I have filed tax returns in Canada before, but way back in 2009/2010. I haven't worked here since then. If I do end up working this year (I'm not currently) do I need to declare common law here when filing next years' tax return even though it is only me who worked and my partner has no legal right to work here?

 

[jes_ON]

I have filed tax returns in Canada before, but way back in 2009/2010. I haven't worked here since then. If I do end up working this year (I'm not currently) do I need to declare common law here when filing next years' tax return even though it is only me who worked and my partner has no legal right to work here?

I don't think you need to send that form (he would need a taxpayer ID for starters), but if you do work and have to file a return next year, you should indicate your status on your return. That is because your status *could* affect the amount of taxes owed etc. (not saying it will, but it could, which is why you are supposed to let the CRA know about a change of status).

None of this will help you prove your status right now, though it sounds like you have enough evidence.

 

[Loragomez13]

My partner and I are both applying through Express Entry as common law, however in the beginning of the application I did not include him as we were both going to do the application separately because we didn't think we had enough documents to prove our common law relationship.

Now I have received my ITA and decided to include him in the application because we realized we do have a lot of documents to prove the common law relationship. Is this for Immigration?

I would also like to know if the 12 month proof of the common law relationship can be at any moment during the entire process up to the point where we have to submit our file with proof or the 12 month proof has to start before submitting my application? Our 12 month relationship starts from June 2017-June 2018.

PLEASE HELP I need adivse.