Questions about Immigration for Same Sex Couples

[chichan]

Good day,

My partner and I are in a same-sex relationship. We have been living together for a year. We are both Filipino citizens but currently residing in the middle east. (I'm sorry but we cannot really say where we are living right now, for security purposes)

As such we have no proof whatsoever that we are living together. What we only have is a joint bank account. The Philippines and countries in the middle east do not accept common law marriages and, most especially, same sex marriage. Because of this, we have very little proof that we have been living together. We can perhaps present letters addressed to either of us under the same address, and pictures together, maybe even plane tickets...but other than that, nothing more.

My partner just received a job offer from a Canadian company and is very interested to pursue it. However, we do not want to be separated for too long. Is it possible for me to tag along when she applies for a visa? Or does she really have to get a permanent residence visa first before she can sponsor me?

We're also considering going to a country where same sex marriage is allowed, get married there, before she goes to Canada. Will that make our situation easier?

Thank you so much in advance!

 

[namaste]

Good day,

My partner and I are in a same-sex relationship. We have been living together for a year. We are both Filipino citizens but currently residing in the middle east. (I'm sorry but we cannot really say where we are living right now, for security purposes)

As such we have no proof whatsoever that we are living together. What we only have is a joint bank account. The Philippines and countries in the middle east do not accept common law marriages and, most especially, same sex marriage. Because of this, we have very little proof that we have been living together. We can perhaps present letters addressed to either of us under the same address, and pictures together, maybe even plane tickets...but other than that, nothing more.

My partner just received a job offer from a Canadian company and is very interested to pursue it. However, we do not want to be separated for too long. Is it possible for me to tag along when she applies for a visa? Or does she really have to get a permanent residence visa first before she can sponsor me?

We're also considering going to a country where same sex marriage is allowed, get married there, before she goes to Canada. Will that make our situation easier?

Thank you so much in advance!

Hi,

It should be possible for you to tag along your partner at the same time she enters the Canada on a work permit, given that she includes you in the application and you can prove your common law partnership. Check the following website for the procedures for applying to a work permit and required documents:

http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/work/apply-how.asp

I don't know exactly what proof is required to prove the common-law partnership, but a joint bank account, evidence that you two share a residence (with phone/utility bills/paycheck with the same address), and evidence that you two are romantically involved (the letters you have/photos together/travel tickets together) sounds like would make your case strong. The link I posted has a form (statutory declaration of common-in law partnership) that will list exactly what you need.

Also, this statement in the guideline tells me that they might be flexible in situation like yous:

"Common-law partners who have been in a conjugal relationship for at least one year but are unable to live together or appear in public together because of legal restrictions in their home country or who have been separated for reasons beyond their control (for example, civil war or armed conflict) may still qualify and should be included on the application."


And I agree, getting married somewhere, should make it easier.

 

[scylla]

My partner just received a job offer from a Canadian company and is very interested to pursue it. However, we do not want to be separated for too long. Is it possible for me to tag along when she applies for a visa? Or does she really have to get a permanent residence visa first before she can sponsor me?

You can apply for an open work permit based on your partners job in Canada (assuming it's a skilled or semi skilled occupation) provided you are either common law or married (conjugal relationships don't qualify for open work permits). To be recognized as common law, you will have to provide hard proof you have both lived at the same address for at least a year. Since it sounds like it won't be possible to provide this proof, getting married would be the way to go. Yes - it would certainly make sense to get married before she comes to Canada.

 

[Titoualfruk]

What we did as a gay couple was write a letter explaining why we only had a minimum of proof of cohabiting together for more than a year. We sent photos taken with a numerical camera with time and date stamp, copies of letters/bills sent to my boyfriends house, delivery notes and our plane tickets for our holidays together. You can also go to the Canadian consulate/embassy and ask them if you can fill in a testament of common law relationship, it is done on your honor and no contact us made with any government agencies.

It worked for us you just need to explain well why you only gave limited proof and send everything you can think of.

Don't worry you are not the first and certainly not the last to he in this situation, immigration authorities understand this

 

[chichan]

Thank you all so much for your replies! :-*

She's a nurse, and she has been offered a nursing position. Does the open work permit count?

Also, another point of concern for us is that I'm only a high school graduate. We understand that there's a point system, and that they may not allow me to get a visa because my points may not be enough. I have been working since 2006 and could not pursue a college degree because of financial constraints. So far, my career has been good. Right now, I work as an Executive Secretary for a law firm. I want to know if that counts for something.

I'm really sorry for asking a lot of questions but I hope you still take your time to help us out.



...and uhhhh...Can you give us any suggestions as to where we can get married? Thanks!

 

[nobleman2020]

Are same-sex marriages tolerated in Canada? As far as I know, yes, it is accepted.. but I am still a little bit afraid of that. Moreover, is it the same procedure as for traditional marriages ?