Questions about sponsoring my Japanese common-law partner - guidance appreciated

[paradoxbox]

Hi,

We are starting an online PR application for my Japanese fiancee and have a few general and specific questions.

Background info:

- We have been together for just under three years, living together continuously in my apartment in Toronto. I support her entirely and have a stable, well paying job. I'm a Canadian citizen by birth.
- Her first long-term stay in Canada was a working holiday visa starting in 2019
- When the WH visa expired, she went back to Japan for a few months, then returned to Canada on a visitor visa in early 2021, which we extended twice
- She has made a few trips back and forth to Japan. She has another four week trip to Japan scheduled next month. She has obeyed all visa expiry dates
- We have no concern about proving our relationship, plenty of documentation including some email correspondence with a CBSA officer who acknowledged our evidence of common-law during the COVID lockdowns when air travel to Canada was limited to immediate family members

General Questions:

1. We've been advised by other Japanese people who went through the PR process recently that an outland application will likely be faster to be approved
   1. In the online PR application, is this known as "Family Class, Outside Canada, Common Law Partner"? If no, what is the correct class to use?
   2. She would like to be able to travel to Japan and other countries while we wait for the application to be approved
2. Is she considered a resident of Canada, or a resident of Japan? She only has visitor status, but she has been here for nearly 2 years on this status (With some extensions last year and a new visitor entry this year, and another new visitor entry coming up in October)
3. If we want this to be an outland application, should she submit it online while she is still in Canada, or wait until she is in Japan, then submit it?

Specific Questions:

1. Form IMM1344
   1. Box #6 requires a selection of either "Common-law partner living in Canada" or "Common-law partner living outside Canada". Which is the appropriate selection if we want this to remain an outland application?
2. Form IMM5532
   1. Part C Section 3 asks "Are you living together now?" - should the answer be yes or no, given that we'd like to keep this an outland application?
3. Form IMM0008
   1. There is a question - "Current Country of Residence" followed by a "From" date. Since she has lived with me more or less continuously since 2019, do we put the 2019 date in here, or do we put her last entry date to Canada, which would be sometime earlier in 2022?
4. Form IMM5406
   1. The form asks for her address - should it be our current Canadian address, or her Japanese/Family address?
5. Besides the above the listed forms, checklist IMM 5589, and original and translated copies of her Koseki Tohon and Kaiseigen Koseki Tohon, and some documents proving our relationship / same address, are there any documents we are missing to make this a complete and successful application?

Apologies for the length, but we'd like to get this right and this is all a lot of information to process.

 

[paradoxbox]

Bump. Would love some advice.

 

[armoured]

General Questions:

• We've been advised by other Japanese people who went through the PR process recently that an outland application will likely be faster to be approved​

• ​

Not necessarily true, current estimates are that outland longer. Tha's a backward-looking stat so not certain.

• In the online PR application, is this known as "Family Class, Outside Canada, Common Law Partner"? If no, what is the correct class to use?

The one outside canada corresponds to outland.

• She would like to be able to travel to Japan and other countries while we wait for the application to be approved

If these are short trips, inland might still work, but some risks involved. Issue is that since she's been here so long extending, might get refused at border. Serious advice: whatever you do, get the sponsorship application in ASAP.

Views of others might be welcome but in current circumstances, I'd get application in as inland and limit travel to extent possible.

• Is she considered a resident of Canada, or a resident of Japan? She only has visitor status, but she has been here for nearly 2 years on this status (With some extensions last year and a new visitor entry this year, and another new visitor entry coming up in October)

Resident in Canada for purposes here.

• If we want this to be an outland application, should she submit it online while she is still in Canada, or wait until she is in Japan, then submit it?

Doesn't matter.

Specific Questions:

• Form IMM1344
  

  • Box #6 requires a selection of either "Common-law partner living in Canada" or "Common-law partner living outside Canada". Which is the appropriate selection if we want this to remain an outland application?

This seems self-explanatory.

• Form IMM5532
  

  • Part C Section 3 asks "Are you living together now?" - should the answer be yes or no, given that we'd like to keep this an outland application?

Answer can be yes but if so, submit while she is in Canada. Main thing is to ensure you have 12 months continuous together (at some point) documented VERY well.

• Form IMM0008
  

  • There is a question - "Current Country of Residence" followed by a "From" date. Since she has lived with me more or less continuously since 2019, do we put the 2019 date in here, or do we put her last entry date to Canada, which would be sometime earlier in 2022?

I'd put since 2019, at least if absences were less than a month.

• Form IMM5406
  

  • The form asks for her address - should it be our current Canadian address, or her Japanese/Family address?

  [*]Besides the above the listed forms, checklist IMM 5589, and original and translated copies of her Koseki Tohon and Kaiseigen Koseki Tohon, and some documents proving our relationship / same address, are there any documents we are missing to make this a complete and successful application?

I'd put Canadian address. Don't understand the rest of your question, just go trhough the instructions carefully.

 

[paradoxbox]

Thanks for the help.

We did very carefully go through the instructions however it's a lot of information that's utterly outside our experience, and we were confused as to which set of dates/addresses to use. I think your answer clarifies most of it.

Thanks again!

 

[armoured]

Thanks for the help.

We did very carefully go through the instructions however it's a lot of information that's utterly outside our experience, and we were confused as to which set of dates/addresses to use. I think your answer clarifies most of it.

Thanks again!

Honestly I think the only difficult part of your app is the decision whether to do inland or outland.

 

[paradoxbox]

Honestly I think the only difficult part of your app is the decision whether to do inland or outland.

It's a nerve wracking consideration.

She is currently in Japan on a one month trip to collect documents we need for the application and to visit family, and she's scheduled to come back in a few weeks.

We're unsure whether an inland application is appropriate now? I have read that there can be reentry issues.

Is our best option here (To ensure she can get back in) an outland application before she comes back? I think this is the last unknown before we actually pay the fees and submit.

 

[armoured]

It's a nerve wracking consideration.

She is currently in Japan on a one month trip to collect documents we need for the application and to visit family, and she's scheduled to come back in a few weeks.

We're unsure whether an inland application is appropriate now? I have read that there can be reentry issues.

Is our best option here (To ensure she can get back in) an outland application before she comes back? I think this is the last unknown before we actually pay the fees and submit.

If you want to apply inland, wait until she returns. After that - your decision. As noted, usually better if the applicant remains in Canada throughout most/all of the process, and since Japanese citizens only need an ETA, she may be okay for short trips.

Or do outland.