Quick Question & Looking for inland common-law app advice? :)

[MonikaR]

Hi there!

The question is: What is the difference between conjugal and common-law applications?

Also, I'm in the process of filling out my application for PR, inland. My fiancé is Canadian, we lived together in the States for 4 years (I'm American) and have just moved to Calgary. I got a job almost right away with an LMO/WP, so I'm good to be here for now. I guess I'm just curious if anyone has any tips about the application itself... I'm really nervous about the "proof of relationship" stuff. We lived in a National Park in company housing so we didn't have a lease/utility bills... we did have a joint bank account/car insurance/credit cards though. And we did get a letter from our human resources manager stating that we lived together in company housing since 2008. Do you guys think that'll be enough?

I printed pictures of us together from online, they're the only ones we really have (in this digital age : ) and I have letters from my mom and grandparents supporting out relationship. His mom should be getting one to us soon as well. (Do the letters have to be notarized or anything?)

I have my medical and police check done already also.

Do you all think this sounds good so far? This is a great forum and has helped me so much far! If you have any other advice/tips/reassurances about the forms themselves I would REALLY love to hear it and will definitely appreciate it.

Thank you!

 

[Rob_TO]

The question is: What is the difference between conjugal and common-law applications?

Don't worry about conjugal, as you are common-law this doesn't apply to you whatsoever. Conjugal is only for people who legally can't get married or live together, usually involving people from Philippines where divorce is illegal.

We lived in a National Park in company housing so we didn't have a lease/utility bills... we did have a joint bank account/car insurance/credit cards though. And we did get a letter from our human resources manager stating that we lived together in company housing since 2008. Do you guys think that'll be enough?

Yes, i think it's enough. My fiancee and i also applied as common-law, but we never had a shared lease/mortgage, nor did we have shared utilities. Just showed common address for mail, joint credit card, and statement of my benefits from employer showing we lived together and she was on my benefits plan as common-law spouse.

and I have letters from my mom and grandparents supporting out relationship. His mom should be getting one to us soon as well. (Do the letters have to be notarized or anything?)

From the guide for inland: http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/information/applications/guides/3900ETOC.asp
If you are in a common‑law relationship

Proof of your common‑law relationship, such as:

-joint bank account statements,
-joint savings account statements,
-joint credit card statements,
-joint line of credit statements,
-jointly signed lease,
-jointly signed mortgage papers or purchase agreement,
-statutory declarations from persons/individuals with knowledge that the relationship is genuine and continuing

Statutory means certified/notarized. However it doesn't say it's a "must' requirement, just recommendation, so really it's up to you.

 

[MonikaR]

Thanks so much! It's good to know that you were successful even without a lease. Did you include letters from family/friends? How many? I collected the letters from my family last fall when I visited and didn't get them notarized or anything... so hopefully if I enclose them they will still be accepted.

Has anyone else out there included non-notarized/certified letters and had success with them?

-M

 

[Sweden]

Check on your regional guideline, because for example, for London VO, at least 2 of the letters needed to be notarised. THen it's up to you to decide how many you want to include.

Just to be on the safe side - I'm going to ask - are you aware that as soon as you file your application Inland, you will not be allowed to exit Canada (for family emergencies, holidays etc) for the time of your application - 14 months as it stands now? and also - you can be in Canada and apply outland through Ottawa ( which is the "outland VO" for Us citizen/residents), and retain the right to be in Canada etc... outland is usually faster for a lot of the VO dealing with visa-exempt people, and you would still be able to travel... as you have an LMO and work permit now, you could keep on working, file outland and still be in Canada ( it's completely legal), and once your work permit is over, if your PR has not come yet, you could stay on a tourist visa ( not work of course) until it's over....

Just thought that I would mention that here. If you were already aware that you could apply outland, and that inland still is the best option for you, then of course just ignore that part of my message.

Regarding the absence of lease - with the letter from the company, I'm sure it'll be fine. As a US citizen, you are not under scrutiny for trying to gain entry into Canada, and if you have been living with your partner wince 2008, I suppose you have lots of other proofs ( letters, common bank account, holiday pictures and trips etc!) - so no worries there!

Good luck,
Sweden

 

[MonikaR]

I'll check out those regional guidelines... any tips on where I can find them? I know that my fiance's mother and brothers are still working on their letters, so I might be able to have them get theirs notarized before they send them to us. The letters from my mom and grandmother include all of their contact information, so hopefully if they need to verify anything they will just give them a call.

I think I will be able to leave canada and re-enter without a problem- I have a TRV with my WP, so that will allow me to leave and re-enter without a problem, right? I'm going to send my application in HOPEFULLY this week ??? And then I'm going to NY for 4 days for my sister's wedding right after that. I HAVE to get my application in before the 28th, because my police report was issued December 28th.

Applying inland is still definitely the best option for me, I really want to get my hands on an OWP as soon as possible. If I applied outland I would get my AOP much faster, but would have to wait for PR to be granted to be able to apply to any job. I am working right now which is nice, but it's definitely not I job a I enjoy. It's just working for the sake of the paycheck. OWP in 6ish months sounds really nice!!

Thank you for your advice, I really appreciate it. I hope being American works in my favor... I have a a lot of respect for those with situations much more complicated than mine, and those that are coming in from so far. This process makes me want to pull my hair out- I don't know how some others do it!!

Thank you all again Keep the awesome advice coming!

 

[MonikaR]

I also saw someone mention a thread where people talked about how they put their applications together and what they enclosed? Any idea where I could find this thread?

 

[Sweden]

If you're applying inland you HAVE to stay in Canada... some people say that with a TRV and a WP and being visa-exempt, you should be fine, BUT - it's always a risk. The inland guideline clearly states that the applicant should stay in Canada for the duration of the process. I understand that you want to be able to get an OWP as soon as possible - but you should be aware that you are taking a risk. A TRV is a possibility to get back to Canada, but it's not a guarantee. You can always have an immigration officer that at the border sees that you have an inland application on-going, and questions why you have left the country even if you are not supposed so, and decides not to let you in. You would have to start again from scratch - outland this time.

So - as harsh as it sounds, you can't have both...
either it's outland and no OWP during the process, and waiting for the full PR before being able to work - stage 1 is quite quick (you'll see in my signature that some early feb applicants already got it), and stage 2 is listed at 13 months for Ottawa but a lot of US/Can couples get done much faster.... but then you're able to go in and out of Canada...

or it's inland, and an OWP after 6 months, but the risk ( and quite a big one in my opinion, but of course - up to you!) that you are denied entry when you try and return, and have to start from scratch.

The guidelines I was referring to are the ones from CIC. If you apply Inland, it's here : http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/information/applications/spouse.asp
if outland ( if you decide to change your mind and re-fill all the forms - the proofs etc are pretty much the same!) then it's here http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/information/applications/fc.asp and there is a specific link for US applicants.

the other thread you were referring to : I could not locate it either, but my best advice is to follow the check list, and follow that order. Also, if you have a straightforward case (first marriage/CL relationship, no kids to sponsor, living together etc) then don't get freaked out by all the threads explaining how some people send 100 pages of chatlogs - it doesn't apply to everybody.

Good luck,
Sweden

Good luck

 

[Rob_TO]

Thanks so much! It's good to know that you were successful even without a lease. Did you include letters from family/friends? How many? I collected the letters from my family last fall when I visited and didn't get them notarized or anything... so hopefully if I enclose them they will still be accepted.

Has anyone else out there included non-notarized/certified letters and had success with them?

We just included 1 family letter from my (sponsor's) mom. It was not certified/notarized. Just printed out with her signature, as well as her contact info (phone and address). This was for an outland app.

As i showed above, I don't see anywhere in the inland CIC guide where it states you MUST get letters certified/notarize, it just seems to be a recommendation. So is probably good to do for some letters where it's easy to do so (the writer of letter needs to go in person to notary), though I don't think you need to get them all certified if you have a bunch.

And as Sweden mentioned, if you intend on travelling in and out of Canada during the applications, it's HIGHLY recommended to do an outland application.

I also saw someone mention a thread where people talked about how they put their applications together and what they enclosed? Any idea where I could find this thread?

Perhaps you mean this one? http://www.canadavisa.com/canada-immigration-discussion-board/how-i-organized-our-applcation-and-a-summary-of-all-helpful-tips-i-have-learned-t92449.0.html

 

[MonikaR]

If you're applying inland you HAVE to stay in Canada... some people say that with a TRV and a WP and being visa-exempt, you should be fine, BUT - it's always a risk. The inland guideline clearly states that the applicant should stay in Canada for the duration of the process. I understand that you want to be able to get an OWP as soon as possible - but you should be aware that you are taking a risk. A TRV is a possibility to get back to Canada, but it's not a guarantee. You can always have an immigration officer that at the border sees that you have an inland application on-going, and questions why you have left the country even if you are not supposed so, and decides not to let you in. You would have to start again from scratch - outland this time.

First of all I want to say thank you for taking the time to reply... The information you're providing is so helpful!! It's also made me really nervous. I've been thinking about what you said above all day. You're right, it is a risk. I guess I'm just in kind of a predicament... You see, I have my police certificate already (completely clean). It was issued 12/28/12. I was hoping to have my application in soon after we arrived in Calgary (mid-November), but it's taken a bit longer than expected. Now, the police report must have been issued within 3 months of when my application is submitted, which I assume means the day you send it it, right? That would mean for my police certificate to be valid, I have to send in my application by March 28th. (Please, tell me if I'm wrong here!). My little sister is getting married on March 23rd in New York, which is what I'm leaving the country for. The only reason I wanted to put my application in before I went was to avoid pushing the police certificate to the very last day... But I DO return from New York on the 26th. I could send the entire application out on the 27th... The day before my police certificate would become invalid. If I wait that long, it'll also give me a chance to get my family to re-write their letters and get them notarized, then I could bring them back from New York with me, pop them in the envelope, and drop it all in the mail.

Should I just wait until the 27th? Talk about cutting it close! :-[

Another random question- when should I put as the date my relationship became common-law? One year after we started living together?

We just included 1 family letter from my (sponsor's) mom. It was not certified/notarized. Just printed out with her signature, as well as her contact info (phone and address). This was for an outland app.

Thanks for the tip! It's good to know that I won't look like a crazy person if I send it an uncertified letter or two

And that looks like the right thread! Thank you so much!!

 

[Rob_TO]

Another random question- when should I put as the date my relationship became common-law? One year after we started living together?

This is also answered in the CIC guide i linked to above.

Enter the date (year, month, day) you were married or you entered into your current common-law relationship.

Note: This is the date your status officially changed from being single to common-law, not the date you started living together.

 

[MonikaR]

This is also answered in the CIC guide i linked to above.

Enter the date (year, month, day) you were married or you entered into your current common-law relationship.

Note: This is the date your status officially changed from being single to common-law, not the date you started living together.

So when would it change? That's what I don't understand. One year? Or should I look up what the timeframe is in the state we lived in and go by that?

Any tips on my police certificate situation? Thank you again

 

[Rob_TO]

So when would it change? That's what I don't understand. One year? Or should I look up what the timeframe is in the state we lived in and go by that?

Any tips on my police certificate situation? Thank you again

You have to go by CIC rules no matter where you're applying from, so that is ALWAYS the 1-year date from when you first started living together.

I've never dealt with US police certs so not sure there, if the 3-months is counted from when you mail the app, or when CIC signs for it. Sounds like you'll be right on the borderline so best to get some confirmation here from other members!

 

[MonikaR]

Ah, thank you.

As far as the police certificate... I can either send in my application a little earlier with some non-notarized letters and also risk leaving the country for 4 days right after I send it, OR I can send it at the last minute after I return to Canada with all notarized letters but risk my police certificate not being valid anymore. Risk either way, which one is worse?!

Oh goodness. Any more advice, anyone? It will be very much appreciated :-* haha ;D

 

[MissDominica]

I believe the 3 month rule is NOT on the day you MAIL the application, but on the day that CIC receives it. So I would mail it earlier than later just to be safe.

 

[MissDominica]

Oh, and I'm not sure if this is the thread you were looking for... but this is the one I used to organize my application. It's good. It's not specific to common-law, but really the only difference for common-law is proving you lived together, so add the appropriate documents you feel you need to prove that you lived together for 1+ years and that you have a genuine relationship.

http://www.canadavisa.com/canada-immigration-discussion-board/-t92449.0.html