Regarding Common-law partner sponsorship's "time lived together" evaluation

[bluesocks79]

Hi everyone, I have a question regarding being a sponsor as a Canadian Citizen, to my common-law partner-to-be.

She has a foreign nationality and needs to leave Canada to renew her passport in some circumstance she's in(she can't do it through embassy.)
The duration of her absence will be maximum 2 weeks, and from what I read,

"..you have to prove you have been living with your partner for at least 12 consecutive months in a relationship like a marriage. That means living together for one year without any long periods where you did not see each other. Either partner may have left the home for work or business travel, family obligations, and so on. However, that separation must have been temporary and short."

How long is "temporary and short?" because we might start living together soon within this year, but she might have to leave at the end of the year, and come back to Canada.

Would this affect the length of our time lived together?


Thank you for reading and I'll be waiting for your kind replies!

 

[keesio]

From what I have read, up to 2 weeks is fine.

The consensus seems to be that you can even possibly justify up to a month. But anything more than that and you are really pushing your luck.

 

[Rob_TO]

2 weeks should be fine. Anything over 3 weeks and you're pushing it...

Just make sure to get as much proof as you can that establishes the cohabitation from day 1. So joint lease/rental agreement, open a bank acct together, get dated mailed delivered to the home asap, etc.

 

[bluesocks79]

Thank you so much to both of you for replying.

May I ask another question though?
What if the circumstance is a little tricky as:
We move into a place owned by my family, but she and I both live in the same place.
Therefore neither of us have our names on the ownership of the property, or a rental lease.

We will open bank accounts together and she'll of course change all of her official address to mine, and everything else we can get.
But would that be okay?

 

[Rob_TO]

We move into a place owned by my family, but she and I both live in the same place.
Therefore neither of us have our names on the ownership of the property, or a rental lease.

Easy. Get a rental lease. Whatever family member owns the home, can write up a legal rental agreement and get it certified/notarized, stating that you are both living there for X months. It doesn't matter if you aren't paying rent.

We will open bank accounts together and she'll of course change all of her official address to mine, and everything else we can get.
But would that be okay?

Yes. Anything you can think of that will prove you're living together, you should include.