Same Sex Common Law Outside Canada Application

[erical]

Hi

You only need to formally translate official documents, such as PCCs, birth certificate etc. You should also get all of the DUI documents officially translated. Unofficial stuff, such as your relationship proofs, can be translated by yourselves.

That's good news but it still looks like we're going to pay a small fortune. According to the official guide because we're outside Canada we have to pay for a translation, the translator has to made a sworn declaration with a notary and we need a certified copy of the original document notarized as well. The best offer we've had has been about 25CAD per document (up to four pages).

We're planning on translating and notarizing: lease, proof of car ownership, car insurance, both of our official housing documents from the government, two proof of employment forms, Korean family registry, criminal check, all papers related to the DUI, one letter in Korea, travel insurance, and probably a few more things.


Things we won't be notarizing: flight itineraries, all letters from friends (except for two), bank statements showing monthly bill transfers, bills addressed to our former addresses, some old ID cards with my name/picture/address), etc.

I guess we don't need to send the original document since they ask for a certified copy. If we can find a Korean translating service in Canada then we don't need the sworn affidavit so I'm trying to find someone... If by some random coincidence someone know of such a service please let me know. Cheers!

Edit: Found docsbase.ca which seemed to be a real thing and has a few reviews. Waiting to hear back about a quote. Seems like 25CAD a document isn't too bad of a rate afterall...

 

[canuck_in_uk]

We're planning on translating and notarizing: lease, proof of car ownership, car insurance, both of our official housing documents from the government, two proof of employment forms, Korean family registry, criminal check, all papers related to the DUI, one letter in Korea, travel insurance, and probably a few more things.

I would translate the lease, car ownership, car insurance, employment forms and travel insurance yourself.

 

[erical]

I would translate the lease, car ownership, car insurance, employment forms and travel insurance yourself.

Interesting. I'm pretty sure we can convince our employers to make the forms in English.

We have one letter that is in Korean and we would like to get it notarized. Reckon we could translate that ourselves and then have it notarized?

 

[canuck_in_uk]

Interesting. I'm pretty sure we can convince our employers to make the forms in English.

We have one letter that is in Korean and we would like to get it notarized. Reckon we could translate that ourselves and then have it notarized?

If that is one of your 2 required Stat Decs, then have it formally translated. If you are able to get your 2 Stat Decs in English, then you can translate the Korean letter yourselves.

 

[erical]

Ah ok. We'll try to use an English one for statutory declarations then. Do all the other letters we send need to be originals?

 

[canuck_in_uk]

Ah ok. We'll try to use an English one for statutory declarations then. Do all the other letters we send need to be originals?

No, the other letters don't need to be original. I had several emailed letters.

 

[erical]

Hey everyone,

Just putting the finishing touches on our application and I have a few questions.


1. IMM 5481: I've been living outside of Canada for ages and am a non-resident so I haven't filed taxes in about a decade. As a result, I'm unable to get a notice of assessment or Option C. In lieu of this I have a letter from my current employer saying how much I make and how often I work. I could attach a copy of my taxes in Korea but I doubt that would be terribly useful to them. If anyone else has been in the same boat, please let me know how you handled it.

2. IMM 5409: Just noticed this today but when we got our Declaration of Common Law Union stamped at the embassy she didn't tick off any of the boxes (Notary Public, Commissioner of Oaths, or Commissioner of Taking Affidavits). Is this a problem?

3. IMM 5669: My partner has two DUIs as I mentioned here before so I'm not sure what to write in here. Also, has Hepatitis B since she was born but her levels are very low. I'm meant to attach all the information related to both here?

Lastly, did everyone send all original stuff in? I got a lot of the important documents translated from Korean into English and then notarized. I'm assuming it's fine to send only the notarized copies. I'm a bit nervous about something happening to them and having to collect them again.

I'd appreciate any feedback. Thanks very much!

 

[canuck_in_uk]

1. IMM 5481: I've been living outside of Canada for ages and am a non-resident so I haven't filed taxes in about a decade.

2. IMM 5409: Just noticed this today but when we got our Declaration of Common Law Union stamped at the embassy she didn't tick off any of the boxes (Notary Public, Commissioner of Oaths, or Commissioner of Taking Affidavits). Is this a problem?

3. IMM 5669: My partner has two DUIs as I mentioned here before so I'm not sure what to write in here. Also, has Hepatitis B since she was born but her levels are very low. I'm meant to attach all the information related to both here?

Lastly, did everyone send all original stuff in? I got a lot of the important documents translated from Korean into English and then notarized. I'm assuming it's fine to send only the notarized copies. I'm a bit nervous about something happening to them and having to collect them again.

1. Just include a letter of explanation in place of the NOA.

2. That should be fine. It's not a required document anyways.

3. Yes, attach all of the information, documents and a full explanation


From the top of your country-specific checklist:

You must send originals of the immigration forms (items 1 to 11 below) and the police certificates, and send photocopies of all other documents
unless instructed otherwise. If your documents are not in English or French, send a notarized (certified) translation with a copy of the originals.

 

[erical]

Thanks! I'm just going over the package one more time and a bit confused about where to put all the supporting documents. There are a few places that ask for the same documents twice. For example, IMM5490 asks for proof of travel and photos of the development of the relationship but they ask for this in "proof of relationship" at the end of the checklist as well. Is it best to make copies and put them in both places or just include them once? We had our photos developed and labelled the backs of them. Would it be frowned upon to simply sort them by year in envelopes and them places all the small envelopes in a larger one labelled "photos"? Does it really matter?

Also, we can't move back to Canada until March 2017 at the earliest so we obviously can't show proof that we rented an apartment or applied for jobs. Anything else we can include here? I'm taking some classes via McMaster so I included proof of enrolment and am taking a banking course so I can get a job when I return.

Any final tips or common mistakes to avoid? I'm struggling not to go overboard and include too much. Hopefully I don't forget anything small and foolish. Cheers!

 

[canuck_in_uk]

Thanks! I'm just going over the package one more time and a bit confused about where to put all the supporting documents. There are a few places that ask for the same documents twice. For example, IMM5490 asks for proof of travel and photos of the development of the relationship but they ask for this in "proof of relationship" at the end of the checklist as well. Is it best to make copies and put them in both places or just include them once? We had our photos developed and labelled the backs of them. Would it be frowned upon to simply sort them by year in envelopes and them places all the small envelopes in a larger one labelled "photos"? Does it really matter?

Also, we can't move back to Canada until March 2017 at the earliest so we obviously can't show proof that we rented an apartment or applied for jobs. Anything else we can include here? I'm taking some classes via McMaster so I included proof of enrolment and am taking a banking course so I can get a job when I return.

Most people separate everything into 3 envelopes: sponsor forms/documents, applicant forms/documents and proof of relationship.

You can include what you have along with letters from family and friends and a good explanation letter. If CIC isn't satisfied with your proofs, they will request more further into the process.