Same Sex Common Law Outside Canada Application

[erical]

Hello,

We're a same sex couple living in Korea (one Canadian/one Korean) and just beginning this process. We've been together for four years and living together for about two and a half years. We have a number of worries about our application due to being outside Canada and living in a country that doesn't like the gays.

Because of the laws here we are unable to get married, open a joint bank account, get insurance together, etc. so we're worried about having enough evidence of our relationship. Also, the Canadian side of the family has never been here to meet the Korean side. The forms also ask a lot about jobs in Canada which is a problem as I haven't lived there since 2008. However, in Korea we have decent jobs and a fair bit of savings. Any advice on how to proceed and build a stronger application would be greatly appreciated as we'd very much like to start out lives in Canada.

Cheers!

 

[canuck_in_uk]

Hi

There is no issue with not being married; that is the whole reason CIC has the common-law stream.

There is also no issue in not having joint insurance/bank accounts. There are many ways to prove common-law status. The best way is to show mail at the sme address in individual and/or both names over the course of at least a year. You can show addresses on IDs, get letters from family/friends, letters from neighbors/landlord/employer etc.

The families not having met is perfectly understandable and easily explained by the distance. Our families didn't meet for nearly 4 years for the same reason.

There is no need to have a job in Canada. Show proof of your incomes in Korea and your savings.

 

[erical]

Hi,

Thanks so much for your response. Definitely lessened our worries.

Getting records of our address is quite easy here as we're required to list it with the government. We've both got official forms stating our addresses. We also have several letters from friends and a couple from family, sharing bills, paying rent, etc. How about photos and other evidence?

We have some photos and documents of travel from the past four years but it's a bit spotty. Some Koreans advised that we would need at least a picture from every month we've been together but we don't have that. We both work a lot and don't take pictures of everything we do. Also, if it's just the two of us we tend to take pics of each other which lead to us having a ton of pics of us in the same place but not in the same shot. Kind of funny but a bit of a new worry. Any advice?

Hi

There is no issue with not being married; that is the whole reason CIC has the common-law stream.

There is also no issue in not having joint insurance/bank accounts. There are many ways to prove common-law status. The best way is to show mail at the sme address in individual and/or both names over the course of at least a year. You can show addresses on IDs, get letters from family/friends, letters from neighbors/landlord/employer etc.

The families not having met is perfectly understandable and easily explained by the distance. Our families didn't meet for nearly 4 years for the same reason.

There is no need to have a job in Canada. Show proof of your incomes in Korea and your savings.

 

[erical]

Also on our list of concerns:

- Letters from friends and family: Most of our friends are westerners who have worked in Korea temporarily. As a result, many of our closest, oldest friends have left the country. We've asked a few to write us letters but are curious if they need to be notarized. I've seen some people say that sworn declarations at the Canadian embassy will help our case immensely. Could they make a sworn declaration from the US or England? Does it have to be at a Canadian embassy or can they visit a notary public in their own country?
- My partner has two DUIs from over 5 years ago on her police record check. Will that have a negative impact? Should we address it?
- A lot of the documents are written in Korea. Is it sufficient to use any translation service?
- Aforementioned photo issue. Lots of photos with one of us in it, taking a photo of the other person haha. Should we bother submitting this type of photo at all?

Thanks to anyone who takes the time to respond. We've tried to research on our own but it's difficult to sift through so much information and misinformation. Insight from those who've been through the process would be greatly appreciated. Thanks again!

 

[Aquakitty]

Also on our list of concerns:

- Letters from friends and family: Most of our friends are westerners who have worked in Korea temporarily. As a result, many of our closest, oldest friends have left the country. We've asked a few to write us letters but are curious if they need to be notarized. I've seen some people say that sworn declarations at the Canadian embassy will help our case immensely. Could they make a sworn declaration from the US or England? Does it have to be at a Canadian embassy or can they visit a notary public in their own country?
- My partner has two DUIs from over 5 years ago on her police record check. Will that have a negative impact? Should we address it?
- A lot of the documents are written in Korea. Is it sufficient to use any translation service?
- Aforementioned photo issue. Lots of photos with one of us in it, taking a photo of the other person haha. Should we bother submitting this type of photo at all?

Thanks to anyone who takes the time to respond. We've tried to research on our own but it's difficult to sift through so much information and misinformation. Insight from those who've been through the process would be greatly appreciated. Thanks again!

In Canada, a DUI is very serious, and rightly so. That is a much bigger deal than any of the other things you have concerns about.

Has it been 5 years or over since the last of her sentence was completed for the DUI? For instance, if she had a fine to pay, was it paid 5+ years ago?

Edit: I should add, this is assuming your partner is Korean.

The other things are no big deal. You can get sworn affidavits from any country.

 

[erical]

Yes, my partner is Korean. The two DUIs were in 2009 and again in April 2011. The last incident was over 5 years ago and there was a relatively small fine and some weekend drunk driving program. Everything was last dealt with in April 2011. We're not sure the exact level of blood alcohol but it was under .1. We're waiting to get the criminal record check back now.

As for the letters, would you advise us to get sworn affidavits from each person who is writing us a letter? Notary public is fine?

Thanks so much for your response! I didn't realize the DUIs would be such a big deal because they were so long ago.

In Canada, a DUI is very serious, and rightly so. That is a much bigger deal than any of the other things you have concerns about.

Has it been 5 years or over since the last of her sentence was completed for the DUI? For instance, if she had a fine to pay, was it paid 5+ years ago?

Edit: I should add, this is assuming your partner is Korean.

The other things are no big deal. You can get sworn affidavits from any country.

 

[canuck_in_uk]

Yes, my partner is Korean. The two DUIs were in 2009 and again in April 2011. The last incident was over 5 years ago and there was a relatively small fine and some weekend drunk driving program. Everything was last dealt with in April 2011. We're not sure the exact level of blood alcohol but it was under .1. We're waiting to get the criminal record check back now.

As for the letters, would you advise us to get sworn affidavits from each person who is writing us a letter? Notary public is fine?

Thanks so much for your response! I didn't realize the DUIs would be such a big deal because they were so long ago.

DUIs are a very big deal, regardless of when they happened. CIC equates foreign convictions with the Canadian criminal code, so if the BAC was under .08 for BOTH, there is no criminal equivalent here in Canada and your partner is not inadmissible. If the BAC was over .08 for either one, then your partner is criminally inadmissible to Canada.

If your partner is inadmissible, you will need to apply for Rehabilitation along with the PR app. This will mean your app will take at least several months longer than usual.

A notary is fine for the letters. You only need to have two notarized; the rest can be regular letters.

 

[Abydos]

I'd like to add that you don't have to have every letter from friends/family notarized. We included a notarized letter (from from each family) and then a couple of signed but not notarized letters from friends. There's obviously no harm in getting them all notarized of course.

Another strong common law proof would be wills but again not absolutely required and many younger people haven't even got a will. You can also include gifts sent to one another (copies of receipts for these, gift cards etc). Names on car insurance is another option. There is a long list of things you can include but you don't have to include everything - just so long as together it's enough to make a compelling case.

As for photos I would say it depends how long you have been together and what the rest of your proof is like. One a month for thr past 4 years is unecessary I think but a selection from each year, especially if they cover big events and include other people, is good.

Our families hadn't met one another in our app (long distance) and we had been together 6 years, common law 1. And one of us hadn't met one parent of the other so it's not a big deal so long as your application is otherwise good.

 

[erical]

We got the criminal record check back yesterday and both DUIs were under 0.08!

I'd like to add that you don't have to have every letter from friends/family notarized. We included a notarized letter (from from each family) and then a couple of signed but not notarized letters from friends. There's obviously no harm in getting them all notarized of course.

Another strong common law proof would be wills but again not absolutely required and many younger people haven't even got a will. You can also include gifts sent to one another (copies of receipts for these, gift cards etc). Names on car insurance is another option. There is a long list of things you can include but you don't have to include everything - just so long as together it's enough to make a compelling case.

As for photos I would say it depends how long you have been together and what the rest of your proof is like. One a month for thr past 4 years is unecessary I think but a selection from each year, especially if they cover big events and include other people, is good.

Our families hadn't met one another in our app (long distance) and we had been together 6 years, common law 1. And one of us hadn't met one parent of the other so it's not a big deal so long as your application is otherwise good.

Thanks so much for your thoughtful reply. We noticed a lot of people said they had friends and family make sworn declarations at the embassy. I guess this is different from having it notarized but I'm a bit confused about this one. We have a couple friends in Korea who can go with us and make one. Is it worthwhile to ask friends abroad to do so? I don't want to put them out too much if it doesn't make a big difference.

Thanks for the input on the photos. We have them in different places, with different people over the past four years but not as many as we'd like due to us being stupid and taking pictures of each other. Maybe we'll include a few of these just in case.

We have a lot of good paper evidence I think due to me being a foreign resident here and putting things in my partner's name. My car was in her name but I paid the bills and the insurance was in my name. Same goes for my phone. Our apartment is currently in both of our names and we have bank receipts of all transfers for rent and bills. We've taken a lot of trips together too and have our names on the same flight itinerary.

I wasn't sure if we should include gift receipts because I thought it'd be hard to prove who used it. We probably have some old cards and notes and stuff as well. Should we make copies and send them along? We also have a ton of chat logs and some emails but I'm not sure if they're useful and how much to send. I don't want to send too much stuff but I suppose too much is better than not enough.

 

[canuck_in_uk]

We got the criminal record check back yesterday and both DUIs were under 0.08!

Thanks so much for your thoughtful reply. We noticed a lot of people said they had friends and family make sworn declarations at the embassy. I guess this is different from having it notarized but I'm a bit confused about this one. We have a couple friends in Korea who can go with us and make one. Is it worthwhile to ask friends abroad to do so? I don't want to put them out too much if it doesn't make a big difference.

Thanks for the input on the photos. We have them in different places, with different people over the past four years but not as many as we'd like due to us being stupid and taking pictures of each other. Maybe we'll include a few of these just in case.

We have a lot of good paper evidence I think due to me being a foreign resident here and putting things in my partner's name. My car was in her name but I paid the bills and the insurance was in my name. Same goes for my phone. Our apartment is currently in both of our names and we have bank receipts of all transfers for rent and bills. We've taken a lot of trips together too and have our names on the same flight itinerary.

I wasn't sure if we should include gift receipts because I thought it'd be hard to prove who used it. We probably have some old cards and notes and stuff as well. Should we make copies and send them along? We also have a ton of chat logs and some emails but I'm not sure if they're useful and how much to send. I don't want to send too much stuff but I suppose too much is better than not enough.

Good. Make sure to include all paperwork and court documents for both convictions.

There is no need for people to go to an embassy. You need 2 notarized letters; the rest can just be regular letters.

Don't stress about the pictures. People submit apps with 20 pictures and have no issues; provided you have a solid app, you'll be fine.

There' no need for gift receipts.

You have lots of solid proofs and have lived together for several years, so no need to bother with the chat/text/email proofs.

 

[Puppet]

Good afternoon all...

I have one quick question...
My boyfriend and i r planning to get married this summer in Europe, since we can't do it in the country we both live.
None of us is a canadian citizen. We want to start the process to immigrate to canada. My question is, how long does it take for him to bring me there under his sponsorship and can he do it if he has the residency permit or we need to wait for him to get citizenship...
Any answer will be appreciated, thanks

 

[Abydos]

Thanks for the input on the photos. We have them in different places, with different people over the past four years but not as many as we'd like due to us being stupid and taking pictures of each other. Maybe we'll include a few of these just in case.

We did this too Glad it isn't just us somehow not taking photos together! We included a couple of those but they probably weren't necessary.

I wasn't sure if we should include gift receipts because I thought it'd be hard to prove who used it.

This makes sense (we included gift receipts only where we ordered online and had it shipped overseas to the other)

 

[canadianwoman]

Good afternoon all...

I have one quick question...
My boyfriend and i r planning to get married this summer in Europe, since we can't do it in the country we both live.
None of us is a canadian citizen. We want to start the process to immigrate to canada. My question is, how long does it take for him to bring me there under his sponsorship and can he do it if he has the residency permit or we need to wait for him to get citizenship...

You are both foreigners? If so, then when he applies to immigrate to Canada, you will be included on the application as his spouse. You will both be assessed together and will get the PR visa at the same time.
If he immigrates before he marries you, then he can sponsor you after he gets married; he does not have to wait until he becomes a citizen. However, you will be married before he gets accepted as a PR, so you will be included on his forms.

 

[erical]

Hi everyone,

Back with another question. Since we're living in Korea almost all our documents are in Korean. As I understand it, we need to get it translated and then have a copy of the original Korean document notarized saying that the person who translated it swears it's an accurate translation. Is this correct?

Because we have so many documents I'm trying to shop around a bit but I want to make sure I understand properly. Has anyone else had to translate documents while outside Canada? Must you use a professionally registered translation service? Notary publics from Korea would be acceptable? We have so much stuff but I think we can't afford to translate and notarize it all :/

Thanks again!

 

[canuck_in_uk]

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.