Technically you are correct. CIC manuals state they don't want to force people to get married, and that if you satisfy the conditions that it is legally impossible to live common-law in each other's counties due to visa reasons, then conjugal status would apply.SAHIL SINGH said:
HOWEVER the advice you are getting here is based on what other conjugal couples have gone through when dealing with VOs processing their applications, and what some of the reasons for refusal of conjugal apps has been. It doesn't matter exactly how the rules are worded on the CIC manuals, the VO is free to make their own decisions, ask any questions they want, and ultimately deny your application for whatever reason they see fit. Even though in an appeal you would most likely win, this causes a huge delay.
CIC states specifically "If a Canadian and a foreign national can get married or can live together and establish a common-law relationship, this is what they are expected to have done before they submit sponsorship and immigration applications.
The conjugal partner category is mainly intended for partners where neither common-law partner status nor marriage is possible, usually because of marital status or sexual orientation, combined with an immigration barrier.
Since this is open to interpretation, the VO might want to see if you explored other possibilities to get married, such as applying for a visa to get married in a 3rd country. Not saying they will definitely do this, but you have to understand it is a definite possibility. Hopefully in your case, you get a reasonable VO and they accept your reasons for applying conjugal.
