Sponsoring a Common-Law partner who is an International Student

[icelandicpie]

Hey everyone,

I will try to keep it short.

• I am a 21 year old international student living in Ontario. I currently have a study permit and I should be graduating in June 2019.
• My plan was to graduate, apply for a Post-Grad work permit (that should have been granted for 3 years, the length of my Bachelor's), get a job that would allow me to apply for Permanent Residency after a year under the Express Entry/Canadian Experience program. It means that I was looking at this timeline:

- June 2019 Graduation
- Summer 2019 Post Grad Work Permit
- September 2019 - Start a full time job with NAC 0/1/2, etc
- September 2020 - Apply for PR as a Skilled Worker under Express Entry/CEC
- Based on current processing times, sometime in 2022 - Receive PR

However, I met my boyfriend 2 years ago and we have been living together for over a year, so we are officially common-law (and declared as such on our 2016 taxes). He is a Canadian citizen and working full-time. I am starting to look into the spouse sponsorship program but I have a few questions:

• Could my boyfriend sponsor me now, knowing I am a full-time student on a study permit and won't be graduating for another two years?
• We are living with his family and as such there's no leasing/renting agreement with my name on it, but I do have a driver's licence, bank statements, university mailing address, etc... that show my address. Will it be enough to prove we are living together?
• About the undertaking: I know it will last 3 years after I become a permanent resident and my boyfriend would have to reimburse any medical expenses that are not covered by "public health insurance" - Does it mean that I will be fully covered by OHIP and he will not have to pay anything OHIP covers? I am also getting dental and vision coverage as a common-law partner through his job - what about that? (he works for provincial government)

Long story short, is it at all possible for an international student to be sponsored as a common-law partner?
Anything else I should know?

Thank you!

 

[canuck_in_uk]

However, I met my boyfriend 2 years ago and we have been living together for over a year, so we are officially common-law (and declared as such on our 2016 taxes). He is a Canadian citizen and working full-time. I am starting to look into the spouse sponsorship program but I have a few questions:

• Could my boyfriend sponsor me now, knowing I am a full-time student on a study permit and won't be graduating for another two years?
• We are living with his family and as such there's no leasing/renting agreement with my name on it, but I do have a driver's licence, bank statements, university mailing address, etc... that show my address. Will it be enough to prove we are living together?
• About the undertaking: I know it will last 3 years after I become a permanent resident and my boyfriend would have to reimburse any medical expenses that are not covered by "public health insurance" - Does it mean that I will be fully covered by OHIP and he will not have to pay anything OHIP covers? I am also getting dental and vision coverage as a common-law partner through his job - what about that? (he works for provincial government)

Yes, your partner can sponsor you. The fact that you are an international student doesn't change the process.

It's a common situation to be living with family. A lease is just one of the proofs that can be provided. There are many other options to submit.

The undertaking refers only to welfare. It has nothing to do with medical expenses or healthcare.

 

[icelandicpie]

Thank you!

As for the undertaking question, I was wondering about this part:

"
When you agree to sponsor, you sign an undertaking, promising to give financial support for the basic needs of the people you’re sponsoring, and any of their dependent children. The length of time you are legally responsible for the person you sponsor varies based on the type of family member you are sponsoring, and is either 3 or 10 years for non-residents of Quebec. Quebec has their own undertaking length.

Please see the Complete Guide for details on the length of the undertaking.

Basic needs are

• food, clothing, shelter and other needs for everyday living
• dental care, eye care and other health needs not covered by public health services"

 

[canuck_in_uk]

Thank you!

As for the undertaking question, I was wondering about this part:

"
When you agree to sponsor, you sign an undertaking, promising to give financial support for the basic needs of the people you’re sponsoring, and any of their dependent children. The length of time you are legally responsible for the person you sponsor varies based on the type of family member you are sponsoring, and is either 3 or 10 years for non-residents of Quebec. Quebec has their own undertaking length.

Please see the Complete Guide for details on the length of the undertaking.

Basic needs are

• food, clothing, shelter and other needs for everyday living
• dental care, eye care and other health needs not covered by public health services"

Basically, the undertaking means that your sponsor is responsible for providing what you need so you don't claim welfare. For genuine couples working and supporting each other, this doesn't mean anything. If a couple splits up and the sponsor doesn't continue financial support and the sponsored person claims welfare, the sponsor must pay it back.

 

[icelandicpie]

Ok, well I'm not planning to claim welfare.

More questions!
- How many pictures should be included in the application package? So far I've selected 30 very different pictures, different places (6 on trips we took together, 9 with family - mostly his side -, a couple with friends, then the two of us)
- I'm going to include proof of hours spent Skyping when I was away and some texts - how many pages should I have for that? Should I also include "boring" texts, like texting about groceries, a volunteer group we're both involved in, etc (showing we live together)?
- Will we need letters from family members/friends that know us?
- What I'm planning to include to prove our relationship: plane tickets of trips taken together, meeting each other's families (even extended family), me meeting some of his coworkers (wedding, Christmas party), volunteering together, bus tickets showing me commuting weekly when I was living in another province, sharing a car, we're both named as beneficiaries even though we don't have a joint account anymore (but we might again, if it can help), Christmas and family cards, filing taxes together this year, pictures. Is it enough? Should I include small things like hobbies we do together, the fact that I'm on his family's gym membership, close friends with his sister, etc?

Edit: He's 10 years older than me. Would that hurt our application?

 

[spousalsponsee]

Ok, well I'm not planning to claim welfare.

More questions!
- How many pictures should be included in the application package? So far I've selected 30 very different pictures, different places (6 on trips we took together, 9 with family - mostly his side -, a couple with friends, then the two of us)
- I'm going to include proof of hours spent Skyping when I was away and some texts - how many pages should I have for that? Should I also include "boring" texts, like texting about groceries, a volunteer group we're both involved in, etc (showing we live together)?
- Will we need letters from family members/friends that know us?
- What I'm planning to include to prove our relationship: plane tickets of trips taken together, meeting each other's families (even extended family), me meeting some of his coworkers (wedding, Christmas party), volunteering together, bus tickets showing me commuting weekly when I was living in another province, sharing a car, we're both named as beneficiaries even though we don't have a joint account anymore (but we might again, if it can help), Christmas and family cards, filing taxes together this year, pictures. Is it enough? Should I include small things like hobbies we do together, the fact that I'm on his family's gym membership, close friends with his sister, etc?

Edit: He's 10 years older than me. Would that hurt our application?

Have a good read of the application package to understand what they want - Section 7 of http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/pdf/kits/forms/IMM5589E.pdf gives you the selections. For example, (c) requests a maximum of 20 photos, so you need to remove 10 of the ones you've selected. Maximum of 10 pages of chats, etc.Letters from friends and family are another category where having them means you don't need to supply one of the others. So just work your way through the checklist - it sounds like you'll be cutting things down rather than struggling to meet them

If you're Icelandic (guessing from username), then a 10 year age gap is very unlikely to be any problem at all. Age gaps are only an issue if one or both partners come from a culture with a strong tradition of close ages, eg normally two children being betrothed early on then married later, or if it generates a reason to suspect the relationship is being faked (eg a 70 year old Canadian who needs home care and their totally loving, devoted-to-them 22 year old Thai partner).

 

[icelandicpie]

Perfect. I'm just worried than the 10 year age gap + me being relatively young + us having been in a relationship for "only" 2 years might be red flags. I volunteer/work part time at an MP office and I help with casework (people applying for visas, PRs, etc) and sometimes it does seem that they're very nitpicky. I will check every box on the application and provide everything they want, even if they say it's optional, but I know they can ultimately refuse saying "they are not convinced that X" and there's pretty much nothing else to do.

Thank you both for your answers! I'm going to start working on my app and will probably apply in July

 

[canuck_in_uk]

Perfect. I'm just worried than the 10 year age gap + me being relatively young + us having been in a relationship for "only" 2 years might be red flags. I volunteer/work part time at an MP office and I help with casework (people applying for visas, PRs, etc) and sometimes it does seem that they're very nitpicky. I will check every box on the application and provide everything they want, even if they say it's optional, but I know they can ultimately refuse saying "they are not convinced that X" and there's pretty much nothing else to do.

Thank you both for your answers! I'm going to start working on my app and will probably apply in July

A 10 year age gap in the Western countries is not an issue, nor is your age. A two month relationship is a red flag. A two year relationship where you are living together is most definitely not. You have zero red flags as I see it.

Provided your sponsor meets the requirements (no bankruptcy, no child support default etc.) and you can submit the required common-law/relationship proofs, your app will be approved.

 

[icelandicpie]

Amazing!

About common-law, we don't have a rental agreement or anything because we still live in his childhood's home with his parents. Would a letter from his parents and his cousin (who used to live here to study until October) help?
(We both have driver's licences, bank statements, phone bills etc showing our current address. However mine are from May 2016 at the earliest, though I did move in with him in December 2015. Does it matter? Even if we can only prove we've been living together since May 2016, I'll be applying in July so it will be over a year)

 

[canuck_in_uk]

Amazing!

About common-law, we don't have a rental agreement or anything because we still live in his childhood's home with his parents. Would a letter from his parents and his cousin (who used to live here to study until October) help?
(We both have driver's licences, bank statements, phone bills etc showing our current address. However mine are from May 2016 at the earliest, though I did move in with him in December 2015. Does it matter? Even if we can only prove we've been living together since May 2016, I'll be applying in July so it will be over a year)

A rental agreement is not a requirement. It is just one of the proofs that can be submitted. I suggest you start looking through the checklist to see what proofs are needed. You can include a letter from the parents.

As long as your proofs cover at least a one year period, it's fine.

 

[icelandicpie]

One more question, I just applied to extend my study permit (I'm going to wait until I get the new one to apply for PR) and in the application, I put my partner's info etc. It asked for "the date on which we were married or entered common-law relationship". I put December 15, 2016 because that's the one-year anniversary of us living together and thus being common-law. I just realized, did they mean when we moved in together? I'm still confused. I remember when we filed taxes this year, questions were less ambiguous (they asked our status as of Dec 2015, which was not common law, then our status as of Dec 2016 which was common-law, as well as the exact date)

I know they'll ask the same thing when we apply (there's a form with the exact same question). Just to be sure, in the letter we're going to include about our relationship, how we met, etc, we will clarify it. But I wouldn't want them to flag my app because of what I put on the form.

I might be really overthinking it!

 

[canuck_in_uk]

One more question, I just applied to extend my study permit (I'm going to wait until I get the new one to apply for PR) and in the application, I put my partner's info etc. It asked for "the date on which we were married or entered common-law relationship". I put December 15, 2016 because that's the one-year anniversary of us living together and thus being common-law. I just realized, did they mean when we moved in together? I'm still confused. I remember when we filed taxes this year, questions were less ambiguous (they asked our status as of Dec 2015, which was not common law, then our status as of Dec 2016 which was common-law, as well as the exact date)

I know they'll ask the same thing when we apply (there's a form with the exact same question). Just to be sure, in the letter we're going to include about our relationship, how we met, etc, we will clarify it. But I wouldn't want them to flag my app because of what I put on the form.

I might be really overthinking it!

You are overthinking it. You were correct that you became common-law one year after moving in together.