Sponsoring Common Law Partner outside Canada

[meghanb]

Hello,

I am Canadian, my partner is Belgian and we want to apply for his Canadian Residency through a sponsorship of a common-law partner outside of Canada. We have been together for over 3 years and have been working and travelling together for the last 2.5 years. We don't have a continuous year lease as we are constantly on the move but we have lived together for almost 2 years in various locations with a break of 3 months in between.

Since we want to apply outside of Canada we are trying to figure out which country we must apply through. We have the possibility of living and working together in Scotland for 6 months while the application is being processed. Does my partner need to stay in Belgium if we apply through there or is it possible for us to apply through Belgium while still working in Scotland together?

 

[Ponga]

You hopefully have solid evidence that the two of you have lived [somewhere] for at least 365 days continuously, since this is the fundamental requirement for a Common-Law sponsorship application. This is critical!

CIC will determine which visa office your partner's application is sent to, but I suspect it will be Belgium. He would not need to remain there for the process, but if an interview is required, he would need to return.