Sponsorship advice for British partner?

[zwicker89]

Hello everyone, and many thanks in advance for your time...

I am a 25 year old Canadian gal currently residing in the UK (on a Working Holiday Visa) with my British partner (male, also 25). I would like to sponsor him to come to Canada (ideally through the common-law option), however I have a few questions/concerns:

1. We have been living together since May 2013, however we only really have 'proof' that we've been co-habitating since December 2013. However in that time, we've spent roughly two months apart: one month in April of this year (we were working in Australia but because his visa expired before mine he had to leave the country) another month in August of this year (I had been in the UK as a tourist and flew home to apply for a visa) = 2 months apart total. I know to go the common-law route (which is ideally what we'd like to do) you need to have been living together for a year continuously - would these 2 months apart affect this, even though we had good reasons? If the year of co-habitating really needs to be continuous, is marriage then our only option?

2. When I say we have 'proof' of living together, the main 'proof' is a rental agreement for a place we were renting in Australia, plus mail we've received to his parents' address here in the UK (which is where we're living now). We haven't been in a position where we've had a proper lease on a place or been paying bills or anything like that. We have had two joint bank accounts, one in Australia and one in the UK, although not for very long. We do have proof via many many photos, cards people have sent us, social media obviously, plus our families have met. But as I say, no bills or massive joint expenditures... is this a potential problem?

3. The outland application sounds a lot quicker and better - can we do this while we're BOTH out of the country (me included?) Or do I need to be in Canada to do this?

4. If we were to apply inland, could we do so while he's in Canada on a Working Holiday Visa? (We're looking into him applying for one this winter).

5. Do I have to be employed when I sponsor him? I'm working right now (in the UK) but on a very temporary job, and obviously am not currently working in Canada. Will this be a problem? (I do have quite a bit of money in savings, and so does he).

6. I've heard that if you choose to sponsor someone as a common law versus a spouse, you need to be able to explain why you aren't married. In our case, it's not that we're against the idea necessarily, and while we are fully committed we don't want to do it purely so we can be together, rather than being truly ready... will this be a problem in a potential interview?

Any information/tips/advice are GREATLY appreciated

Thanks in advance,
zwicker89

 

[commonlawsponsor]

3) Yes, you can apply OUTLAND while you are both out of the country.

4) If he gets a working holiday visa and you move to Canada, still apply OUTLAND even though you are both in Canada. Yes, he can be on a working holiday visa and still apply for PR.

5) No, you do not need to be employed. You just need to convince CIC that you neither of you will go on welfare. So savings and a plan of how you will provide for yourselves will be fine.

6) Yes, there is a question on one of the forms why you aren't married. The reason you are stating isn't what CIC wants to hear. So you need to consider what you write here. More senior members will probably provide better input.

 

[zwicker89]

Thank you for your input commonlawsponsor. Good to know about the whole marriage thing. Sounds like you've done the common law thing - what was your reason for not marrying, or what are some examples of acceptable reasons? (If you don't mind me asking ).

 

[commonlawsponsor]

Yes, we applied commonlaw and my partner got his CoRP and will be landing this week!

On the form there is a few lines to why you choose not to marry but you can also include another piece of paper, which I thought about doing but didn't in the end. We tried to keep it short and sweet but in reality it is more of an essay type question (for us at least).

We wrote that neither of us are religious - so having some sort of ceremony isn't relevant/important to us. There isn't any family pressure to get married. We don't feel like it would change our relationship in any way, etc. We don't believe in doing something solely because it is the norm.

All that was worded better but I think those were the main points we covered.

 

[canuck_in_uk]

Hi

1. I know to go the common-law route (which is ideally what we'd like to do) you need to have been living together for a year continuously - would these 2 months apart affect this, even though we had good reasons? If the year of co-habitating really needs to be continuous, is marriage then our only option?

Yes, this would most likely be seen as a break in the common-law count. Generally, anything around a month is a big risk. With 2 different month-long separations, there is little chance that a VO would consider you guys common-law.

2. When I say we have 'proof' of living together, the main 'proof' is a rental agreement for a place we were renting in Australia, plus mail we've received to his parents' address here in the UK (which is where we're living now).

As I said above, common-law really isn't an option for you guys, so no need to try to prove it.

3. The outland application sounds a lot quicker and better - can we do this while we're BOTH out of the country (me included?) Or do I need to be in Canada to do this?

Yes but as a sponsor living abroad, you must include proof that you intend to return to Canada.

4. If we were to apply inland, could we do so while he's in Canada on a Working Holiday Visa? (We're looking into him applying for one this winter).

Don't apply inland. Big mistake.

5. Do I have to be employed when I sponsor him? I'm working right now (in the UK) but on a very temporary job, and obviously am not currently working in Canada. Will this be a problem? (I do have quite a bit of money in savings, and so does he).

No. Your savings and a plan of how you guys will support yourselves will be fine.

6. I've heard that if you choose to sponsor someone as a common law versus a spouse, you need to be able to explain why you aren't married. In our case, it's not that we're against the idea necessarily, and while we are fully committed we don't want to do it purely so we can be together, rather than being truly ready... will this be a problem in a potential interview?

Not quite sure what the above poster was talking about. There is no question asking why you aren't married. On IMM5490, if you aren't married, you are directed to questions 20-23, asking whether you are common-law or conjugal and whether there was "there was a formal ceremony to celebrate the relationship/commitment/partnership". This is referring to a ceremony to recognize your common-law relationship, not marriage; it is perfectly fine to say "We saw no need for a ceremony to celebrate our common-law relationship, as that is not customary in our countries." Common-law is a recognized legal status in Canada and is not treated as anything less than marriage by CIC. And there is pretty much no chance of an interview, so don't worry about that.

 

[canuck_in_uk]

Right now, if you aren't wanting to get married, the best thing to so is for the two of you to live together CONTINUOUSLY until next September and then apply as common-law. If one of you needs to leave a country, the other should be going along too.

 

[Applicant7]

As a Canadian 25-year-old who sponsored her British 25-year-old common law partner I can tell you it certainly be done. We applied outland while living in Germany, and the process ran very smoothly. Don't worry about explaining why you aren't married - it's a very small section on the form, and you just need to provide enough evidence that you are in a committed relationship. As for the intent to move Canada, we did it without any jobs on the horizon. I just provided a notarized letter from my parents who stated that they would be happy to house us for as long as necessary, and information that shows that I am registered to the Ontario College of Teachers. if you're worried you can also get a Declaration of Common-Law done.

I will caution about applying while not having lived together (with copious amounts of proof) for at least a year. My partner and I had lived together for over 2 years by they time we moved here in late August and were still given Condition 51. Good luck.

 

[zwicker89]

Thank you everyone for the information. What a pain to know that those 2 months apart essentially screw us! I thought you were allowed to have been apart if it was for a 'good' reason, i.e. visas expiring or leaving the country to apply for a visa. Thinking now that common law isn't an option for us, even though we've really been living together for over a year and a half! But I suppose real proof would have to be both names on a lease, both names on bills/payments, etc. which we don't have. Even if we live together continuously until next September, I'm still not sure we would have that (for the last two months we've been at his parents' so if all we have is mail addressed to us here, it still doesn't prove we've been living together - does it? I get mail to my parents' house in Canada and I haven't lived there in 2 years...)

Thanks all

 

[canuck_in_uk]

Thank you everyone for the information. What a pain to know that those 2 months apart essentially screw us! I thought you were allowed to have been apart if it was for a 'good' reason, i.e. visas expiring or leaving the country to apply for a visa. Thinking now that common law isn't an option for us, even though we've really been living together for over a year and a half! But I suppose real proof would have to be both names on a lease, both names on bills/payments, etc. which we don't have. Even if we live together continuously until next September, I'm still not sure we would have that (for the last two months we've been at his parents' so if all we have is mail addressed to us here, it still doesn't prove we've been living together - does it? I get mail to my parents' house in Canada and I haven't lived there in 2 years...)

Thanks all

Mail to the address is good proof. Along with a notarized letter from his parents confirming that length of time you guys lived there, it should be fine.