Sponsorship Question!

[KateCarpenter]

Hello,

I am a U.S. citizen living and working in Canada with my fiancé, who is Canadian, on a temporary resident visa. We have been living together since for almost a year and a half. We recently became engaged and are working on a common law sponsorship application. If we submit that application, do we have to wait until we hear back to get married? We were thinking about getting married this fall. Would it be better to get married first and then submit a spousal sponsorship? I have my visa for about 1 year yet and we know processing times can be up to 1 year. Any help on this matter would be so great!

Thanks,
Kate

 

[k.h.p.]

If you easily can prove common law, you can apply and get married at any time. If your documentation around your common law status is weak, you should wait until you are married.

 

[KateCarpenter]

Okay! What would make our common law status weak?

 

[k.h.p.]

Not having sufficient proof of your time living together in a marriage-like relationship. You need things like leases, utility bills, mail delivered to the same address, etc. Proof you lived together, and sometimes proof that it's a marriage-like relationship, by being named on insurance, financial support between each other, etc. This is discussed in the guide to the sponsorship application.

 

[KateCarpenter]

Not having sufficient proof of your time living together in a marriage-like relationship. You need things like leases, utility bills, mail delivered to the same address, etc. Proof you lived together, and sometimes proof that it's a marriage-like relationship, by being named on insurance, financial support between each other, etc. This is discussed in the guide to the sponsorship application.

What if my fiancé already had all his utility bills in his name, but then authorized me on his accounts? And we have been paying some of them out of our joint bank account? He also owns his house.

 

[k.h.p.]

What do you have that proves you both have lived at the same address for 1.5 years? You don't need both names on the bill, you just need to prove that you have lived at the address and that he lived at the address.

 

[KateCarpenter]

Various utility bills with me authorized to deal with account information/make payments, 2 pet adoptions, joint bank account, our pay stubs and T4s, our tax forms, online shopping/shipping records, receipts for shared expenses for improvements on our home and day-to-day purchases... I also listed him as a beneficiary on my life insurance.

 

[k.h.p.]

That should likely be enough. Note that things without your name and address on them do not prove cohabitation.

 

[canuck_in_uk]

Okay! What would make our common law status weak?

The easiest thing to do is just look at the checklist and see if you have the required proofs.