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Spousal Sponsorship in Canada Class

andyenglish

Newbie
Mar 31, 2011
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Hi all, I'm new to this site, but I've already gained a lot of useful answers & info from these forums, so I'm hoping to seek a few more for our case.

First a Very brief relationship history, I'm a British citizen from England who married my Canadian wife last year. I came over to live with her late last year & we are preparing our application under the "Spouse or Common-Law Partner In Canada Class", form IMM 5289E, with her obviously sponsoring me as her spouse.

We have gone through the documents several times & have a long list of questions & queries.
I'll split them up into one form number at a time, just to make life easier.

We also really apologize in advance if some of our questions seem a bit lame or obvious to someone else, but we just really want to make sure we submit the best application we can.

So here goes, a number of questions on form IMM 5285 :-

Page 1 Question 7. "Were there formal ceremonies to recognize/celebrate your relationship, e.g. engagement ceremony, .........etc?

We are answering yes, because we had a wedding ceremony & a very small celebration after. But against the yes it then says "For each ceremony attach a photograph & provide, on a separate sheet of paper, the date................... ceremony”

Do they literally mean one photograph, or could/should we attach a number of photos, & if so how many would be acceptable &/or recommended?

Page 1 Question 9 a). “Were you ever previously married or in a common-law relationship?”

I am answering yes, as I have lived with 2 different women in England for over a year each (I understand the definition of common-law in this instance is living together for a year or more) over the past 15 years. My problem is going to be the rest of the details asked for under Question 9 a).

The last woman I lived with for over a year, I have her “Family name”, “Given name(s)”, “Date of birth” all ok, but where it asks for address, do they mean the address she is currently living at now?


Then next they ask for “Length of relationship”, to the day! I think I can maybe pinpoint the day we moved in together, which I assume is the official start of our common-law relationship, but she moved out sometime in mid December 2009, I’m not sure I know the exact day, how exact do I need to be? Also I’m assuming that will be the same date I put against “Date of divorce/separation/death”?

The final part of this question asks for “Divorce papers/separation papers/death certificate attached?”. I was going to answer “No” here, as there never was any documentation involved, she just moved out. I have read that I will need to answer “Yes” & provide a letter signed by us both confirming that our common-law relationship is over & the date it ceased. Is this correct? Will I need to provide that letter?

The previous woman I lived with for over a year, I have her “Family name” & “Given name(s)”, but I don’t have her “Date of birth”, how should I answer?

Also, if they do mean her current address, I have no idea what that is, the last I heard she was living in Spain & has been (& maybe still is, I don’t know) married. I haven’t had contact with her for maybe 8 years, how should I answer against “Address”?

The same problem also exists for the “Length of relationship” dates again, I’m not sure I can pinpoint the day we either moved in together or moved out, as this was 9-14 years ago. This also affects the “Date of divorce/separation/death” too. Obviously the “Divorce papers/separation papers/death certificate attached?” question will also apply too, again we had no documentation, we just moved in together then parted a few years later. Will I need another letter confirming the end of our common-law relationship, signed by us both?

I think that’s all my queries on IMM 5285 anyway, sorry it’s so long & many thanks to anyone who can help.
 

Baloo

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Nov 30, 2009
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andyenglish said:
Hi all, I'm new to this site, but I've already gained a lot of useful answers & info from these forums, so I'm hoping to seek a few more for our case.

First a Very brief relationship history, I'm a British citizen from England who married my Canadian wife last year. I came over to live with her late last year & we are preparing our application under the "Spouse or Common-Law Partner In Canada Class", form IMM 5289E, with her obviously sponsoring me as her spouse.

We have gone through the documents several times & have a long list of questions & queries.
I'll split them up into one form number at a time, just to make life easier.

We also really apologize in advance if some of our questions seem a bit lame or obvious to someone else, but we just really want to make sure we submit the best application we can.

So here goes, a number of questions on form IMM 5285 :-

Page 1 Question 7. "Were there formal ceremonies to recognize/celebrate your relationship, e.g. engagement ceremony, .........etc?

We are answering yes, because we had a wedding ceremony & a very small celebration after. But against the yes it then says "For each ceremony attach a photograph & provide, on a separate sheet of paper, the date................... ceremony”

Do they literally mean one photograph, or could/should we attach a number of photos, & if so how many would be acceptable &/or recommended?

Multiple - as many as you feel tells the story best.
On the rear or the photos (or on a word document) detail, the date, time, who is in the image, what is there relationship to either of you, where it was taken, what is going on.
Search the site here for photo information....


Page 1 Question 9 a). “Were you ever previously married or in a common-law relationship?”

I am answering yes, as I have lived with 2 different women in England for over a year each (I understand the definition of common-law in this instance is living together for a year or more) over the past 15 years. My problem is going to be the rest of the details asked for under Question 9 a).

The last woman I lived with for over a year, I have her “Family name”, “Given name(s)”, “Date of birth” all ok, but where it asks for address, do they mean the address she is currently living at now?

Others will comment on this - If you do not have the address, then explain why - you can attach extra sheets to the application. Make sure that you put a header on the page linking back to the original form and question.


Then next they ask for “Length of relationship”, to the day! I think I can maybe pinpoint the day we moved in together, which I assume is the official start of our common-law relationship, but she moved out sometime in mid December 2009, I'm not sure I know the exact day, how exact do I need to be?
To the best of your recollection.

Also I'm assuming that will be the same date I put against “Date of divorce/separation/death”?
Yes.

The final part of this question asks for “Divorce papers/separation papers/death certificate attached?”. I was going to answer “No” here, as there never was any documentation involved, she just moved out. I have read that I will need to answer “Yes” & provide a letter signed by us both confirming that our common-law relationship is over & the date it ceased. Is this correct? Will I need to provide that letter?

I don't have personal experience of this, others will comment.

The previous woman I lived with for over a year, I have her “Family name” & “Given name(s)”, but I don't have her “Date of birth”, how should I answer?

As best you can, maybe check her facebook page :)

Also, if they do mean her current address, I have no idea what that is, the last I heard she was living in Spain & has been (& maybe still is, I don't know) married. I haven't had contact with her for maybe 8 years, how should I answer against “Address”?

Explain on a separate sheet, you can only give what you know.


The same problem also exists for the “Length of relationship” dates again, I'm not sure I can pinpoint the day we either moved in together or moved out, as this was 9-14 years ago. This also affects the “Date of divorce/separation/death” too. Obviously the “Divorce papers/separation papers/death certificate attached?” question will also apply too, again we had no documentation, we just moved in together then parted a few years later.

Do the best you can, explain why on a separate sheet.
Will I need another letter confirming the end of our common-law relationship, signed by us both?

I doubt that you could do that, given the description you gave.

I think that's all my queries on IMM 5285 anyway, sorry it's so long & many thanks to anyone who can help.
Sorry that I didn't answer everything.
 

scylla

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You should really apply outland. London is a very fast processing office and you could be done in three months (vs. 10 months + ? for inland).
 

ShaunT

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Oct 18, 2011
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I'm actually really interested in the points mentioned in this post and wonder if anyone can add any further detail to it.

Now in the UK Common Law doesn't exist and would make the answer 'NO' which would be my preferred answer. I don't want to run th erisk of misrepresentation though.

My theory being that as it is a Canadian Application I need to declare it under the Canadian definition of living in a marital type relationship for over one year. House joint finances etc.

So. What have other people done in this situation?

I had a house with my ex from 2001 - 2006. Although syaing 2006 is the when the house was transfered to me the relationship was broken down long before so I have no idea on the exact day of when we were seperated. That could in all honesty be any period between 2004-06 we just simply kept the house together for convenience. I have no idea where she is living now. I don't want to and am not going to attempt to initiate any contact.

I have the solicitors documents from the transfer of home ownership from joint names to individual.
Would it be acceptable for me to simply write my own declaration to the effect and supply the solicitors documents for the house. This is afterall a pretty big severence of our ties together.
 

asmallant

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Apr 10, 2011
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Question:


My husband fractured his necked on Dec. 2010. He sponsored me in March 2011. I was deported after months 2011. Now, My husband needs Spine Surgery. He is alone. He is very scare, he told me that he will buy more life insurance.

Is there any chance for me to visit him and stay with him during his Surgery?

Thanks.
a small ant
 

scylla

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Jun 8, 2010
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28-06-2010
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05-10-2010
LANDED..........
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asmallant said:
Question:


My husband fractured his necked on Dec. 2010. He sponsored me in March 2011. I was deported after months 2011. Now, My husband needs Spine Surgery. He is alone. He is very scare, he told me that he will buy more life insurance.

Is there any chance for me to visit him and stay with him during his Surgery?

Thanks.
a small ant
Extremely unlikely if you were deported.
 

canadianwoman

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If you don't know the exact date your common-law relationship ended, just attach a note explaining it ended sometime in December, 2004 (or whatever) and that you don't have the exact date. Same with the first relationship's beginning date. Attach any proof you have those relationships are over, but without a written agreement from the women just explain the circumstances. It is a common-enough situation that the VO should not question it much.
You can put the address where you lived with your two previous common-law spouses, then add that you don't know where they are living now.
Definitely include these two relationships in the application. If you don't, the vo will ask if you have lived with anyone before, you would then have to say yes, and then the vo will want to know why you didn't say so on the application. There's no reason to risk misrepresenting yourself, especially since there is nothing wrong with having had previous relationships.