lilana said:
No, since we came from failed marriages we want to make things right. Also he has a teenager daugther and a son, that's my priority now! My boyfriend gets along really well with my son so wish i could do the same with his kids, wouldn't be fare to get married and then meet his kids..
Is there anything else beside marriage? We are really commited to each other but marriage is a big step..
Thank you for the quick response!
This is only my opinion from reading various posts,I have not experienced myself
In your case you need to take lot of efforts to prove "conjugal relationship". There are two important questions you need to prove strongly;
1. Establish and prove barriers for marriage or common law
What prevents you from entering into "common law" or marriage? do you have valid and reasonable explanations? can you prove the situation that is preventing you (barriers and obstacles) from entering into such?
This is from the CIC website:
"who would normally apply as common law partners but are unable to live together continuously for one year, due to circumstances beyond their control, such as immigration barrier, religious reasons, marital status, or sexual orientation."
2. Prove that you are in a committed relationship
Again this is from the CIC website
"a significant degree of attachment and mutually interdependent relationship must be demonstrated between both partners for this category. They must also provide proof of what obstacles (or restrictions) exist that prevent cohabitation or marriage."
If you can work on the above two you might have crossed half the ocean. You say you have kids and you want to take it slow, now how much this is seen as a "barrier" (see above list of barriers) depends on the visa officer.
I am sure more people in the forum have either had some discussion or will answer to you based on thier experiences.
You can sponsor a conjugal partner if :
there is a significant degree of attachment between the two of you, implying not just a physical relationship but a mutually interdependent relationship, and
you have been in a genuine relationship for at least 12 months where marriage or cohabitation has not been possible due to barriers such as sexual orientation, religious faith, etc.
See Conjugal partner definition.
My tip is to collect and save valid and genuine proofs (for second) that you both are in a committed relationship, proofs like, emails, chats, travel records, pictures, tours. Maybe it will come in handy at the time of app