Super Visa/Common Law

[Tigurius]

Hi Everyone, I need some advice on a unique situation I am in.

First, my girlfriend just received her passport request, meaning she'll be a PR very soon. I am Canadian and we have been living together now for a year and are about to purchase our home from our landlord as soon as she flag polls. We plan on going to the philippines in may to get her son and we want to apply for a supervisa for her mother so she can hopefully return with us to help look after him. We are planning on declaring common law once she does her landing and we complete the purchase of the house. She unfortunately made $500 less than the LICO for the super visa of 3 people (her, her son, her mother), if we used my income then we would actually be able to get both her mom and dad (they'd consider this a family of 5). However if we declared common law, I do not want to affect her application negatively in anyway; my worry is that because she did not list me as her common law when she applied (as we were not when she applied) and we are not planning on declaring common law until she does her landing - do we do our taxes together to show proof of common law? I am thinking no since in all technicality that would show we were common law while she is waiting for her PR, which wouldn't really be true even though we have been living together but did not consider ourselves common law. However if we declare common law when she becomes PR and then apply for the supervisa it says that we have to show proof we were in a conjugal relationship for the previous 12 months, which is true and would be easy to prove we are intending to be common law once we purchase the house.

To throw a potential even more complex scenario, even though she will be a PR when we declare common law, her son will still be in the philippines with a visitors visa until we bring him back with us in May, becoming a PR as well. I am just worried that we need to bring her son here first so they are both PR before we declare common law so we may bring her mother (and potentially father). I do not want the CIC saying that she failed to declare me as her common law on the application as we would not be until after she lands/we buy the house. However I am worried we will not be able to bring at least her mom here to help look after her son while we work and it seems the only option there (due to her missing the LICO by $500) would be to declare common law (which I do not mind) or marry her (I'd rather wait until we have the right time to have a proper wedding).

So anybodies thought/input or direction to any official links I may research would be greatly appreciated!

 

[canuck_in_uk]

You don't "declare" being common-law. Once you have lived together continuously for a year, you ARE legally common-law. Your partner needs to email her VO and inform them that she is now in a common-law relationship; it will not affect her application, as you are already Canadian. It could affect the application NEGATIVELY if she doesn't inform the VO right away, as CIC is very clear in stating that applicants must update about any changes in family composition.

 

[Rob_TO]

Yes as canuck mentioned, common-law is not a choice. Once you reach 12 months of cohabitation, you are legally common-law whether you want it or not.

To not declare your common-law status on immigration forms or when doing taxes when you have actually lived together 12 months, is considered fraud or misrepresentation.

This should make your choice easier in what to do, as it is not really a choice.

 

[Leon]

You should declare common law if you are and because you are Canadian, there wont be any effect on her application as she doesn't have to include you on it because you are already a citizen.

Is she including her son on her application as accompanying? If she isn't, she should. Then she doesn't have to sponsor him later. His staying in the Philippines or coming to Canada is not really an issue. He would get his PR visa and have to land as a PR before it expires, that's pretty much it.

As for you signing up for her parents, for super visa it's still fairly innocent but keep in mind that if she sponsors them for PR, you are both responsible for them for 20 years after they become PR. This obligation stays with you even if you end up not staying together. If her parents end up getting welfare or disability in Canada in the next 20 years after becoming PR's, you would be on the hook for half of it.

 

[erwinjohn997]

Hello guys, I will be flying this june 15 2015 in Canada and I will be staying with long time partner. We never been cohabited together for a year So we are not yet legally common law right? So de we need to inform the embassy that we are planning to live together and do we also need to inform them that we were going to apply for common law after a year of cohabiting?

 

[Rob_TO]

Hello guys, I will be flying this june 15 2015 in Canada and I will be staying with long time partner. We never been cohabited together for a year So we are not yet legally common law right? So de we need to inform the embassy that we are planning to live together and do we also need to inform them that we were going to apply for common law after a year of cohabiting?

No you are not common-law if you haven't lived together 1 year. You don't need to inform anyone your plans to live together or what you will do over a year later.

Just make sure that while living together you are collecting proofs/evidence of this (shared lease/rent agreement, joint bank acct/credit cards, delivered mail, etc) so when the time comes, you can then prove you have lived together 12 months continuously.

 

[Tigurius]

You should declare common law if you are and because you are Canadian, there wont be any effect on her application as she doesn't have to include you on it because you are already a citizen.

Is she including her son on her application as accompanying? If she isn't, she should. Then she doesn't have to sponsor him later. His staying in the Philippines or coming to Canada is not really an issue. He would get his PR visa and have to land as a PR before it expires, that's pretty much it.

As for you signing up for her parents, for super visa it's still fairly innocent but keep in mind that if she sponsors them for PR, you are both responsible for them for 20 years after they become PR. This obligation stays with you even if you end up not staying together. If her parents end up getting welfare or disability in Canada in the next 20 years after becoming PR's, you would be on the hook for half of it.

This is what I thought, that as a citizen I don't need to be on her immigration form - we weren't living together then anyway when she first applied - though after looking at when we did move in - it was mid march so in all technicality we would be flag polling before we officially have been together for 12 months.

Her son is on her application, we sent both of their passports to ottawa for visa stamping. The plan is to go flag polling for her and then buy the house before mid march (when we would officially be together for 12 months) then declare common law/apply for super visa - then in may go get her son to bring him here to be PR and hopefully her mom can join us as well.