Hi all,
About to send pack off for common-law sponsorship to CIC-M in the next week. A brief background:
I'm Irish, my girlfriend since January last year is Canadian, studying in Ireland. We met in Ireland, and have been living together since June of last year. We're both late 20's. She will graduate from university here in June next year.
I spent all of last December in Ontario with her family, and she has spent many weekends etc. with my family, at family events etc.
We have included the following in the application pack:
1. All forms completed, latest versions, validated, barcoded pages on top
2. Copies of utility bills, some with both names, other's individual but addressed to same address
3. Copies of birth cert, passport etc for me
4. Copy of her passport, GNIB (immigration) card for Ireland
5. Printouts of scanned copies of all cards and letters sent between us since we met, and cards sent by family and friends to our address, wedding invite for my friends wedding last June
6. Copies of some of my mobile phone bills and bill usage prints showing texts/calls to her daily in Ireland
7. Skype log - incomplete - have from Jan to May 2011, and Dec 2011 to current - lost period in-between due to a computer crash in Dec.
8. Copies of flight itineraries for trips to Paris, London, and Canada last year
9. Copies of hotel bookings in Paris, London, Ireland
10. Copy of front page of tenancy agreement, tenancy registration letters to our address
11. Screenshots of my Gmail account showing regular email contact
12. Copy of my next-of-kin emergency contact details in work showing my gf as contact person
13. Copies of tickets to sports matches, events that we attended together etc.
14. 95 photos all labelled on back with date, description and location since we met, incl. photos of us with each others families
15. Medical is booked for next week, and will include that
16. Payment receipt is included
17. Copy of my will showing my gf as my sole beneficiary
18. Copy of application letter for joint bank account - we are only just opening one now to begin saving, as we are looking to leave Ireland when she graduates in June 2013.
19. 3 witnessed, notarised statutory declarations from my parents, my brother and his fiancee, and my partner in work (work in a 2 person setting with the same person the past 2.5 years), and also 2 from her parents, and supporting letters from friends on both sides (not notarised).
20. An essay I wrote on the development of our relationship, and my plans for the future with her (3 pages)
21. A statement by me outlining how I plan to support myself - I work in a regulated profession and have begun the equivalency/recognition of qualifications route with the regulatory bodies in both Ontario and Manitoba. Because my gf is a student in Ireland, and will not have earned an income in 4 years by the time we move, I plan to have saved $10-12,000 CAD to support us in the beginning, but she will be going straight into a job paying $45-50,000 next July in Canada.
Is there anything else we could do to strengthen our application?
Anything we're forgetting?
Any advise/comments?
Thanks in advance!