berbu said:
Hi, I will soon apply to sponsor my gf through the Singapore office (common-law). There is a long wait there, so we are trying to shave off some time. Timeline:
End of september 2011: we start our relationship (again)
January 2012: we open a joint bank account
The joint bank account is the only strong evidence we have. I presume we have enough secondary evidence. The question is should I apply in September 2012 or wait until January 2013, after we have had the account for a year?
I'm asking because the sponsoring application + Quebec approval is about 4 months, so technically I will have had the bank account for a year when they open my application in Singapore.
Thanks guys
Hi Berbu,
I'm sorry I don't have a definite answer to the question. You do need to prove you've been cohabiting for at least a year. Even though your strongest evidence may come from later on, you definitely need some evidence from more than a year before your application.
The one-year rule applies to the time your application is received at the Mississauga office, not Singapore.
Here's what a CIC operational manual says.
www.cic.gc.ca/english/resources/manuals/op/op02-eng.pdf
5.34. Recognition of a common-law relationship
A common-law relationship is fact-based and exists from the day in which two individuals
demonstrate that the relationship exists on the basis of the facts. The onus is on the applicants to
prove that they are in a conjugal relationship and that they are cohabiting, having so cohabited for
a period of at least one year, when the application is received at CPC-M.
A common-law relationship is legally a de facto relationship, meaning that it must be established
in each individual case, on the facts. This is in contrast to a marriage, which is legally a de jure
relationship, meaning that it has been established in law.
5.35. What is cohabitation?
“Cohabitation” means “living together.” Two people who are cohabiting have combined their affairs
and set up their household together in one dwelling. To be considered common-law partners, they
must have cohabited for at least one year. This is the standard definition used across the federal
government. It means continuous cohabitation for one year, not intermittent cohabitation
adding up to one year. The continuous nature of the cohabitation is a universal understanding
based on case law.
While cohabitation means living together continuously, from time to time, one or the other partner
may have left the home for work or business travel, family obligations, and so on. The separation
must be temporary and short.
The following is a list of indicators about the nature of the household that constitute evidence
that a couple in a conjugal relationship is cohabiting:
• Joint bank accounts and/or credit cards;
• Joint ownership of residential property;
• Joint residential leases;
• Joint rental receipts;
• Joint utilities accounts (electricity, gas, telephone);
• Joint management of household expenditures;
• Evidence of joint purchases, especially for household items;
• Correspondence addressed to either or both parties at the same address;
• Important documents of both parties show the same address, e.g., identification documents,
driver's licenses, insurance polices, etc.;
• Shared responsibility for household management, household chores, etc.;
• Evidence of children of one or both partners residing with the couple;
• Telephone calls.
These elements may be present in varying degrees and not all are necessary to prove
cohabitation. This list is not exhaustive; other evidence may be taken into consideration.
