WHAT DO I DO????

[wackojacko]

Hi there,

So in 2012 I went on vacation and met a man who is now my boyfriend, I came back to Canada and he stayed in Portugal. I continued working here and him there but because of the poor economic crisi in Portugal he was very well financially and couldn't take the financial hit of coming on vacation. In 2013 I went again on holidays for 1 month and this time brought him back with me on sept 19th. he was granted visitation until dec 13th, he passed this date here and we applied for restoration of status, it was granted until may 14th, we are currently living together I support him. I want him to stay longer and want to start the process of sponsoring him to be a permanent resident. I am a Canadian Citizen myself. Can I do this with him still here? Can I apply for another extension of stay? what do I do? I have googled and CiC websited for so long I have info overload but nothing is directing a clear path... CAN ANYONE HELP?

 

[rhcohen2014]

it doesn't seem you fit any of the criteria for sponsoring him under family class. a) you are not married, so spousal sponsorship is out (unless you do get married) and b) you haven't been living together continuously for 12 months to be considered common law. Under common law sponsorship you need to prove you have lived together and have shared responsibility for housing/bills/taxes, etc. for at least 12 consecutive months.

bottom line, without getting married, you won't have much luck with sponsoring him right now.

you can apply for another extension for him to stay as a visitor, and it's up to CIC if they approve it.

 

[Ponga]

Hi,

rhcohen2014 gave you excellent advice.

Your partner can always apply for another extension and tell CIC that this is to reach Common-Law eligibility for an Inland Spousal Sponsorship application. Since you will need ~ 4 month extension, ask for 12 months, to cover the processing time to at least stage 1 (Approval in Principle, or AIP), which would be ~ 8 months* after you/he apply for sponsorship.

While he can eventually apply via an Inland application with our without legal status, there are no guarantees that he would not be removed by CBSA (Canada Border Services) before he reaches AIP. It's a cruel twist to the `maintaining legal status is not required' to apply...but offers zero protection from [possible] deportation, if he doesn't maintain legal status. Submitting an Open Work Permit (OWP) with the sponsorship application, provided that he has legal status at the time that this is submitted, will give him implied status...allowing him to remain in Canada during processing.

Start putting your `proof' of your relationship together now, to avoid the added stress of scrambling to, submit the application(s) when you are eligible and then panicking about providing the things that you will need (photos, emails, text messages, joint bills, lease/rental agreement, letters from friend and family, etc.) to prove that yours is a genuine relationship. This is undoubtedly the most stressful piece of the puzzle for most.

Also, download and print out all of the forms that you will need now, just to get an idea of what is in involved. Keep in mind that because the forms are updated fairly frequently [some more than others] these will NOT be the forms that you will ultimately submit, but it gives you plenty of time to look them over and identify any parts that are unclear or that will require time to answer.

Good luck!

 

[wackojacko]

thank you for the quick replies,

we were planning on getting married next year,

I wanted to be able to put in the time together for us to be considered common law in the eyes of the law but because he is here on visitor I don't think I can put his name on the lease/ telephone bills etc... can I??? and im afraid if they do not extend his stay again that we will never get to spend that consecutive time together. we just want to be able to start our lives. and not have to worry about someone getting ripped away.. we would be heart broken....

 

[rhcohen2014]

thank you for the quick replies,

we were planning on getting married next year,

I wanted to be able to put in the time together for us to be considered common law in the eyes of the law but because he is here on visitor I don't think I can put his name on the lease/ telephone bills etc... can I??? and im afraid if they do not extend his stay again that we will never get to spend that consecutive time together. we just want to be able to start our lives. and not have to worry about someone getting ripped away.. we would be heart broken....

the lease would depend on your landlord and their process for accepting tenants. telephone and utility bills *shouldn't* be a problem, though it's dependant on the company. adding him to your bank accounts may be tricky since you aren't married yet. though, again, it's dependant on the bank, and your relationship with them. he won't be able to get his own account because he doesn't have canadian identification.

 

[wackojacko]

that is what making this all so hard..... he cant legally put his name on anything and it is hard to extend his stay without saying " hey I don't actually want to leave" im just confused on the process of things and wish I had a clear path on what is the best possible way to get him to stay........

 

[rhcohen2014]

that is what making this all so hard..... he cant legally put his name on anything and it is hard to extend his stay without saying " hey I don't actually want to leave" im just confused on the process of things and wish I had a clear path on what is the best possible way to get him to stay........

unfortunately, the only option right now seems to be extend the visitor visa or get married. it's hard to do, but unfortunately most couples have to spend time apart before they can be together.

 

[taffy7]

Add him to your bank account he don't have to live here or have to be your husband for him to be added to your bank account or for you to get a supplement credit card for him in his name . His name won't appear on the bank account but you can print off the papers showing that you have a joint account. Credit card, get him to use it and his name will appear at the bottom of the bill showing his purchases. Get a life insurance and add him to be the beneficiary. CAA is really cheap. This will all help if you apply as married or common law.

 

[truesmile]

that is what making this all so hard..... he cant legally put his name on anything and it is hard to extend his stay without saying " hey I don't actually want to leave" im just confused on the process of things and wish I had a clear path on what is the best possible way to get him to stay........

I don't think that matters, since I don't think they'll extend again! But please, prove my lack of faith in multiple extensions wrong. Let us all know how that goes.

Good luck!

 

[wackojacko]

we plan on getting married , so if I ask for an extension so we can plan the wedding, would it be a good move or bad? what is the likelihood that they would say yes? even if we got him a ticket to ho back to his country after the wedding so I could apply for sponsorship.

 

[kafka khaos]

If you get married you can apply Inland and you don't need to worry about proving 12 months of cohabitation. You still need to provide proof of relationship such as marriage photos, engagement photos, vacation photos, etc.