Deeds510 Posted August 9, 2013 Posted August 9, 2013 What defines a relationship as a common law relationship? In order to be sponsored by my Canadian boyfriend, would I have to be living there with him for a year before our relationship would be known as common law?
Author Deeds510 Posted August 9, 2013 Author Posted August 9, 2013 And with that- how am I supposed to live with him for a year before starting this application process when I can not get a work visa or student visa??
TMichaels Posted August 9, 2013 Posted August 9, 2013 Deeds510, You really ought to be asking these types of questions of an immigration attorney or at the very least in a forum (other than Loveshack) that specializes in Canadian immigration issues. Here's one you may wish to try. Best, TMichaels 1
Carenth Posted August 9, 2013 Posted August 9, 2013 (edited) I looked into this as well Deeds you need to prove you have been living together for at least 12 months. Joint bank account, join rent, utility bills etc. Also need to prove the legitimacy of your relationship which will mean lots of things showing the correspondence over that time and most likely questions about your sex life. So since you haven't been living together that long means pretty much throwing that out the window. However I didn't did too deep into that for other reasons as well, you may want to look further may be some loophole but I doubt it. Many western countries are tying up loop holes that used to allow common law couples/marriage as easy access to residency. A lot of it requires your partner to vouch for you and such and I don't feel comfortable putting my girlfriend through that until we have lived together for a while. Edited August 9, 2013 by Carenth 1
smoky eyes Posted August 12, 2013 Posted August 12, 2013 I may be in a similar situation myself in a while so still just doing research, but my understanding is that being married cancels out the need to have lived together? Is marriage an option? Otherwise, is it possible to live together a year BEFORE your boyfriend goes back, and then he can sponsor you? Not very convenient I know, but the current Canadian Government is pretty anti-immigrant! Once your status as a couple has been accepted, your boyfriend will still need to prove that we can provide for both of you... and will be required to do so even if you subsequently split up in Canada.
smoky eyes Posted August 12, 2013 Posted August 12, 2013 That forum link is pretty helpful actually. Spousal sponsorship This bit may apply to you: Married, common law or conjugal partners First you need to pick an application class. There are three of them: married, common-law and conjugal. For all of them, you need to prove the genuineity of your relationship. For common-law, you need to prove that you have lived together for 12 months or longer. For conjugal, you need to prove that you have combined your affairs as much as possible but there are real immigration barriers or other barriers preventing you from living together or getting married. Conjugal is the hardest to prove. For example, if your partner could get a visit visa to come to Canada for 6 months and then apply for an extension to get the full year, even though they will not be allowed to work, that is not considered an immigration barrier. An immigration barrier is if your partner tries to get a visit visa to come to Canada and is repeatedly refused. Some people have had luck with the conjugal class but try to avoid it if possible. 1
TaraMaiden Posted August 12, 2013 Posted August 12, 2013 "Common Law" partnerships do not actually exist in UK Law. Common-law spouses Although the terms common-law wife or husband are frequently used to describe a couple who live together, these relationships do not have legal recognition. here. An awful lot of US Law (and possibly Canadian Law) is based on UK Law....) You may like to investigate obligations to one another, and what your responsibilities would be to each other, if you were to split up. People believe that living together and setting up home exactly as a married couple would, somehow covers them and affords them some kind of legal protection. Nothing could be further from the truth, here, so check it out very carefully, there.
smoky eyes Posted August 12, 2013 Posted August 12, 2013 "Common Law" partnerships do not actually exist in UK Law. here. An awful lot of US Law (and possibly Canadian Law) is based on UK Law....) The poster is talking about a Canadian partner though, and Canadian immigration law does have Common Law partnerships as a category. The requirements are cohabitation for a year (actually believe less, but in the immigration category it's a year). 1
Els Posted August 13, 2013 Posted August 13, 2013 Means different things in different countries, but going with the information offered by the folks here about what it means in Canada... I obtained my partner visa through that route as well, albeit in a different country (in fact, in this country, the requirement for being legally recognized as partners by Immigration IS living together for a year, marriage makes no difference). Again, yes, a bit of a Catch-22, since you need a visa to be there but you need to have lived together for over a year to get the visa. However, some people have gotten temporary visas to stay together, based on proof of their relationship despite not having lived together. Photos, skype logs, letters, witnesses, etc. So they were given short-term partner visas of a few months that they could extend repeatedly until the year was done, after which they could apply for a long-term one. Not sure if that applies to Canada. TMichaels makes a good point about asking someone who is an expert in Canadian immigration. You really should talk to an immigration advisor IMO.
TaraMaiden Posted August 13, 2013 Posted August 13, 2013 The poster is talking about a Canadian partner though, and Canadian immigration law does have Common Law partnerships as a category. The requirements are cohabitation for a year (actually believe less, but in the immigration category it's a year). Yes, I appreciate that. But what I am saying is, she is fulfilling requirements according to Canadian Law insofar as establishing the liaison to satisfy Canadian Legal Standards, but I was recommending she also examine the impact to her personal connection with this guy, what her rights would be vis-a-vis her relationship, her rights to division of property, finances the whole kit 'n' caboodle if the schytt hits the fan and they separate. It happens. That was all.....
Author Deeds510 Posted August 15, 2013 Author Posted August 15, 2013 Thank you all for the advice! I've still been doing hours and hours on research on all the information that is out there. I think right now, our best option is to live as common law for a year, and then apply for sponsorship. My boyfriend will be coming here for a few months, and when my lease is up next May/June I will be going with him back to Canada. When we hit the boarder, I will be honest and tell the officer that we are continuing our 12 month living together to qualify for common law. Hopefully, that information would get me an extension right there so I do not need to apply for an extension while I am visiting.
Carenth Posted August 15, 2013 Posted August 15, 2013 Some how I don't think this is going to pan out how you think it will. You can only stay in Canada for a maximum of 180 days (for US citizens) without a visa of some sort. I very much doubt they will just issue you a visa at the border without going through formal applications. In fact they will probably deny entry based on the belief that you have no intention of leaving.
TMichaels Posted August 16, 2013 Posted August 16, 2013 (edited) Some how I don't think this is going to pan out how you think it will. You can only stay in Canada for a maximum of 180 days (for US citizens) without a visa of some sort. I very much doubt they will just issue you a visa at the border without going through formal applications. In fact they will probably deny entry based on the belief that you have no intention of leaving. Carenth, you don't need a visa to visit Canada if you're a US citizen. You can enter and stay up to 180 days as a "tourist" with proof of citizenship and proof of identity. A valid U.S. passport, passport card, or NEXUS card satisfies these requirements. But you're right. If you overstay your visit or enter the country knowing you intend to stay longer and lie about your intent then you're asking for trouble and no doubt will end up getting barred from re-entry/residency/citizenship for life. Best, TMichaels Edited August 16, 2013 by TMichaels
Els Posted August 16, 2013 Posted August 16, 2013 Border officials do not generally have the authority to issue an extension of your visa, OP. Quite a lot of paperwork actually goes into that.
Author Deeds510 Posted August 19, 2013 Author Posted August 19, 2013 Again, I do not plan on "overstaying". I know the smallest of things could change the outcome of me staying there, so that is why I want to do things the RIGHT way. I have been asking multiple questions in other immigration forums, and have gotten many responses saying that you can either go for the 6 months, and 30 days before your visit is to end, you apply for an extension. I have also got many responses, from people that were in the same situation as I am now, that at the boarder they explained to the boarder officer that they were coming back with their partner to finish up their 12 month requirement of living arrangements to qualify as common law. Because they were honest with the BO, and a US citizen they had no problem having the BO give them a one year "visitor" time frame, so they could finish up the 1 year of living together, and then start applying for sponsorship...WITHOUT having to apply for an extension after 6 months.
Els Posted August 20, 2013 Posted August 20, 2013 Ah, interesting. If you have been getting your info from reliable sources, then you should definitely follow them. Most of us have good intentions, but are either inexperienced with the specific country you are targeting or not familiar with the ins and outs of immigration law. Because, really, we're just people on a relationship forum trying to give moral support to folks in LDRs. Oh, as an addendum, I figure you've already been told this, but if you want to prove a common law/de facto relationship, you need to get as many joint documents in your names as possible (tenancy, bills, mail, etc) and keep all of them. Generally a good idea to start as soon as you get there. All the best!
Faith13/2 Posted August 20, 2013 Posted August 20, 2013 Again, I do not plan on "overstaying". I know the smallest of things could change the outcome of me staying there, so that is why I want to do things the RIGHT way. I have been asking multiple questions in other immigration forums, and have gotten many responses saying that you can either go for the 6 months, and 30 days before your visit is to end, you apply for an extension. I have also got many responses, from people that were in the same situation as I am now, that at the boarder they explained to the boarder officer that they were coming back with their partner to finish up their 12 month requirement of living arrangements to qualify as common law. Because they were honest with the BO, and a US citizen they had no problem having the BO give them a one year "visitor" time frame, so they could finish up the 1 year of living together, and then start applying for sponsorship...WITHOUT having to apply for an extension after 6 months. After entering the country, you can request an extension. Sometimes the extension is difficult to get, but not impossible. As for talking to the border agency and them letting you do that, it really all depends on the officer. I was stopped by the agency on two different accounts while entering a country and had to go through the interview process. The first time the person I dealt with was a complete jerk, tried switching my words around as often as he could to make it look like I had bad intentions.The second time I was stopped and interviewed the officer was very decent and listened to me carefully and even helped me with my wording as I was quite nervous. So what I'm trying to say is you could get a decent officer, but not all of them are out to help you.
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