Any successful Common-law sponsorship stories here?

[ColorMePanda]

It seems like everyone here is married.
Makes me afraid that all of this can only be accomplished through marriage.

How do you go about getting married anyway?
How much does it cost and what are the steps you need to take?

Do I need to change my name on everything?

Or should I just apply for common-law and see what happens? Wouldn't it just look like we got married just for immigration purposes?

[ColorMePanda]

Also how would it effect thing if I decide to change my name later?

[IsleChik]

You cannot seriously be asking this question

How do you go about getting married anyway?

If sponsorship was only available thru marriage (as in the US) - then common-law would not be an option
Cost to get married - somewhere between $0 - $50,000+
What people spend on weddings varies greatly

It seems like everyone here is married.
Makes me afraid that all of this can only be accomplished through marriage.

How do you go about getting married anyway?
How much does it cost and what are the steps you need to take?

Do I need to change my name on everything?

Or should I just apply for common-law and see what happens? Wouldn't it just look like we got married just for immigration purposes?

[IsleChik]

You cannot seriously be asking this question

How do you go about getting married anyway?

If sponsorship was only available thru marriage (as in the US) - then common-law would not be an option
Cost to get married - somewhere between $0 - $50,000+
What people spend on weddings varies greatly

Oh yeah - lots of people don't change their name, it's not a requirement

It seems like everyone here is married.
Makes me afraid that all of this can only be accomplished through marriage.

How do you go about getting married anyway?
How much does it cost and what are the steps you need to take?

Do I need to change my name on everything?

Or should I just apply for common-law and see what happens? Wouldn't it just look like we got married just for immigration purposes?

[Misria]

Gives us more informations on what you intend to do and we will be able helping you more. 

[ColorMePanda]

Gives us more informations on what you intend to do and we will be able helping you more. 

Well if we got married, it would more than likely be here in Canada.
Also, not a traditional big wedding. Just a conventional one. Like go to court type marriage.

What do you need to do this? Documents etc.
Where do you go to get it done?

Also, if you we were to get married, would it matter if I stayed a year at home for work or education because I know with common-law you can't stay longer than a year apart.

And what would I need to mention to the Immigration Officer? That I am just visiting my boyfriend.
Will I get in trouble for marrying him on my visit?

[arewethereyet]

In terms of your additional question about getting married in Canada, I can only recount my own experience. I am a UK Citizen and my wife Canadian. We met online via a music website a couple of years ago. My first visit to Canada was in June 2008 for 2 weeks. It was on this visit that I encountered the most amount of 'questions'. How did I meet her? How long had I know her? Where was I staying? What did she do? Was she picking me up at the Airport? I also had customs go through my bagage (may have just been coincidence), but there was not anything of interest in my backage anyway.

Since then I have made 3 more visits, for each of which seemingly got asked less questions each time. It was on the final visit at the end of May that we married. That time around I stayed for 50 days, during which I visited Montreal for a conference my wife was attending, hung-out with my wife, new stepdaughter and extended family, got married, had a honeymoon and returned to the UK middle of July. All of this 'story' I explained to the border person, including the fact that I would be doing an outland application on my return, at the end of which she just said 'congratulations' and enjoy your stay and stamped my passport.

Of course, me being me, I had previously contacted the London Consulate for general advice on any supporting papers that I might need. After a 3 week delay in getting a reply, they suggested that I take anything that would prove my intention to return but did not need any extra documentation form them (some places in the world require marriage visas, etc, the UK for instance). Proof of intent to return was quite difficult for me as I am self-employed and don't own any property in the UK. However, I managed to put together a 'package of proof': Tax details, pending tax filing info, print out of electronic diary and e-mails from clients confirming site visits booked for when I returned. But, and this is the funny thing, I never had to show them because they were never asked for. It seemed they accepted my story as I told it and that was that. I must have an honest face :)

I actually found getting married very easy in Canada. From a paperwork point of view, we just had to get a marriage certificate, which lasts a year, and we had sorted out during a visit I made towards the end of 2008. That paperwork was then used during our wedding. The bit we had to wait for was the actual formal marrage certificate as it takes a while for the marriage to be registered, so it was a good month before we obtained the necessary proof of marriage.

Hope this helps.

[OneLuckyCookie]

Hey Panda,
not sure if my application is successful, yet, but my boyfriend and I applied as a common-law couple. I am from Germany and he is Canadian. We've been together for 4 years next week. Just sent in a bunch of pics and letters from our parents. Nothing notarized, but everything in English. As you can see from my signature I have received a passport request after not even two months of processing. Hope this means I get the visa, but I do believe it does! =)

[robertbola]

hey there color me panda....

Well- my application was common law. We had been living together like one year and my Canadian Common Law Spouse sponsored me and our application was approved in like 2 months....no issues or any interview.

So- if you put in a good application you should be fine.

[ColorMePanda]

hey there color me panda....

Well- my application was common law. We had been living together like one year and my Canadian Common Law Spouse sponsored me and our application was approved in like 2 months....no issues or any interview.

So- if you put in a good application you should be fine.

So you think I have a chance?
What did you include with your application?
It makes me nervous because everyone else has lived together with each other longer and I don't have as much evidence as other people.

What did your sponsor include with their application?
Did the two of you write a letter talking about your relationship?
If so what all did you write about?

[mitamata]

A LOT of people apply as common-law partners and they have no issues getting the PR.

The difference between a married couple immigrating is proving that the applicant qualifies as a family class member. While for spouses all you need is a marriage certificate to show you're married and thus qualify as a spouse, you need a lot more for CL - you need to prove you've been living together for a year and that qualifies you as a common-law partner. This is the only thing that makes applying as a married couple easier - one piece of paper to show you're married vs. a stack of papers to show you've been living together.
Other than that, the application is the same. Both need to prove the relationship is genuine whatever way they can.

You should both write a letter about your relationship. That is your chance to explain anything you couldn't explain on the forms. Just give an account of how your relationship developed and why you did the things you did. Make it a summary, not a novel - no IO has time to read 20 pages long stories. It's the perfect opportunity to make the IO see the whole picture instead of just some facts listed on the forms.