Tricky situation we are in....I'll explain
We've been living together for slightly under a year. In the Philippines divorce is illegal. Her relationship with her former husband ended a couple years ago.
As much as I love living here there is no way for me to make money and reality will hit one day, probably within a year when I will have to go home and work.
Of course I don't want to leave my wonderful woman and would love to bring her back to Canada.
At this point I'd be more than willing to pop the question and marry her but it's impossible here. I know we can get her marriage annulled but it costs a fortune and can take years.
I also heard that we can go to Canada as a conjugal partnership which is similar to marriage. We would have to have lived together for 1 year which is coming up soon. Is this correct? Not sure if the terminology is correct conjugal or common law....we've been together continuously and plan to remain that way
When you can submit, with an application to sponsor her for permanent residence, proof that you have continuously cohabitated for a period of at least one year, you qualify as common-law partners and you would apply as such. The conjugal partner category waives the cohabitation requirement for couples who are unable to cohabitate, or to marry, due to being prevented from living in each other's countries - or due to fear of persecution due to the nature of their relationship. You have been living together, so you will be expected to do that for a period of at least one year and then be able to prove it.
but some questions....
What sort of proof would the Canadian Embassy need to show we are common law and been living together for a year?
We have plenty of pictures and plenty of references but no rent or bills in both our names. She's not so close with her family. I'm yet to meet them although we've spoke on the phone. I'm pretty sure they think my name is "Joe" and will ask me for money every chance they get which is why she is hesitant on me meeting them haha plus we live in Boracay and they live quite far up North.
You have to be able to prove that you have co-habitated - because that's the qualification for her to be eligible to be sponsored. All I can suggest is that you read through the proofs mentioned in the
OP2Processing Manual - Sections 5.34-5.36
Can she be a permanent resident?
She can be a permanent resident if they assess her application and find that you are in a qualifying relationship AND you prove that it is a "genuine relationship", not just one entered into to get her into Canada. This is required of everyone.
Can she work?
Once her PR is finalized and she is "landed", yes, she can work.
Can she divorce him in Canada (Although Philippines wouldn't recognize it) Does it even matter, like would there be a point to it?
Probably not - but it wouldn't matter. Common-law partnerships are recognized basically like marriages once you're in Canada anyway, so there wouldn't be any point in that regard.
Can she marry in Canada?
As far as I know, no - not without being legally divorced in her own country. But you can probably find some people from the Phils on this forum who can tell you for sure how that all works.
Can she get in trouble here in The Philippines years down the road coming back to visit family (for example for bigotry having 2 husbands or something ridiculous like that?)
No clue - again, see if others from the Phils can help with that question.
If there are plenty of "no's" to the questions I asked.....Is it hopeless? Do we have options?
No, it's not hopeless but you might have a struggle proving your cohabitation if you have no lease agreements, bills, etc., together to show for the time you've lived together. You might have to start putting stuff like that together and wait until you have a years' worth of proof; you need to be able to substantiate the qualification period you put out there.
Not sure if its relevant but
I have a stable life at home, good job awaiting me, likely easy to find her a job.
We're both similar aged, late 20's early 30's. I've never been married.
And I'm confident in our relationship, knowing she has been truthful and has no interest for a free ride into our country etc
Your stable life at home and good job waiting for you doesn't prove much - except that you will need to include that with the application to prove your intention to actually return to Canada. Oh, and you can only apply to sponsor her while you're still living in the Phils if you are a Canadian citizen. As far as you being confident in the relationship and trusting her - that's great, except it's not enough to convince CIC. The two of you will need to put together an application packet that illustrates how you met, how your relationship developed, photos of you with friends and/or family, on holidays, proof of keeping in contact if you've been apart, etc. They are going to assume she wants a free ride into Canada - it's up to the two of you to demonstrate that as not being the case. Again, the OP2 Processing Manual can help with ideas not only on how they assess the cohabitation piece, but how they assess the genuine nature of the relationship.
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