Spoual sponsorship - Common-law or Conjugal?

[cooldude2011]

Hi,
I am married but separated for the last 3 years. I am a Pakistani citizen but also a permanent resident of Canada. Now, I am into a very serious relationship with a girl in Pakistan.  Being a Pakistani citizen, I relocated temporarily to Pak to be with my partner as it would be difficult for her to have a lengthy stay in Canada through a visitor visa.

I also filed for my divorce in Pak and have had no co-operation from my separated wife for the process. The process is time-consuming and I do not have a clear picture of the time frame that would be needed to get divorced.

My partner and I are both committed and depend on each other for a living. We live together in a live-in relationship. We have a child 5 months old. However in Pak (unlike Canada) it is a CRIME to start a common-law (live-in) relationship with someone while legally married (though separated). So, we are continuously worried about the implications of our life together. So, for us to start our life together as common-law partners without any problem, we need to be in Canada as Canada considers one to be legally separated AS SOON as 1-year separation is completed and also it is NOT a crime in Canada to be a common-law partner with someone who is separated but still married.

Given that my marriage is broken down (3 years separation) and given that I cannot marry/have a live-in relationship with my partner in Pak until I get divorced, the only way for us to lead life together peacefully is in Canada.

Will I be eligible to sponsor my partner under the common-law partner class once I relocate to Canada (not sure whether I need to live with my partner while applying)? Will they accept our relationship as a common law relationship though we lived together only in Pak and not in Canada? Or should I try the conjugal partner class?

Please enlighten me.

[Leon]

If you have managed to live together in Pakistan for 12 months or more, you qualify to sponsor her as a common law.  If you have not, you can try conjugal.  If you can show that you can not legally get married or live together in Pakistan or that it is legally risky for you, I suppose you have a good case for conjugal but you must prove that you have combined your affairs as much as possible, for example financially.

[cooldude2011]

thanks Leon.

Just a couple of questions - Will immigration Canada allow me to sponsor my partner as a common-law partner though I am still legally married to someone else? As I said, I have been separated for around 3 years and now living together with my new partner for more than a year.

Also, let me know this. I need to file a consumer proposal in Canada and for that I need to come back to Canada and find a job and then file for consumer proposal (one level better than bankruptcy and I have confirmed that I can sponsor while serving the consumer proposal) hence this process will take at least 3-4 months. Only then I can start sponsoring her. So at the time of applying will Immigration Canada see that we didnt live together for the last 3-4 months? Will that disqualify us as common-law partners though we lived together in pak for more than a year?

[Leon]

You can have a common law even though you are separated.

I do not think that 3-4 months in this case will matter but if you want to be sure, you should ask an immigration lawyer this question.