Problem is i want to go home for a month next christmas, put the application in, then come back in January and wait it out whilst i'm with my BF in Canada. How do i get round this?
My situation is sort of similar, and mine was granted no problems. Here is what my timeline was like:
July 2010 - moved to Canada to live with boyfriend, gave up job in UK etc.
Sept 2010 - took a 3 week holiday back to UK for a wedding - boyfriend came with me for the first week, but then had to return to work.
March 2011 - applied on line to renew my visitor visa for another 6 months, stayed in Canada the whole time
July 2011 - another trip back to the UK for a wedding and visiting family. Boyfriend accompanied me for 2 weeks, I stayed 5 in total.
August 2011 - returned to Canada, finished application and posted it.
November 2011 - Sponsor approval from CPC-M
December 2011 - I flew back to UK for Christmas (3 weeks), boyfriend came out for 10 days.
January 2012 - I flew back to Canada (boyfriend had already flown back), took my sponsor approval letter with me and declared my intentions to enter as a visitor but with a PR application in process. Was issued a year long visitor visa. 3 weeks later my PR came through.
So I suppose what I am trying to say is that you can have breaks. What does your timeline look like? Are you already living together - how far into your cohabitation will the Xmas trip occur, and is your partner coming with you? I was really worried that my Sept 2010 trip back to the UK woudl seem iffy, but I simply just explained that the main purpose was for a wedding. I was also able to demonstrate that we were both going on the trip with photos and tickets etc, so we were still together.