Common law status- Please help!!

[Lulu_434]

My common law partner and I are applying for a common law visa from within Canada. We have been living together since October of 2008. In November of 2009 I returned home for 7 months but we continued our relationship and there was no doubt I would be returning. I have been back in Canada since June of 2010 so I know we can apply for common law a year after that date which would be June 2011. My question is can I count our common law relationship as of October 2009 (a year after I officially moved to Canada) or would be have to file it as of a year after I returned from my 7 month trip? Any advise would be greatly appreciated, thanks!

 

[ashunandal]

My common law partner and I are applying for a common law visa from within Canada. We have been living together since October of 2008. In November of 2009 I returned home for 7 months but we continued our relationship and there was no doubt I would be returning. I have been back in Canada since June of 2010 so I know we can apply for common law a year after that date which would be June 2011. My question is can I count our common law relationship as of October 2009 (a year after I officially moved to Canada) or would be have to file it as of a year after I returned from my 7 month trip? Any advise would be greatly appreciated, thanks!

Since you have been living together for one year continuously, you can apply for common law visa for sure. You must include both periods of living together (explain that you have lived together since 2008 before you went home to visit your family for 7 months and the time of living together from June 2010 to present). In your application for PR, you have to prove that your relationship is genuine and continuing. Therefore you need to write everything about your relationship (including all trips and all periods of residing together) from when you met each other to present. Since you are in common law relationship, it is very important to include proof of living together and sharing all expenses such as joint rental agreement, joint property, joint bank accounts and bank statements showing payment for household living expenses like bills, food and everything else. Provide everything that you have and maybe more than that, but always tell the truth!
hope this helps and good luck!

 

[Lulu_434]

Thanks so much! I just wasn't sure whether on the application when I should write when we first became common law. I was worried they may consider our common law relationship severed because I went home, even though we are common law again. I will write when we first became common law (before I went home for 7 months), and I'm writing an essay (call it what you will) to explain our circumstances. Hopefully they will understand. This is all very overwhelming, thanks for making it a little less so!