I can't seem to get help anywhere.

[atmosphere]

I've been with my SO for almost three years now - And have been living with him in Canada for one year. (I'm an American citizen). I arrived in Canada last year on a Student Visa. We plan on getting married - but would prefer to do it on our own time schedule (though it seems being married would make everything easier ><). We plan on applying for him to sponsor me under common-law, and we have more than enough support from our family and friends to get us through all this! I've been to an MP's office (who sent me off to another office, who sent me off to another office that was closed and stated on the outside of the building that they no longer provide applications) - So I'm getting it all from the web. Here are my questions:

- My student visa expires on June 1st. When we submit the paperwork for common-law, and if I don't hear back from CIC if I've been approved by then (from what i've read, i'll be lucky to hear back in six months!) - Will I be made to leave once my visa has expired? Is there anything I can do to prevent this?

- I've also read that I should definitely apply outland, in Buffalo, as the wait times are much shorter. Do I send the paperwork to their office, or do I go to the office personally? It's only a two hour drive for me, so it's not too difficult to get there at all.

- Do I have to fill out the form "Statutory Declaration of Common Law Union"? I've read spatterings of people stating only if I had children, I'd have to fill this out? Is this correct?

I appreciate the help so much!

 

[tita]

hi!

- My student visa expires on June 1st. When we submit the paperwork for common-law, and if I don't hear back from CIC if I've been approved by then (from what i've read, i'll be lucky to hear back in six months!) - Will I be made to leave once my visa has expired? Is there anything I can do to prevent this?

You will need to summit yout Permanent resident application at the same time than the extending my stay application is in their website, in this way even if you dont hear anything from cic when your visa expires it doesnt matter because you will be in something called "implied status" until they give you an answer.

if i would be you and if you wont mind to apply outlant i would definetely do it that way, but personally i dont think going to the office will change the things too much since they treat all applications the same way, but at least you will make sure your application gets there

and the common law union im not sure about it, i thin when you read the application kit, you will understand it better, but to me sounds like you should fill even if you dont have kids since your applying under common law. hopefully if im wrong someone can correct me


have a good night and God bless!

 

[kelKel]

You need to fill out all the paper work for a family class application this you will send to Mississauga. After your boyfriend gets approved to sponsor you it will be forwarded to Buffalo.

Considering your study permit expires June 1st around the beginning if May you'll either have to send an application to extend this or if you no longer are continuing with school you'll have to change your status to a visitor.

The common law declaration should be sent signed and notarized. Although not technically required Buffalo has a habit of requesting it anyways (I had to send one after).

 

[quakingaspen]

There are others who can give you more information on the Common Law application process. We applied as married, so I'm not really up to speed on that...

...but, I can answer your middle question. Applying outland through Buffalo will be your best option. You can't drop your application off there. When you finish it, you will need to send your application and the Sponsorship application to Mississauga. There, they will determine if your SO is eligable to sponsor you, and then they will forward your application on to Buffalo. You also cannot drop your application off in person to Mississauga - but you can have them sign for it when it shows up, so you know it has arrived.

Sorry the replies are a little slow tonight. The forum gets a little quieter on the weekends. Good luck!

 

[atmosphere]

Thanks guys for your help! Definitely answered a few questions. Hopefully I get a bit more detail from others who may have been in my same position!

I also had one more question -

I found on here someone talking about an "open work permit" while they were applying for common-law sponsorship with their SO. Would I be eligible for applying for an open work permit? Sitting around for an unknown amount months would be gruesome, waiting to hear back - i'd love to be able to work while our paperwork is processing.

 

[kelKel]

The open work permit is only available to people who apply inland and only after the 1st stage approval (9/10 months). Ours took under 5 months through Buffalo common law even with the extra doc request.

 

[tita]

i dont know in common law case, but as married i could apply for open work permit at the same time i sent my initial application inland, but i wont receive it until the approval hopefully in one more mont (almost 9 months)

 

[atmosphere]

The open work permit is only available to people who apply inland and only after the 1st stage approval (9/10 months). Ours took under 5 months through Buffalo common law even with the extra doc request.

Ouch! Looks like I'll just be filing through Buffalo, then.

 

[RobsLuv]

I'm surprised tonight by some of the advice that's being given in this forum - I'm reading information that is absolutely inaccurate on several threads! We need a moderator.

You currently have a valid study permit - if you apply inland and you submit the inland PR application and an application to change conditions/extend your status (your study permit) so that both are received by CPC-Vegreville before your study permit expires, you will be under implied status to continue school until you get a new temporary status document after first stage approval (9-10 months after you submit the application). If you submit the extension with the "work permit" option checked - and pay that fee (instead of the SP fee) you will still be able to continue studying until first stage approval, and then after that they will issue you an open work permit. There are drawbacks, though, to an inland PR application that you should be aware of. First, there is no right of appeal. If you're refused, you have to leave Canada as soon as your temporary status expires. Second, you're pretty much stuck in Canada for the duration of the process when you apply inland because, if you leave and they don't let you back in, you forfeit the inland ap. In addition, if you leave during the 9-10 months that you are under "implied status", it goes away. Third, the processing time for inland is a lot longer than outland - 12-18 months overall as opposed to Buffalo, who is finalizing spousal/common-law aps within 11 months. If you apply outland, you can't continue your studies, but you could apply to extend your status as a visitor based on the relationship and the PR ap in process. You'll want to make sure you get your extension application submitted before your SP expires (track the mailing and get delivery confirmation so you have proof of your right to remain in Canada under implied status until you hear back from them - about 100 days or so). Be sure you submit proof that you are being sponsored by your c/l partner and that he has employment that enables him to support you while you wait. Having valid temporary status is what allows you to remain in Canada, even when you're applying outland. After you get PR, you can work without a permit, so an OWP is not necessary. Either way - inland or outland - you won't get authorization to work for about the same amount of time and it's preferable to get your PR and be able to work than to get a temporary OWP and still have to wait another 3-8 months for PR inland.

All that said, I really don't think you'll be ready to submit an application by the time your SP is due to expire anyway. Judging from what you said in your thread about not even knowing where to submit the outland application package, you've not even begun to pull all the paperwork together - and it's extensive. And then there's the medical exam and the FBI clearance you have to get . . . so to put all that together for an inland ap and get it to them before your SP expires will be a huge undertaking. If you apply outland, you give yourself a little bit of a break. You can pay the PR application fees ahead of time ($75 sponsor fee and $475 applicant fee must be paid in advance of submitting the ap, you can pay the $490 RPRF later on in the process) and send a copy of the PR application fees receipt with the extension application. Explain as your reason for wanting to stay that your c/l partner is submitting an application to sponsor you and that you've included a copy of the fee payment as proof. That will buy you a little bit more time because you can pay the fees as far in advance of submitting a PR ap as you want to - with the extension ap and an outland ap, you only have to show that you've paid the fees. If you apply inland, you've got to include the whole inland PR package with the extension ap. Hope that makes sense.

Now, for the application: whether you ultimately apply inland or outland, remember that you have two "burdens of proof" with a common-law ap. You must submit evidence that you actually qualify as common-law partners (one year of continuous co-habitation proved by lease agreements, utility bills, official notices mailed to the same address, drivers' licences at the same address, etc), AND you must provide proof in support of your "genuine relationship" - meaning that the relationship is not just about you staying in Canada. This comes in the form of letters, emails, letters from friends/family supporting you as a couple, photos of you together, etc. I say this because you mentioned in your thread that you have lots of support for doing this from friends and family and, as nice as that is, it's not what makes the grade with CIC. Read through Sections 5.34-5.35 of the OP2 Processing Manual for info on what evidences to submit to support your common-law qualification and read the chart in Section 5.26 for some ideas on evidence to support your "genuine relationship".

 

[atmosphere]

Thank you so much for your help! The paperwork has already been pulled - I'm pretty quick. On Monday I will be scheduling my medical. His mother works at the police department, and is finding out the information for me tomorrow about fingerprinting, and having a commissioner of oaths for our statutory declaration of common-law union (his aunt is a commissioner of oaths, but i really don't think that having family do it would be valid.)

I have ample photographs - as well as hotel receipts for the year we were apart (I came up once a month for a week each time) with both his and my names on the receipts. I have letters coming in from family, as well as they are also pulling together photographs that they have of us. They're all working pretty quick as well, as some letters have already been fed-ex'd and the rest are being sent Monday morning, from both his side of the family / friends, as well as my side of the family / friends. We also have the lease of our apartment under both of our names, and I'm retrieving a letter from our Landlord that we've both been cohabiting here for the last year, together, as well as a statement from our joint bank account - including the date that it was opened.

I think you're very correct that I won't have all of this done by the time my visa expires - as I may have it all done on my end, there are obviously wait times with the FBI check and the Medical. So applying for the extended visa is the best bet, I'm so glad you were here to reply to my post, haha. I'm going to start printing that out now, getting the fees in, paying for the fees for our common law sponsorship, and submitting the application at -least- by the end of the week.

 

[atmosphere]

If you apply outland, you give yourself a little bit of a break. You can pay the PR application fees ahead of time ($75 sponsor fee and $475 applicant fee must be paid in advance of submitting the ap, you can pay the $490 RPRF later on in the process) and send a copy of the PR application fees receipt with the extension application. Explain as your reason for wanting to stay that your c/l partner is submitting an application to sponsor you and that you've included a copy of the fee payment as proof. That will buy you a little bit more time because you can pay the fees as far in advance of submitting a PR ap as you want to - with the extension ap and an outland ap, you only have to show that you've paid the fees.

I checked into that - And I went online to see if I can apply outland for it - But it states you can only apply inland for an extension / change to a visitor visa, which makes sense. But my question is, if I submit my PR application outland, it won't cause any troubles if I submit my application for extension inland?

 

[kelKel]

Maybe you should be a moderator Robsluv

So perhaps I misunderstood. I'm under the impression you don't plan on continuing to study? Is this correct?

 

[atmosphere]

I'm under the impression you don't plan on continuing to study? Is this correct?

I'm already finished with schooling- so I do not plan on continuing to study. I assumed I could apply for change of status?

 

[kelKel]

Okay perfect. You need to fill out the change of status form. You do need to send this to Vegreville, Alberta. Although you'll be doing an Outland application all extensions of this sort are handled in Canada.

I would wait until around the beginning of May to send it off as it will buy you more time in the end. As Robsluv pointed out make sure you include the receipt of payment of Pr app in the extension application as well as bank statements of you and you boyfriend, letter of support from you boyfriend, letter from his employer. You can also tell them you've applied for PR and would like to remain in Canada while it's in process.

As Robsluv pointed out it takes a long time to put together an application with all the required proofs. So don't rush it and make sure you have everything together in an easy to understand organized format.

 

[atmosphere]

Ugh. You guys are so helpful - I'd be lost without you, haha. I receive financial assistance from my family, as well as my SO. We make enough to keep us afloat, but not enough for unexpected expenses, which is what life is all about. Once I'm able to work, we'll be smooth sailing. Should I provide a statement of the bank account from the family member that's assisting us, as well?