Also this may help anyone whom is trying to determine if they meet the qualifications for common-law.
PLEASE READ BELOW! (sorry for the long post)
Recognition of a common-law relationship
A common-law relationship is fact-based and exists from the day in which two individuals
demonstrate that the relationship exists on the basis of the facts. The onus is on the applicants to
prove that they are in a conjugal relationship and that they are cohabiting, having so cohabited for
a period of at least one year, when the application is received at CPC-M.
A common-law relationship is legally a de facto relationship, meaning that it must be established
in each individual case, on the facts. This is in contrast to a marriage, which is legally a de jure
relationship, meaning that it has been established in law.
What is cohabitation?
“Cohabitation” means “living together.” Two people who are cohabiting have combined their affairs
and set up their household together in one dwelling. To be considered common-law partners, they
must have cohabited for at least one year. This is the standard definition used across the federal
government. It means continuous cohabitation for one year, not intermittent cohabitation
adding up to one year. The continuous nature of the cohabitation is a universal understanding
based on case law.
While cohabitation means living together continuously, from time to time, one or the other partner
may have left the home for work or business travel, family obligations, and so on. The separation
must be temporary and short.
The following is a list of indicators about the nature of the household that constitute evidence
that a couple in a conjugal relationship is cohabiting:
• Joint bank accounts and/or credit cards;
• Joint ownership of residential property;
• Joint residential leases;
• Joint rental receipts;
• Joint utilities accounts (electricity, gas, telephone);
• Joint management of household expenditures;
• Evidence of joint purchases, especially for household items;
• Correspondence addressed to either or both parties at the same address;
• Important documents of both parties show the same address, e.g., identification documents,
driver's licenses, insurance polices, etc.;
• Shared responsibility for household management, household chores, etc.;
• Evidence of children of one or both partners residing with the couple;
• Telephone calls.
These elements may be present in varying degrees and not all are necessary to prove
cohabitation. This list is not exhaustive; other evidence may be taken into consideration.
How can someone in Canada sponsor a common-law partner from outside Canada when
the definition says “is cohabiting”?
According to case law, the definition of common-law partner should be read as “an individual who
is (ordinarily) cohabiting”. After the one year period of cohabitation has been established, the
partners may live apart for periods of time without legally breaking the cohabitation. For example,
a couple may have been separated due to armed conflict, illness of a family member, or for
employment or education-related reasons, and therefore do not cohabit at present (see also 5.44
for information on persecution and penal control). Despite the break in cohabitation, a commonlaw relationship exists if the couple has cohabited continuously in a conjugal relationship in the
past for at least one year and intend to do so again as soon as possible. There should be
evidence demonstrating that both parties are continuing the relationship, such as visits,
correspondence, and telephone calls.
This situation is similar to a marriage where the parties are temporarily separated or not
cohabiting for a variety of reasons, but still considers themselves to be married and living in a
conjugal relationship with their spouse with the intention of living together as soon as possible.
For common-law relationships (and marriage), the longer the period of separation without any
cohabitation, the more difficult it is to establish that the common-law relationship (or marriage) still
exists.
