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lack of co-signed lease for proof of co-habitation and the necessity of PR?

qingyunlan

Full Member
Oct 16, 2019
22
1
Hi friends,

I'm applying for OWP in QC as the common-law partner of my partner who's a citizen. I'm concerned about my burden of proof, since I had not jointly signed the rental lease with my partner, nor do we have a roommate or a landlord that can prove we've been living together. We've been in a relationship since end of 2017, moved together from December 2018 till now, living mostly in Quebec, but some two months in between we were living together with my partner's parents in BC.

Here's what we have: joint bank account opened by end of May, 2019, the billing address being the apartment we live together in; formal letters (graduation certificate, job offer, visitor record) addressed to me to our apartment; online purchase receipts of household items addressed to me to our apartment; numerous chat logs ( concerning mundane businesses like grocery shopping, etc.); bus and flight tickets of travelling together; photos dating as early as from beginning of 2018; we can probably secure written testimonies from parents (with whom we spent two months) and friends.
Would the above be sufficient? If not, anything else can I try to hold onto as a valid proof?

I'm also curious about the necessity of a PR. If all I want to is to be able to find a job, work for a few years, with no further plan beyond, would an OWP itself be sufficient? In what terms would PR be better than OWP alone?

Thank you so much.
 

canuck78

VIP Member
Jun 18, 2017
52,959
12,758
Hi friends,

I'm applying for OWP in QC as the common-law partner of my partner who's a citizen. I'm concerned about my burden of proof, since I had not jointly signed the rental lease with my partner, nor do we have a roommate or a landlord that can prove we've been living together. We've been in a relationship since end of 2017, moved together from December 2018 till now, living mostly in Quebec, but some two months in between we were living together with my partner's parents in BC.

Here's what we have: joint bank account opened by end of May, 2019, the billing address being the apartment we live together in; formal letters (graduation certificate, job offer, visitor record) addressed to me to our apartment; online purchase receipts of household items addressed to me to our apartment; numerous chat logs ( concerning mundane businesses like grocery shopping, etc.); bus and flight tickets of travelling together; photos dating as early as from beginning of 2018; we can probably secure written testimonies from parents (with whom we spent two months) and friends.
Would the above be sufficient? If not, anything else can I try to hold onto as a valid proof?

I'm also curious about the necessity of a PR. If all I want to is to be able to find a job, work for a few years, with no further plan beyond, would an OWP itself be sufficient? In what terms would PR be better than OWP alone?

Thank you so much.
All depends on what kind of evidence you have that you were living together for those initial 2 months and the beginning of your stay at you4 apartment. Do you have bills addressed to each of you starting in those initial 3 months. I see the first 2 months at being hard to prove and may be problematic. Often the issue is the evidence on start later on in the cohabitation period. You will need more than just people vouching that you were somewhere together.
 

canuck_in_uk

VIP Member
May 4, 2012
31,558
7,195
Visa Office......
London
App. Filed.......
06/12
Hi friends,

I'm applying for OWP in QC as the common-law partner of my partner who's a citizen. I'm concerned about my burden of proof, since I had not jointly signed the rental lease with my partner, nor do we have a roommate or a landlord that can prove we've been living together. We've been in a relationship since end of 2017, moved together from December 2018 till now, living mostly in Quebec, but some two months in between we were living together with my partner's parents in BC.

Here's what we have: joint bank account opened by end of May, 2019, the billing address being the apartment we live together in; formal letters (graduation certificate, job offer, visitor record) addressed to me to our apartment; online purchase receipts of household items addressed to me to our apartment; numerous chat logs ( concerning mundane businesses like grocery shopping, etc.); bus and flight tickets of travelling together; photos dating as early as from beginning of 2018; we can probably secure written testimonies from parents (with whom we spent two months) and friends.
Would the above be sufficient? If not, anything else can I try to hold onto as a valid proof?

I'm also curious about the necessity of a PR. If all I want to is to be able to find a job, work for a few years, with no further plan beyond, would an OWP itself be sufficient? In what terms would PR be better than OWP alone?

Thank you so much.
Spouses and common-law partners of Canadian citizens do not just qualify for work permits based on the relationship. If you apply, you will be refused. The only way to get an OWP based on your relationship is to apply along with an inland spousal sponsorship app.
 
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qingyunlan

Full Member
Oct 16, 2019
22
1
All depends on what kind of evidence you have that you were living together for those initial 2 months and the beginning of your stay at you4 apartment. Do you have bills addressed to each of you starting in those initial 3 months. I see the first 2 months at being hard to prove and may be problematic. Often the issue is the evidence on start later on in the cohabitation period. You will need more than just people vouching that you were somewhere together.
Thanks. We were living together with my partner's parents in BC for the first month (I guess that counts as been seen *living* together, not just seen being "somewhere together"? ); then we have the flight tickets of travelling together to QC; then online orders delivered to our apartment's address under my name and phone bills paid together-do those count as "bills"?
 

qingyunlan

Full Member
Oct 16, 2019
22
1
Spouses and common-law partners of Canadian citizens do not just qualify for work permits based on the relationship. If you apply, you will be refused. The only way to get an OWP based on your relationship is to apply along with an inland spousal sponsorship app.
I see. Thanks.
 

qingyunlan

Full Member
Oct 16, 2019
22
1
Spouses and common-law partners of Canadian citizens do not just qualify for work permits based on the relationship. If you apply, you will be refused. The only way to get an OWP based on your relationship is to apply along with an inland spousal sponsorship app.
Is it that I have to apply for inland sponsorship in order to apply for an OWP too?
 

scylla

VIP Member
Jun 8, 2010
92,538
20,358
Toronto
Category........
Visa Office......
Buffalo
Job Offer........
Pre-Assessed..
App. Filed.......
28-05-2010
AOR Received.
19-08-2010
File Transfer...
28-06-2010
Passport Req..
01-10-2010
VISA ISSUED...
05-10-2010
LANDED..........
05-10-2010

YVR123

VIP Member
Jul 27, 2017
6,423
2,461
Just to repeat the above. Spouses of citizens or PRs of Canada do not qualify for OWP.
The OWP that people mention here is a "pilot process" to allow applicants of inland spousal sponsorship to get OWP while waiting for their PR applications for approval.

So, yes. You cannot apply just for OWP.