Adding Common-Law partner post-ITA

[peterzon80]

Hi everyone,

I received an ITA on March 17 with a CRS of 513 (listed as Single). However, I have been living with my partner for the last 4 years. I didn't realize that we met the "Common-Law" definition for Express Entry at the time I created my profile, so I didn't include them.

Now that I have the ITA, I want to add them to my application as an accompanying partner.

1. How do I explain to IRCC why I am only adding them now, given we have been living together for 4 years?
2. My score will likely drop when I add them. If my recalculated score stays above the draw cutoff (511), is it still safe to proceed, or is there a high risk of a "misrepresentation" finding?
3. Has anyone successfully added a long-term common-law partner after getting an ITA? What did you include in your Letter of Explanation (LoE)?

Thanks for your help!

 

[canuck78]

Hi everyone,

I received an ITA on March 17 with a CRS of 513 (listed as Single). However, I have been living with my partner for the last 4 years. I didn't realize that we met the "Common-Law" definition for Express Entry at the time I created my profile, so I didn't include them.

Now that I have the ITA, I want to add them to my application as an accompanying partner.

1. How do I explain to IRCC why I am only adding them now, given we have been living together for 4 years?
2. My score will likely drop when I add them. If my recalculated score stays above the draw cutoff (511), is it still safe to proceed, or is there a high risk of a "misrepresentation" finding?
3. Has anyone successfully added a long-term common-law partner after getting an ITA? What did you include in your Letter of Explanation (LoE)?

Thanks for your help!

You have no option but to include them or you’ll never be able to sponsor them. There is a good chance your score will be recalculated so would recalculate what score you will receive with a common law partner accompanying you. You both also need to also all your taxes from after you became common law because that was also misrepresentation. That would also then show that you are common law and not single.

 

[peterzon80]

Thanks @canuck78, can you elaborate about taxes more?

Also,
His current score is 488,
Mine is 513, if I add him, total is becoming 510 which is still above the cutoff.
Now i have 2 questions
1. can i just edit my file and add common law with letter of explanation?
2. or i should decline my current profile, and create new profile with him and then wait for the next draw?
3. isnt it misrepresentation? like from past 4 years we are saying single and now we are getting PR so we are saying common law?

I am just worried, not able to understand what to do!

 

[canuck78]

Thanks @canuck78, can you elaborate about taxes more?

Also,
His current score is 488,
Mine is 513, if I add him, total is becoming 510 which is still above the cutoff.
Now i have 2 questions
1. can i just edit my file and add common law with letter of explation?
2. or i should decline my current profile, and create new profile with him and then wait for the next draw?

You were legally required to file as common law and it impacts things like how much you receive as tax credits. Filing as single is also inconsistent with your claims that you are common law. IRCC does look at things like how you are declaring your relationship status on other documents like tax returns when processing applications. Can’t provide legal advice about what you should do especially without knowing much about your life. If it was me I would add your partner with a letter of explanation as to why you didn’t include your partner when you first applied. You may want to consult a lawyer about how you should proceed and what should be included in the letter of explanation. IRCC is issuing a lot of PFL these days and a busy immigration lawyer should be aware of patterns they are seeing from IRCC and what has been most successful when trying to avoid PFLs.

 

[peterzon80]

Thank you @canuck78, do you have any recommendation for immigration lawyer to consult?