Border and Ties to Home Country Question

[epmarshall]

Hi all,

I'm a bit confused and hope someone can help me out. How exactly does a person get across the border into Canada in order to achieve common law status if they have to leave their job and home country (US for me) ties in order to do so? I know you have to tell the border officers the truth, but how do you get in after doing so? I don't see CBSA letting someone in who has no job and wants to visit their partner in Canada. If the person knows they are basically going up there and staying, then they really don't have ties to their home country, so how can they claim ties?

If the people are married, I can see how it might work. It's still vague to me but I can begin to see it. However if the two people are just dating, then how would it work? Could you say you were going to Canada to visit and work on your PR application with your spouse? Would that be misrepresentation if you were planning to go the common law route? To me, that seems fine. I mean the couple would be working on it. They could be gathering evidence and working on what things they could while waiting for the year of cohabitation to be up. But I'm not sure if the year wait time would alter the situation and make that count as misrepresentation somehow.

I've also heard about another situation that I have questions on. Does it count as misrepresentation if you keep your job, get across the border for a visit, then quit your job after you're there for a while? I've heard stories like this before, but is this legal? It seems like misrepresentation to me, but I don't really know what to think because such a scenario could happen where someone just changes their mind, too, and things just happen.

Anyway, sorry to ramble on. I'm not currently in this situation, but I feel like I might be in the future so I want to understand it.

Thanks for the help, it's much appreciated.

 

[canadianwoman]

With no ties you might not be let in. I would at least have a return ticket if you're flying. You can say you are going to visit your girlfriend and will be applying for PR. If you have the fees paid already you can show the receipt to prove this. However, if you have no cohabitation yet, they might not give you a year. Be clear you are just visiting. To be safe, I would keep my job and maybe my apartment until you have been let in. This is not misrepresentation - after all, if things don't work out, you would be going back.

 

[epmarshall]

To be safe, I would keep my job and maybe my apartment until you have been let in. This is not misrepresentation - after all, if things don't work out, you would be going back.

This is a good point.

But what do you say when they ask you how long you're staying? The past times I have been to visit by boyfriend, I've only stayed about a week, so I have had specific numbers to give. But they have always asked me each time. I think saying anything longer than that is going to raise suspicion unless I say I'm gonna be working on PR. Won't they start questioning ties to home country if you ask for anything longer than that?