Boyfriend with FSTP/FSWP VISA status wants to bring GF from U.S. to live

[Ponga]

He will go to Canada in December she will visit him now and then and in March 2015 claim her common-law (for 10 months+ 2 months conjugal partner) status and move to Canada. Or he will go to Canada in Feb 2015 and she can try to go with him or in March 2015. What's the problem?

What the hell does that mean...2 months conjugal partner?!?!

If they decide that they want to start living together in California right now, that's the only way to create a common-law relationship...I get it, but conjugal partner status does not apply to this couple.

You win. I'm done. ;D

 

[Regina]

NOT YET!!!! To be common law they have to live together for TWELVE months. If they move together now, it is MARCH already, and if BF moves to Canada in December , they will not be living together to get those 12 months. Then they STILL can claim conjugal partners!!!! 10 months common law +2 month conjugal, and she can move to Canada to live with him on a visitor or OWP as his common law partner.

 

[Ponga]

NOT YET!!!! To be common law they have to live together for TWELVE months. If they move now, it is MARCH already, and if BF moves to Canada in December , they will not be living together to get those 12 months. Then they STILL can claim conjugal partners!!!! 10 months common law +2 month conjugal, and she can move to Canada to live with him on a visitor or OWP as his common law partner.

LOL! Ok...you sucked me back into this debate for one last reply.

They could live together for 8 months in California. He then moves to Vancouver and she comes to visit him a few days (or a week) later. After she's been under his roof for 4 months...Presto...they are then officially common-law. The 12 months can be 8 months there and 4 months here, provided there is not a gap (beyond a couple of weeks) where they break their cohabitation.

There is absolutely no way that this couple could claim conjugal partner status. That's funny!

 

[Regina]

He then moves to Vancouver and she comes to visit him a few days (or a week) later. After she's been under his roof for 4 months...Presto...they are then officially common-law. The 12 months can be 8 months there and 4 months here, provided there is not a gap (beyond a couple of weeks) where they break their cohabitation.

Yes! It is still risky but possible. Risky if she says she is going to see her BF for weekend. They usually start digging "how long you know him, bla-bla-bla", and if she mentions that she quit her job (they can check it right away if she works or quit), that they actually lived together for 8 month in CA- bingo! They will dig further and could find out that she is "going for a weekend" with all her life belongings ;D and leaving nothing behind for coming back to CA.

that this couple could claim conjugal partner status

After 10 month of living together? Why not?

A conjugal partner is a foreign national residing outside Canada who is in a conjugal relationship with a sponsor for at least one year, but could not live with the sponsor as a couple. This term applies to both heterosexual and homosexual couples. This category was established for partners of sponsors who normally would present an application as spouse or common-law partner but cannot due to circumstances beyond their control (e. g., immigration barrier, religious reasons or sexual orientation)In all other respects, the couple is similar to a common-law couple or a married couple, meaning they have been in a bona fide (genuine) conjugal relationship for a period of at least one year.
However, a significant degree of attachment and mutually interdependence between both partners must be demonstrated. They must also provide proof of the obstacles or restrictions that prevent cohabitation or marriage.

And this couple would be able demonstrate that they could not continue their COMMON law relations for another 4 months because of IMMIGRATION RULES but they are still CONJUGAL partners for another 4 months. ;D All together 12 months. (They are taking about sponsorship here but it does not matter. It is a definition of conjugal partnership for any CIC cases)

 

[Rob_TO]

Then they STILL can claim conjugal partners!!!! 10 months common law +2 month conjugal, and she can move to Canada to live with him on a visitor or OWP as his common law partner.

This makes zero sense. Conjugal does not apply to typical US/Canadian couples, since they are easily allowed to get married.

In this case they need to be either officially common-law or married to apply for PR, and that's it. Trying to apply as conjugal would be an almost guaranteed rejection, as it's only meant for couples that are unable to get married or live common-law due to legal/immigration barriers.

 

[Regina]

US/Canadian couples

BF is Austrian.

since they are easily allowed to get married.

But people do not HAVE to get married.

 

[Regina]

live common-law due to legal/immigration barriers.

and this is enough to claim conjugal.

 

[Rob_TO]

BF is Austrian.
But people do not HAVE to get married.

Same thing... Canadian/Austrian couple. There is absolutely no barrier to marriage, so conjugal app would get rejected and should not even be considered. Recommending conjugal app in this case is simply horrible advice.

But people do not HAVE to get married.

You are expected to. The guide even says it.
If you ever plan to get married in your entire life, then you don't apply as conjugal.

 

[Regina]

There is absolutely no barrier to marriage, so conjugal app would get rejected and should not even be considered. Recommending conjugal app in this case is simply horrible advice.

You see in CANADA people do not HAVE to be married. And THIS is the reason why CIC accepts common law and conjugal relationship. THEY DO NOT HAVE to marry for immigration purposes . A couple could marry if they WISH to marry and not for CIC convenience.

If you could read the quote I provided from CIC SITE you will see that IMMIGRATION BARRIERS could be a good reason to accept relationship as conjugal for CIC. THAT WHAT CIC WRITES ON ITS OWN SITE.
Of course, if you are not ready to marry and would like to claim family relationship anyway, you have to have a proof that you are in such a kind of relationship. The first one is to live together for 12 months.
You also could be in conjugal relations because of IMMIGRATION barriers. Because of immigration rules the OP could not live with her BF in Canada even if they live together for 10 months in CA (they still lack 2 months to be considered common law partners), but if they could prove that they were in conjugal relations for 2 months, after that she could be allowed to join him in Canada as his common law spouse because there will be 12 months of common law+conjugal relations.

It is all speculations, of course, just recalling what I know and what she said and what is written on CIC site and putting it together theoretically.

 

[canuck_in_uk]

It is all speculations, of course, just recalling what I know and what she said and what is written on CIC site and putting it together theoretically.

You can't just read facts on CIC's website and put them together how you want.

An immigration barrier is when neither person can enter the other's country in order to continue the relationship in person. For example, a Brazilian person unable to get a TRV and their Canadian partner unable to get a Brazilian visitor visa have a valid immigration barrier preventing them from being together. That is not the case at all for this couple. She can quite easily enter Canada, he can stay in the US or he can go back to his home country of Austria and she could go be with him there. CIC also states a couple shouldn't apply as conjugal if they "could have lived together but chose not to, as this shows that you did not have the level of commitment needed for a conjugal relationship". Given the fact that this couple had 3 years together in California where they could have lived together but chose not to, and there are no immigration barriers, they have no chance of qualifying as conjugal.

 

[Rob_TO]

If you could read the quote I provided from CIC SITE you will see that IMMIGRATION BARRIERS could be a good reason to accept relationship as conjugal for CIC. THAT WHAT CIC WRITES ON ITS OWN SITE.

For a Canadian and visa-exempt applicant there are NO IMMIGRATION BARRIERS!! One could live together 6 months in Canada, and then 6 months in the applicants country, in order to establish common-law. If a couple simply doesn't want to do this due to work or something, that is their own personal choice and is NOT considered an actual barrier to CIC.

Read here: http://www.cic.gc.ca/ENGLISH/RESOURCES/manuals/op/op02-eng.pdf
-----
However, if they are not married, they must be common-law partners. There is NO provision for fiancé(e)s or “intended
common-law partners” in IRPA. If a Canadian and a foreign national can get married or can live together and establish a common-law relationship, this is what they are expected to have done before they submit sponsorship and immigration applications.

The conjugal partner category is mainly intended for partners where neither common-law partner status nor marriage is possible, usually because of marital status or sexual orientation (both analogous grounds of discrimination under the Charter), combined with an immigration barrier.

People who are dating or who are thinking about marrying or living together and establishing a common-law relationship are NOT in a conjugal relationship,
-----

So by recommending people who have no real immigration or legal barriers to try conjugal, you are setting them up for a rejected application in practically all cases. It's incredibly rare that a conjugal app with a visa-exempt applicant is approved. Please stop giving out your horrible advice, as it may actually hurt people.

 

[Leon]

Conjugal is an option for a PR sponsorship but is actually hard to get approved for a straight couple that have no barriers to living together or getting married.

There is no immigration barrier for a US/Austrian couple not to live together, especially if the Austrian party is already living in the US.

In any case, they are nowhere even near the point of applying for PR sponsorship at this point as neither of them is Canadian or a PR.

They want to know about an open work permit for spouse / common-law partner of a foreign worker.

You can see that answered here: http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/helpcentre/answer.asp?q=199&t=17

Can my spouse or common-law partner work in Canada?

Perhaps. If your spouse or common-law partner wants to work in Canada, they must apply for their own work permit. Normally, they must meet the same requirements that you do.

In most cases, your spouse or common-law partner must apply for a work permit for a specific job. The employer may have to get a Labour Market Opinion (LMO) from Employment and Social Development Canada. An LMO allows a particular employer to hire someone for a specific job.

However, your spouse or common-law partner may be able to apply for an "open" work permit—allowing him or her to accept any job with any employer—if you meet one of these conditions:

you are
*allowed to work in Canada for at least six months,
*doing work in Canada that meets a minimum skill level (usually work that requires at least a college diploma) and
*doing a job listed in Skill Level 0, A or B in the National Occupational Classification, or

you are
*allowed to work in Canada and
*doing work in Canada that is on a list of eligible occupations in participating provinces.

If your spouse or common-law partner gets an open work permit, it is normally valid for the same period as yours.

In some cases, your spouse or common-law partner will need a medical exam.

Some provinces and territories also have pilot projects for spouses or common-law partners to get open work permits in some cases.

Supposing his job is skilled, she would therefore be allowed to apply for an open work permit based on his permit if they are married or common law. There is no open work permit for conjugal partners.

The way to go about this would be, as Ponga already pointed out, that they could move in together now, live together until he has to go to Canada to start work and then she comes with him and they continue to live together in Canada until they have reached 12 months total. Then they can fill out a Statutory Declaration of Common Law Union and apply for her open work permit. Or they could just get married.

 

[honu]

Thank you to everyone that replied to my thread! I really really appreciate it!!

I apologize for not responding back earlier but I just wanted to take the trip to Vancouver with the BF first to see whether he might take the job or not. We both enjoyed Vancouver so much! It was pouring rain though when we got there the first day haha but that didn't stop us from exploring the city. We were there for three days but we were able to see almost every part of the city! I think my BF liked Vancouver too because he emailed his big boss in Austria to ask for a salary offer/package and is waiting for his reply. So from everyone's response, this is what I have learned (but please correct me if I am wrong...):

1. The best option for me to live with my BF in Canada while he is working there would be for him to apply common-law. In order to do that, we must live together for 12 consecutive months and collect proof of us doing so like having my name on his rental agreement, having a joint account, having mail sent to us that shows both our names, etc. I could live here in the US with him for 6 months and live the rest of the 6 months with him in Vancouver. Are there any other qualifications that I have to meet to be qualified for common-law? What if I have student loan debt, would that affect our application?

2. If I were to take the common-law option: do I have to leave Canada and have my boyfriend apply for common-law after my 6 months in Canada? Or can I extend my visitor status while our application is being processed? I am not sure if it makes a difference but my BF also would have his work visa already when he gets to Canada...

3. While we complete the last 6 months of living together in Vancouver, I would not be able to work or attend school. Is this correct?

4. When I enter Canada, am I granted a 6 months visitor status or do I need to declare this when I am on the plane? I am asking because when we were flying to Canada for our trip, we were required to fill out a declaration form for goods/money but it asked us how long we were staying
in Canada.

5. So during our 6 months living together in the US I know we need to collect proof of us living together like having our names on lease, having a joint account/savings together, having mail addressed to both of us and to the same address, letter from friends and family saying that they know we are together and live together, etc. What other evidence can we show and have been used for Common-law?

6. For our last 6 months living in Canada together, I know we need to collect proof of living together too. But, Is opening a joint account together in Vancouver or having my name on his lease perfectly legal if I have visitor status? I have read some where on here that having a joint account in Canada is legal for someone on visitor status applying for common law...

P.S. The attitude difference between Canadian border patrol officers and Californian border patrol officers is HUGE! Right when we got to Canada, we were greeted by smiling workers at airport and the CBSA(sp?) officer was direct but still polite and SO nice to us. When we flew back to LAX, the border officer and everyone working there were so rude, pushy, demanding, and not happy with their jobs haha. I am a US citizen and even I felt guilty for no reason because the officer was so intimidating!

Thank you again for all your helpful advice! I will be looking forward to hearing what other advice others might have

 

[honu]

Oh and for those that gave advice about the student visa route! I have learned that this is not the best option for us because of these reasons:

1. The program that I am interested in is only 6 months long. I am only allowed to apply for a work permit only if my program is 8 months or longer...and I would have to leave Canada after my 6 month program.

2. Financially, the student visa option is not the best because I would have to show proof of being able to pay for tuition when I apply. I would have to show the amount of tuition and living expenses in my bank account.

3. I have to apply for a loan before I get to Canada and I would prefer not to because I already have student loan debt from attending university.

I am sure there are more reasons why this option is not the best, but these are the only ones I could think of right now.

 

[canuck_in_uk]

1. Yes, living together 6 months in the US and 6 months in Canada seems to be your best option to become common-law. Keep in mind that it must be continuous, so when he goes to Canada, you need to go at the same time, or no more than a week or 2 later. Your student debt won't matter.

2. Your boyfriend doesn't "apply common-law". You will apply for a work permit application on the basis of your common-law relationship with him, a skilled Temporary Foreign Worker. You can extend your visitor status while you wait.

3. Correct about not being able to work. Though you couldn't start studying a long-term degree or certificate course, you can take a course that is less than 6 months while a visitor.

4. You don't need to ask. 6 months is the standard, even if your declaration card only says you will be staying for a few weeks. It is possible that you may get less, depending on the border officer, but you can still extend your stay once you are in Canada.

5. That's pretty good evidence right there.

6. It is perfectly legal. Some banks won't let visitors open or be added to an account. You may need to go to a few before you can find one that will give you an account.

Think I covered it all