cohabitation....really confused..please help

[shasa089]

I am stuck at 1 question on form IMM 5490..and really hoping someone can PLS help me out here!!

Living Arrangement and Financial Support :

Question 27 : Have you and your sponsor lived together?
No -- Explain why.

Yes--Give Dates of Periods of Cohabitation

Cohabitation...means...living together without being legally married....so i really cannot say yes...because we are married and lived together for few months after marriage ....and now Im in Canada and my wife in India..
I cannot say No...cuz that would be just wrong.....so what do i select???

I am really stuck..why CIC why.!!! it could have been less vague!!

 

[amikety]

Cohabitation in this question means any living together. Married, common-law, gf/bf.... any of it. Say yes, put the dates you were with her. Make sure to include proof you were with her because living together helps!

 

[scylla]

Agreed. The definition of cohabitation is simply living together. Whether you were married or not during that time makes no difference.

 

[shasa089]

thank you guys..for your prompt response..

Really appreciate it and makes life so much easier .

This is the definition from CIC :

5.35. 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.

 

[amikety]

That's a different context - that's for common-law partners - to see if you qualify.

In English the same word can have five different means....... all spelled the same

 

[Steph C]

Coincidentally I came across this old post from Canadianwoman just before I saw your post. Definitely include all your dates of cohabitation!

I have seen appeal cases where people who stayed together for short periods of time, such as a few weeks, were criticized by the judge for not including this time in the question about cohabitation. So I would include them. Just be very clear about how long the times were, and that you were in a hotel. That way even if the VO does not think these count as cohabitation, he/she will not think you were trying to trick him/her.

Look at this case, where the judge uses as one of the reasons for dismissing the case the fact that the applicant did not mention their cohabitation from Dec. 27, 2006, to Jan. 10, 2007 -15 days!
http://www.canlii.org/eliisa/highlight.do?text=haiti+cohabitation&language=en&searchTitle=Canada+%28federal%29+-+Immigration+and+Refugee+Board+of+Canada&path=/en/ca/irb/doc/2009/2009canlii84404/2009canlii84404.html

In this case the judge seems to suggest that even a cohabitation period of one night should have been mentioned in the answer to the cohabitation question:
http://www.canlii.org/eliisa/highlight.do?text=cohabitation+question+marriage+immigration&language=en&searchTitle=Canada+%28federal%29+-+Immigration+and+Refugee+Board+of+Canada&path=/en/ca/irb/doc/2010/2010canlii91084/2010canlii91084.html

In this case a cohabitation period of around two weeks was listed on the forms, to the evident satisfaction of the judge.
http://www.canlii.org/eliisa/highlight.do?text=cohabitation+question+marriage+immigration&language=en&searchTitle=Canada+%28federal%29+-+Immigration+and+Refugee+Board+of+Canada&path=/en/ca/irb/doc/2010/2010canlii38257/2010canlii38257.html

 

[canadianwoman]

I am stuck at 1 question on form IMM 5490..and really hoping someone can PLS help me out here!!

Living Arrangement and Financial Support :

Question 27 : Have you and your sponsor lived together?
No -- Explain why.

Yes--Give Dates of Periods of Cohabitation

Cohabitation...means...living together without being legally married....so i really cannot say yes...because we are married and lived together for few months after marriage ....and now Im in Canada and my wife in India..
I cannot say No...cuz that would be just wrong.....so what do i select???

'Cohabitation' in this question means 'staying together'. For this question, it does not matter if you are married or not. If you stayed together, list the dates. Attach an explanation to the form if you are not sure, explaining, for example, that you stayed together for 3 months from (date) to (date) at (address) after your marriage.

 

[Namachii]

I was going through this and I just realized that I might have made a mistake in my application in form IMM5490 (Sponsered Spouse Questionnaire) .
Shasa089, sorry for using your thread to get answer for my question.
Since there are experts giving advice regarding this cohabitation, I thought this would be a good place to ask this question.

My case:
I reached India on 22Dec2012 to get married on 16Jan2013 and travelled back to Canada by 22Jan2013.
For the question 'Have you and your sponsor lived together?' in 'IMM 5490' - I thought they were asking for days lived together before marriage I have answered (for my wife as principal applicant) - 'No - Explain why: Our marriage is an arranged one following traditional indian customs in which we don't live together before marriage'.

After seeing this thread, I think I (for my wife as principal applicant) should have answered 'Yes' for this question and should have included the dates as from 16Jan2013 - 22Jan2013.

(Note: For the question 24 regarding 'Maintaining Contact' in the same form - Has your sponsor visited you during the period of relationship, I have answered as 'My sponsor visited India on 22Dec2012 to attend the reception on 15Jan2013 and wedding on 16Jan2013. We stayed together for a week after the marraige. My sponsor's entry stamp in passport with the date 22Dec2012 is shown as evidence')

Does this mean I have wrong information in the application?
Regarding the status of my application, I have received sponsorship approval from CIC-M on 26Feb.
And I haven't received AOR from delhi for PR application yet.

A kind request to : Canadianwoman, Steph C, amikety, scylla, Leon, Pippin and all other experts in this forum:
What do you think I should do in this situation? Am i doomed?
Please help me! I very much appreciate any guidance!

 

[amikety]

You can contact the VO and ask about sending in a corrected form.

 

[Steph C]

Gawd I'm not an expert

But it seems like you addressed the cohabitation thing in your application even though you wrote no.

I actually wrote no for the question as well.. but then I attached a note saying we were never residents of each other's countries, but we did stay together while we visited each other, and I listed all the relevant periods of time.

I was going through this and I just realized that I might have made a mistake in my application in form IMM5490 (Sponsered Spouse Questionnaire) .
Shasa089, sorry for using your thread to get answer for my question.
Since there are experts giving advice regarding this cohabitation, I thought this would be a good place to ask this question.

My case:
I reached India on 22Dec2012 to get married on 16Jan2013 and travelled back to Canada by 22Jan2013.
For the question 'Have you and your sponsor lived together?' in 'IMM 5490' - I thought they were asking for days lived together before marriage I have answered (for my wife as principal applicant) - 'No - Explain why: Our marriage is an arranged one following traditional indian customs in which we don't live together before marriage'.

After seeing this thread, I think I (for my wife as principal applicant) should have answered 'Yes' for this question and should have included the dates as from 16Jan2013 - 22Jan2013.

(Note: For the question 24 regarding 'Maintaining Contact' in the same form - Has your sponsor visited you during the period of relationship, I have answered as 'My sponsor visited India on 22Dec2012 to attend the reception on 15Jan2013 and wedding on 16Jan2013. We stayed together for a week after the marraige. My sponsor's entry stamp in passport with the date 22Dec2012 is shown as evidence')

Does this mean I have wrong information in the application?
Regarding the status of my application, I have received sponsorship approval from CIC-M on 26Feb.
And I haven't received AOR from delhi for PR application yet.

A kind request to : Canadianwoman, Steph C, amikety, scylla, Leon, Pippin and all other experts in this forum:
What do you think I should do in this situation? Am i doomed?
Please help me! I very much appreciate any guidance!

 

[shasa089]

Hi,

First...thank u everyone for making things so clear! this forum is AWESOME...because of awesome people like you guys...!!

@Namachii..thats the same mistake i made....but then i thought of checking with the folks on this forum..and had to do the section again.
I guess its not a big deal..you can always contact them and send me a letter of explanation.

I was going through this and I just realized that I might have made a mistake in my application in form IMM5490 (Sponsered Spouse Questionnaire) .
Shasa089, sorry for using your thread to get answer for my question.
Since there are experts giving advice regarding this cohabitation, I thought this would be a good place to ask this question.

My case:
I reached India on 22Dec2012 to get married on 16Jan2013 and travelled back to Canada by 22Jan2013.
For the question 'Have you and your sponsor lived together?' in 'IMM 5490' - I thought they were asking for days lived together before marriage I have answered (for my wife as principal applicant) - 'No - Explain why: Our marriage is an arranged one following traditional indian customs in which we don't live together before marriage'.

After seeing this thread, I think I (for my wife as principal applicant) should have answered 'Yes' for this question and should have included the dates as from 16Jan2013 - 22Jan2013.

(Note: For the question 24 regarding 'Maintaining Contact' in the same form - Has your sponsor visited you during the period of relationship, I have answered as 'My sponsor visited India on 22Dec2012 to attend the reception on 15Jan2013 and wedding on 16Jan2013. We stayed together for a week after the marraige. My sponsor's entry stamp in passport with the date 22Dec2012 is shown as evidence')

Does this mean I have wrong information in the application?
Regarding the status of my application, I have received sponsorship approval from CIC-M on 26Feb.
And I haven't received AOR from delhi for PR application yet.

A kind request to : Canadianwoman, Steph C, amikety, scylla, Leon, Pippin and all other experts in this forum:
What do you think I should do in this situation? Am i doomed?
Please help me! I very much appreciate any guidance!

 

[canadianwoman]

I was going through this and I just realized that I might have made a mistake in my application in form IMM5490 (Sponsered Spouse Questionnaire) .
Shasa089, sorry for using your thread to get answer for my question.
Since there are experts giving advice regarding this cohabitation, I thought this would be a good place to ask this question.

My case:
I reached India on 22Dec2012 to get married on 16Jan2013 and travelled back to Canada by 22Jan2013.
For the question 'Have you and your sponsor lived together?' in 'IMM 5490' - I thought they were asking for days lived together before marriage I have answered (for my wife as principal applicant) - 'No - Explain why: Our marriage is an arranged one following traditional indian customs in which we don't live together before marriage'.

After seeing this thread, I think I (for my wife as principal applicant) should have answered 'Yes' for this question and should have included the dates as from 16Jan2013 - 22Jan2013.

(Note: For the question 24 regarding 'Maintaining Contact' in the same form - Has your sponsor visited you during the period of relationship, I have answered as 'My sponsor visited India on 22Dec2012 to attend the reception on 15Jan2013 and wedding on 16Jan2013. We stayed together for a week after the marraige. My sponsor's entry stamp in passport with the date 22Dec2012 is shown as evidence')

Does this mean I have wrong information in the application?
Regarding the status of my application, I have received sponsorship approval from CIC-M on 26Feb.
And I haven't received AOR from delhi for PR application yet.

A kind request to : Canadianwoman, Steph C, amikety, scylla, Leon, Pippin and all other experts in this forum:
What do you think I should do in this situation? Am i doomed?
Please help me! I very much appreciate any guidance!

I think it is OK the way you did it, because you were clear in the answer that you were talking about before marriage, and you did mention the time you stayed together and listed the dates later on on the form. If it should go to appeal, just explain that you thought the first question only meant before marriage, and that you did in fact stay together after the marriage.