Common-law address: Residential vs Mailing address?

[nand0BC]

Hi there!

I have been granted a Young Professionals visa and I am looking at how to transition from the YP to PR through common law. Our plan is the following:

12 months living with my partner under the YP visa > Visitor record for X additional months to ensure we meet the 12-month requirement > Submit Common law application > AOR > Open permit > PR

Now, this is the question. My partner is registered at her mother's in Vancouver, although we are going to be living and working on one of the Gulf Islands. However, we haven't managed to secure a stable lease (the housing situation is terrible) so we were wondering whether we could use her mom's address -the most stable one we have at hand- as the residential address to register all our stuff that eventually will become our proofs for common law (joint bank account, car insurance, driving licenses, phone bills, etc). Then, as we move from temporary lease to temporary lease on the Gulf Island, the only thing we would need to update is the mailing address - much simpler to do and unrelated to the common law process as far as I understand.

Would this work? Or would it be a problem as our registered address will literally be hours away by ferry ride from the place where we actually live and work (particularly, given that my YP is employer-dependant)!?

Thanks for your help
Fern

 

[armoured]

Would this work? Or would it be a problem as our registered address will literally be hours away by ferry ride from the place where we actually live and work (particularly, given that my YP is employer-dependant)!?

For common law, very important that the address where you cohabit is the factual address; do not use a mailing address or some other address of convenience as the place of cohabitation. How you document that you are cohabiting in some address or series of addresses is your problem.

In my opinion: you can provide other info that you're using as mailing address (bills etc) in additional supplementary info and explain in letter of explanation, and that can be secondary support (albeit weak) of your relationship, but it will not support the common law case, which is critical to document well.

Or you could get married and avoid the cohabitation/documentation problem, all the other evidence would be fine for relationship support.

 

[nand0BC]

For common law, very important that the address where you cohabit is the factual address; do not use a mailing address or some other address of convenience as the place of cohabitation. How you document that you are cohabiting in some address or series of addresses is your problem.

In my opinion: you can provide other info that you're using as mailing address (bills etc) in additional supplementary info and explain in letter of explanation, and that can be secondary support (albeit weak) of your relationship, but it will not support the common law case, which is critical to document well.

Or you could get married and avoid the cohabitation/documentation problem, all the other evidence would be fine for relationship support.

Hi there!

Thanks for your response. So, in short, if I am understanding correctly, what seems to be the most important document to be able to provide is a lease contract (or contracts, if we move from house to house)? This would be the centerpiece of the case, and then the other things (bank statements, car insurance, and so on) would be of further support?

Thanks!
Fern

 

[armoured]

Thanks for your response. So, in short, if I am understanding correctly, what seems to be the most important document to be able to provide is a lease contract (or contracts, if we move from house to house)? This would be the centerpiece of the case, and then the other things (bank statements, car insurance, and so on) would be of further support?

You just have to figure out and provide what you can and use your judgment. If you can't provide basic docs (like lease), explain and substitute however you can. If evidence is somewhat weaker, compensate with more/better of other things. It is very important to have good documentation of two things: that the start date of the cohabitation makes for more than 12 months, and that the cohabitation is continuous (in the sense of no significant breaks). [I know the latter is a bit of proving a negative but again - judgment. Clear gaps make for not meeting the 12 months continuous cohabitation test.]

The key point in your first post to which was responding is that no, you can't just substitute in some other address (eg parents) because more administrtively convenient. Must be factual and demonstrated cohabitation.

I'd be remiss if I didn't mention: you should consider in this context whether getting married is appropriate. From immigration perspective in your case, MUCH easier as all of the living-together information serves as relationship evidence, and doesn't need to meet the legal test of common law (and eg gaps in cohabitation or evidence thereof are not an issue). This forum has not-infrequent cases of common-law hopefuls having plans upended because of various life contingencies (emergencies, etc requiring travel) or refusals due to weak (in IRCC opinion) documentation.

It is, of course, a decision only you and your partner can make.

 

[nand0BC]

You just have to figure out and provide what you can and use your judgment. If you can't provide basic docs (like lease), explain and substitute however you can. If evidence is somewhat weaker, compensate with more/better of other things. It is very important to have good documentation of two things: that the start date of the cohabitation makes for more than 12 months, and that the cohabitation is continuous (in the sense of no significant breaks). [I know the latter is a bit of proving a negative but again - judgment. Clear gaps make for not meeting the 12 months continuous cohabitation test.]

The key point in your first post to which was responding is that no, you can't just substitute in some other address (eg parents) because more administrtively convenient. Must be factual and demonstrated cohabitation.

I'd be remiss if I didn't mention: you should consider in this context whether getting married is appropriate. From immigration perspective in your case, MUCH easier as all of the living-together information serves as relationship evidence, and doesn't need to meet the legal test of common law (and eg gaps in cohabitation or evidence thereof are not an issue). This forum has not-infrequent cases of common-law hopefuls having plans upended because of various life contingencies (emergencies, etc requiring travel) or refusals due to weak (in IRCC opinion) documentation.

It is, of course, a decision only you and your partner can make.

Hi Armoured,

I just wanted to show my gratitude to you for taking the time to write such a clear, well-written answer. Very much appreciated.

Your messages have clarified things a lot to us so hopefully we will manage one day to achieve our dream.

Thanks a ton!!
Fern