Common law partners who don't currently live together?

[Rosafine]

Hi all,

My partner of 4 years and I currently live in the UK, however I have been offered a 6-month placement with a law firm in Toronto. I understand that I should be able to get a visa (barring the unexpected!) because I have a job offer, and obviously I want him to come with me.

We have been together for 4 years, and we lived together from 2009-2010, however after that I had to move to London for work and so we are back in a long-distance relationship. We still see each other every weekend and spend every holiday together, but the fact is that we have not lived together for a year. With this in mind, I was wondering if anyone has applied for a common-law spouse visa when they weren't living together, and if so how it went? Any help much appreciated!

Thanks

Rosaf

 

[Erina]

Hi all,

My partner of 4 years and I currently live in the UK, however I have been offered a 6-month placement with a law firm in Toronto. I understand that I should be able to get a visa (barring the unexpected!) because I have a job offer, and obviously I want him to come with me.

We have been together for 4 years, and we lived together from 2009-2010, however after that I had to move to London for work and so we are back in a long-distance relationship. We still see each other every weekend and spend every holiday together, but the fact is that we have not lived together for a year. With this in mind, I was wondering if anyone has applied for a common-law spouse visa when they weren't living together, and if so how it went? Any help much appreciated!

Thanks

Rosaf

In order to qualify as Common Law you and your partner must live CONTINUOUSLY for 1 year. CIC however explains that if either side travels away for short time such as holiday vacation, there shouldn't be any problem. Thus if you've lived from 2009 to 2010, for a period of one year your partner does qualify as a member of family.

 

[Sweden]

In order to qualify as Common Law you and your partner must live CONTINUOUSLY for 1 year. CIC however explains that if either side travels away for short time such as holiday vacation, there shouldn't be any problem. Thus if you've lived from 2009 to 2010, for a period of one year your partner does qualify as a member of family.

I think you are a bit in a grey area there, because if you were common law until now, and then have to move, it's probably OK, but if you have not lived together since 2010, I'm not sure that you qualify... other more experienced members might be able to tell you more.

Good luck,
Sweden

 

[Sweden]

Also - just a question - are you talking about sponsoring him, or adding him to your 6 months visa? Because it might be a different case... sponsoring him into Canada is what I was talking about, adding him to your 6 months work visa is probably another story....

 

[MissDominica]

I filed as common-law and currently don't live with my partner. We lived together for more than a year before I had to come back to Canada to finish school and we filed as soon as I moved back. I agree with Sweden. By definition you are "common-law" because you have lived together for over a year (at one point). However, I researched this fairly well for my own situation and CIC says that while you can still be considered common-law if you are apart after having lived together for a year, it becomes very hard to prove a common-law relationship the longer the couple is not living together. So your case is a "gray area" and CIC may give you a hard time because you have been apart so long. You have the fact that you see each other so often going for you, but it will be up to the officer assigned to your case to decide if he/she thinks you are still "common-law" or if you've been apart too long to logically meet that criteria. It will be a judgement call on the officer's behalf.

 

[MissDominica]

I'm also assuming you are talking about PR sponsorship when answering your question.

I'm curious - when does your 6 month contract start? Because, in all honestt, if it is soon, by the time you get all the proof together to show you wre common-law years ago and you have a continuing relationship, fill out the forms, get the paperwork done, medicals done, etc and send it of to Mississauga, wait for sponsorhip approval and then wait for stage 2 PR approval and quite possibly an interview if they are concerned about the long-distance... then you are looking at your 6 months being over before he is even approved... just a thought. If the contract is far in the future, this is not as big of a concern...

Good luck