Common Law-Partnership Processing Time?

[Simon15]

Hi I am English and I met my Canadian girlfriend in November 2008. We met at university in Wales where she was studying to become an English teacher and I was studying towards a HND in Sport. We have now been together little over a year. She now works at a local school where I live. We do not live together but are planning to live together in Canada. I have a read and understood what would be required off us to qualify and apply for a common law-partnership which is not a problem. I know the smart thing would be for us both to live together for another year in England and then apply for the common law-partnership but she misses her family and she wants to start a life in Canada with me. I will be travelling to Canada on a 1 year holiday working visa, I will be going though bunac. I have a couple of questions.

1. Does my year on a travelling working visa through bunac count towards my year for the common law-partnership as long as we have been sharing bills and have a joint bank account etc?

2. How long does the application process take for a common law-partnership?

3. I having saving and will be looking for a job once I arrive in Canada. Would I be able to be sponsored by my job, whatever that maybe while my common law-partnership application goes though?

My fear is that we will both have lived together for a year, we would have applied for a common law-partnership and then I would have to go back to England because I could not get an extension on my visa. Therefore we would of been separated for a period of time which a common law-partnership states cannot happen.

We are both madly in love with each other and just need some guidance so we can stay together. Any guidance of help would be much appreciated especially if you have already gone through this process or know of someone that has.

Many Thanks, Simon

 

[Swede]

Hi I am English and I met my Canadian girlfriend in November 2008. We met at university in Wales where she was studying to become an English teacher and I was studying towards a HND in Sport. We have now been together little over a year. She now works at a local school where I live. We do not live together but are planning to live together in Canada. I have a read and understood what would be required off us to qualify and apply for a common law-partnership which is not a problem. I know the smart thing would be for us both to live together for another year in England and then apply for the common law-partnership but she misses her family and she wants to start a life in Canada with me. I will be travelling to Canada on a 1 year holiday working visa, I will be going though bunac. I have a couple of questions.

1. Does my year on a travelling working visa through bunac count towards my year for the common law-partnership as long as we have been sharing bills and have a joint bank account etc?

2. How long does the application process take for a common law-partnership?

3. I having saving and will be looking for a job once I arrive in Canada. Would I be able to be sponsored by my job, whatever that maybe while my common law-partnership application goes though?

My fear is that we will both have lived together for a year, we would have applied for a common law-partnership and then I would have to go back to England because I could not get an extension on my visa. Therefore we would of been separated for a period of time which a common law-partnership states cannot happen.

We are both madly in love with each other and just need some guidance so we can stay together. Any guidance of help would be much appreciated especially if you have already gone through this process or know of someone that has.

Many Thanks, Simon

1. Yes. Make sure you have as much paperwork as possible in both your names.
2. Since you will have lived in Canada for more than one year when you apply, you can choose between London, UK, and Buffalo, NY. If you have an uncomplicated, well prepared case and apply through London there's no reason why the process should take more than three months.
3. If you find a job, the employer could sponsor you for a work permit if you meet the requirements.

When your work holiday visa is over there should be no problem with getting a visiting visa, so you shouldn't have to go back to the UK.

 

[BeShoo]

This is my understanding:

I believe that you cannot qualify as common-law partners until you have lived together continuously for a year, and it sounds like you haven't. Merely sharing bills and having a joint account does not qualify you to be common law partners if you haven't lived together. After a full year of living together you are still considered common law partners even if have lived separately after the year is finished.

You might qualify as conjugal partners, even if you have never lived together for a continuous year. For this category, the sharing of bills and a bank account is useful evidence, but you must show why it was not possible for you to simply live together. If you tried but failed to get a long term visa, that would be good evidence that living together was not possible. If you can show that there was no point in even applying, because you would not have been approved, that might be okay, but it's not as solid. You need to show in as many ways as possible that you have been living in a conjugal (marriage-like) relationship for at least one year.

I recommend reading the sections of the OP2 manual "Processing Members of the Family Class". http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/resources/manuals/op/op02-eng.pdf Look at all the sections that talk about common law partners and conjugal partners. There are several sections where each comes up. From what I have read from you, you have not lived together for a year and in that case you should see about applying in the conjugal partners class, but you need very good evidence of several different types to prove this type of case. I hope that helps.