Hi everyone,
I submitted my CEC PR application in February 2026 and declared myself as single. I’m now concerned about whether I misunderstood the common-law definition. I have been in Canada since 2021, and my boyfriend has been here since 2017. He is already a Canadian citizen and is not part of my PR application.
In October 2024, I moved into his rented apartment mainly for financial reasons, as a subtenant, and paid him half of the rent. At that time, we were living more like roommates and sharing expenses, not fully combining our lives financially. In April 2025, we decided to take our relationship more seriously, and he purchased a condo. We moved there together. Our finances are still fully separate — I pay him a fixed monthly rent, and he pays the mortgage, taxes, and utilities.
I understood that the 12-month common-law period would start from when our relationship became serious (around April 2025), so I believed we would become common-law in April 2026 and planned to update IRCC at that time.
However, I am now reading that IRCC may count 12 months from when cohabitation first began (October 2024), regardless of how the relationship evolved. Given this timeline, would IRCC likely consider us common-law at the time of submission (Feb 2026)? If so, should I proactively update my file to avoid any potential misrepresentation concerns? I am really concerned about this. I appreciate any advice.
I submitted my CEC PR application in February 2026 and declared myself as single. I’m now concerned about whether I misunderstood the common-law definition. I have been in Canada since 2021, and my boyfriend has been here since 2017. He is already a Canadian citizen and is not part of my PR application.
In October 2024, I moved into his rented apartment mainly for financial reasons, as a subtenant, and paid him half of the rent. At that time, we were living more like roommates and sharing expenses, not fully combining our lives financially. In April 2025, we decided to take our relationship more seriously, and he purchased a condo. We moved there together. Our finances are still fully separate — I pay him a fixed monthly rent, and he pays the mortgage, taxes, and utilities.
I understood that the 12-month common-law period would start from when our relationship became serious (around April 2025), so I believed we would become common-law in April 2026 and planned to update IRCC at that time.
However, I am now reading that IRCC may count 12 months from when cohabitation first began (October 2024), regardless of how the relationship evolved. Given this timeline, would IRCC likely consider us common-law at the time of submission (Feb 2026)? If so, should I proactively update my file to avoid any potential misrepresentation concerns? I am really concerned about this. I appreciate any advice.