Confused about common law

[Aflockofmoose]

My fiance and I have been living together for three years. We are both US citizens, and have been living in the US all of our lives. She recently received a job offer from a Canadian veterinarian clinic, and so we'll be moving to Vancouver for a year. I do not currently have a job offer there, so I'll need to find work when I get there. It will be beneficial for me to put my application in with hers as her spouse so that I can begin looking for work immediately when I get there, rather then getting to Canada and waiting for my own application to be processed before I can begin looking for work on an open work visa.

My specific question is regarding our relationship status. Our planned marriage date is right before we move, so getting proper marriage certificates on time for our application will not be possible. Is it feasible for us to apply as common law partners for the sake of our current application, being that we have lived together for more then a year in a conjugal relationship, have a joint bank account, and fit the given definition? And if we do, should we go to our local courthouse to get somebody to sign off on us being common law partners?

 

[agarand8]

If you can prove that you have lived together for 1 or more years consecutively, then you would be considered common-law. If you get married after you apply you can send them an e-mail to inform them that you're married now. They'll probably want a copy of the certificate sent to them.

 

[Aflockofmoose]

Wouldn't it hold up our application (a best, and at worst result in a rejected application) if we signified that we were spouses but had no documentation to prove it? I guess I just quite understand the point of sending them an email with our marriage certificate if we apply as common law. Thanks for bearing with me here.

 

[Ellasg]

Just apply as common-law, write a letter explaining your situation and the "timing", send pictures of your engagement ceremony, letters and chat logs between you and your family/friends where you state the wedding date, etc. If you can prove you have been living together for at least 12 consecutive months, it is just as good as being married, you just have to send proof of the continuous cohabitation.
And when you do receive the marriage certificate you can send an e-mail.

 

[agarand8]

I've never heard of anyone doing that, so I can't say. But if you're married do you not have to include a marriage certificate with you application? So if you say that you're married but there's no certificate they might say your application is incomplete. Also you don't want to lie, if you aren't married at the time that you mail the application you shouldn't say you are on the forms. The reason you would email them when you get married and have your certificate is because you are supposed to notify them if something changes.

For example, I have no children but I am 6 months pregnant. On all of the forms I have indicated that I do not have children and I mailed my application yesterday. When the baby is born in July I will have to send them an email telling them. They'll probably want the name and birthdate and possibly a copy of the birth certificate.

If you're planning a wedding, mention it in your application and then they will be expecting for you to send them the information after it is done.

 

[Ponga]

Is her employer sponsoring her for PR, and she is including you in her application? If they are simply offering her a job for one year, I'm not sure how either of you could apply for PR.

 

[Rob_TO]

I assume she is getting a work permit via the LMO process? In this case you should probably post your question to the Foreign Workers section of this forum here: http://www.canadavisa.com/canada-immigration-discussion-board/foreign-workers-b10.0/

You've posted in the family class section which is for Canadians or PR holders applying for their spouses/family.

 

[Ponga]

After reading your post again, it sounds like you are not seeking PR...simply looking for a way to accompany your bride-to-be to Canada for one year.

You might want to post your question in the Foreign Workers forum, as this forum is geared for PR discussion.

Without knowing what your industry/trade is, it's impossible to determine your chances of also working in Canada.

Good luck!