conjugal partner and same gender relationship

[cvic]

Hi,
I am in a F to F relationship. My partner is from the Philippines and it will be difficult for her to get a tourist visa to Canada so we can marry. Our plan is to live in Canada. I have a home which I am still paying for and where we plan to reside so I cannot stay in the Philippines for a year to establish a common law relationship. Will our case still hold for a conjugal relationship even if I may have the option of staying in the Philippines for a year because I am a Filipino Canadian? That option, though, would entail me a considerable financial loss because I will be forced to sell my home?
Thanks

 

[RobsLuv]

What the conjugal partner class does is qualifies you and your partner as common-law partners without the cohabitation piece. That's why there has to be an immigration barrier, coupled with fear of persecution due to the nature of the relationship and inability to marry, in order to be eligible.

If samesex marriage is not allowed in the Phils, and if your partner cannot get a visa to come to Canada to marry here, you have that part covered. The problem, though, is that it appears it's possible for you to go to the Phils to live with her and establish a common-law partnership (because you're a Filipino/Canadian) So, unless there are sanctions against samesex partners in the Philippines, you'd be expected to establish a common-law partnership by living with her in the Phils before applying for PR. CIC doesn't really care about whether or not that is a financial hardship.

If you would be able to live together safely in the Phils, you should do that. If you can't, then you've got a good case for conjugal partnership approval. I would suggest that you at least apply first for a tourist visa for your partner. You're right that it will be difficult for her to get one - but if she does, getting her here and marrying is preferable to applying as conjugal partners. And if she isn't approved, that becomes another "proof" of an immigration barrier for conjugal partner qualification . . . if you can't live together as a samesex couple in the Phils.

Read through Sections 5.44-5.49 and 5.25-5.26 of the OP2 Processing Manual for more info about conjugal partner qualification.

 

[Hycore]

Just a quick suggestion, if you don't want to sell your home to spend the time in the Philippines, can't you rent your house out while you are gone?

 

[embopj]

i get my passport with stamp yhe heyyyyyyy...

 

[BeShoo]

That's why there has to be an immigration barrier, coupled with fear of persecution due to the nature of the relationship and inability to marry, in order to be eligible.

There normally has to be an immigration barrier, though there could be exceptions to this in certain cases. There does not have to be a "fear of persecution". In fact, the regulations state that you can apply as a common law partnership (not a conjugal partnership) where there is a fear of persecution. The "conjugal" class was specifically created for situations where there is no persecution but the partners cannot live together for 12 months.

Legally, you have the right to choose either the marriage or common law route, though lack of a marriage will lead many immigration officers to question your commitment, and may cause them to deny your application. You don't technically need to have an "inability to marry" though it certainly makes things easier. You should have a good reason for not marrying.

 

[cvic]

Actually we want to marry and there lies the difficulty. She needs to come here for that, but we are not confident she will get a visitor's visa. We will try though.

 

[BeShoo]

Actually we want to marry and there lies the difficulty. She needs to come here for that, but we are not confident she will get a visitor's visa. We will try though.

Yes, that does make things more difficult, though not impossible. The most important thing is that your relationship is indeed conjugal (marriage-like). Look over the list I posted at http://www.canadavisa.com/canada-immigration-discussion-board/spousal-sponsorship-t46995.0.html;msg357741#msg357741 and the 2 posts after it. Make sure that you have done everything that is possible in your situation to meet as many of those criteria as possible. In theory, you should suceed if you have fulfilled a sufficient number of those conditions. If you clearly haven't, you may just be girlfriends and not actually yet in a marriage-like relationship. This could be bad.

You have to be in a relationship that is conjugal in nature for at least one year to qualify. It seems that the majority of applicants do not meet these criteria and only think they are in a conjugal relationship.

The problem with having an intention to marry later is that it suggests that you may not yet be in a marriage-like relationship because you haven't yet taken that last step. Fiancées explicitly don't qualify because they don't want to have to guess where your relationship is heading in the future. They only want to judge on where your relationship is right now.

 

[cvic]

Thanks. We don't intent to marry "later". We want to, but it is not possible in the Philippines. It is possible in Canada, but she doesn't have a tourist visa. We are going to apply for one, though she has been denied before when her mother invited her to visit. Her mother is in another city in Canada.

 

[BeShoo]

Even wanting to marry now is not good enough. You need to currently be in a marriage-like relationship at the time of application (and for one year previous, too, if you're not actually married).

You may qualify as conjugal partners if you have combined your affairs (especially financial) to the maximum extent possible and have done everthing else possible in your power to behave like a married couple. Of course many of these things may not be possible in the Philippines and especially if you are not both living in the same country.

Being denied a visa to get married in Canada would be good evidence that you have tried to do it but have been prevented. That would certainly help in the view of most immigration officers. Of course, ideally, you will get the visa, but it doesn't sound good.

 

[cvic]

we are in a marriage like relationship

 

[BeShoo]

If you are applying as conjugal partners, you should try to prove as many of these criteria as would apply to your situation:

http://www.canadavisa.com/canada-immigration-discussion-board/spousal-sponsorship-t46995.0.html;msg357741#msg357741

If you manage to get married, there will be somewhat less "proving" to do.