Conjugal relationship questions

[mp133]

My boyfriend and I have been considering trying to apply for conjugal relationship status so I can be in Canada with him (I'm a US citizen and we are in a heterosexual relationship). We have a few questions, as we are not totally sure if we qualify. Our story is as follows:

We met online about 2 years ago (around Feb. 2013) and began an online relationship in July. We met in person in December. I was living on the opposite side of the continent from him at the time, so I could only visit him every few months. I visited a second time for about 3 weeks in March, then again from June until early September. During this time, we obviously lived together. In October I moved about an hour away from him, so we visit weekly now. He helps support me financially and definitely know we’re in this long term. There are also a few 'catches' here, based on some other topics I've read: I was legally married from the end of 2012 until May of 2014. My ex and I were separated a huge chunk of this time and I was officially divorced from him in May, so the two relationships overlap. The other catch is there is quite a significant age gap between my boyfriend and myself (10+ years).

How will these factors affect us, and since he helps support me financially now and we are in a committed relationship, do we qualify for the conjugal family class?

 

[PMM]

Hi

My boyfriend and I have been considering trying to apply for conjugal relationship status so I can be in Canada with him (I'm a US citizen and we are in a heterosexual relationship). We have a few questions, as we are not totally sure if we qualify. Our story is as follows:

We met online about 2 years ago (around Feb. 2013) and began an online relationship in July. We met in person in December. I was living on the opposite side of the continent from him at the time, so I could only visit him every few months. I visited a second time for about 3 weeks in March, then again from June until early September. During this time, we obviously lived together. In October I moved about an hour away from him, so we visit weekly now. He helps support me financially and definitely know we're in this long term. There are also a few 'catches' here, based on some other topics I've read: I was legally married from the end of 2012 until May of 2014. My ex and I were separated a huge chunk of this time and I was officially divorced from him in May, so the two relationships overlap. The other catch is there is quite a significant age gap between my boyfriend and myself (10+ years).

How will these factors affect us, and since he helps support me financially now and we are in a committed relationship, do we qualify for the conjugal family class?

Not a chance for conjugal, you would be wasting your time and money. There is nothing stopping you from either marrying or living together in either Canada/US for a year to become Common/law.

 

[keesio]

Yup conjugal is not an option.

Your age difference is not a big deal unless it is really big (like at least 20+ to start).

 

[mp133]

There is nothing stopping you from either marrying or living together in either Canada/US for a year to become Common/law.

We were actually totally unaware that this was an option. When I visited during the summer for several months, there was some issue with the border and they were pretty adamant that I go back at the end of my stay. How can I go about starting the one year thing? I'm guessing the time already spent together wouldn't count towards the one-year. We would also have to do this after my lease is up, which means I have things in my apartment that would need to come with me. Will they be understanding of that, or will it just look really bad?

Also, I know everyone says applying while outland is better. Is that for people who are married only or will this affect us as well?

 

[MilesAway]

Showing up with all your things is almost guaranteed to get you sent home. You need to act like a visitor, since you cannot legally "live" in Canada until you are a PR.
You visit for 6 months, and before your 6 months are up, you apply to extend your stay as a visitor. You cannot work or study while you are visiting.

The 12 months must be consecutive.

Outland is the best bet for US applicants, absolutely. You can apply outland while in Canada.

 

[jamsham12]

We were actually totally unaware that this was an option. When I visited during the summer for several months, there was some issue with the border and they were pretty adamant that I go back at the end of my stay. How can I go about starting the one year thing? I'm guessing the time already spent together wouldn't count towards the one-year. We would also have to do this after my lease is up, which means I have things in my apartment that would need to come with me. Will they be understanding of that, or will it just look really bad?

Also, I know everyone says applying while outland is better. Is that for people who are married only or will this affect us as well?

Try the Swap visa, you should be able to obtain one, if you attended university and between the ages of 18-30, this is what I did so I could cohabit and work with my commonlaw partner who is a Canadian.

 

[mp133]

You visit for 6 months, and before your 6 months are up, you apply to extend your stay as a visitor. You cannot work or study while you are visiting.

The 12 months must be consecutive.

Outland is the best bet for US applicants, absolutely. You can apply outland while in Canada.

If I had to leave the country for any reason for any amount of time during that 12 months, does the 12 months start over? I'm pretty sure I read this somewhere.

Can I volunteer while on the visa? I know working is off limits, but not sure about volunteer work.

Sorry about all the questions, just want to make sure we are going about this the right way the first time. Don't really want to give up my job and housing if something is going to go wrong later to get me sent back to the US.

 

[canadianwoman]

If you apply outland while you are visiting Canada, you can leave Canada for short periods of time. If you apply inland , you should not leave. With outland, if you left for a week or so, this would not break cohabitation or cause your application to end. If for some reason they didn't let you back into Canada, your partner would have to come to the USA to live with you to get the 12 months of cohabitation, though.

 

[mp133]

If you apply outland while you are visiting Canada, you can leave Canada for short periods of time. If you apply inland , you should not leave. With outland, if you left for a week or so, this would not break cohabitation or cause your application to end. If for some reason they didn't let you back into Canada, your partner would have to come to the USA to live with you to get the 12 months of cohabitation, though.

Thanks, good information to know. Under what circumstances would they not let me back in? I think it would be almost impossible to get him moved here, so that is a bit of a gamble.

 

[canadianwoman]

Usually Americans are let back in. Bring proof of your ties to the US, if any. Bring proof you will be applying for PR. Some people pay early so at least they have the fee receipt. Be very clear that you are just visiting Canada.

 

[canuck_in_uk]

If I had to leave the country for any reason for any amount of time during that 12 months, does the 12 months start over? I'm pretty sure I read this somewhere.

Can I volunteer while on the visa? I know working is off limits, but not sure about volunteer work.

Sorry about all the questions, just want to make sure we are going about this the right way the first time. Don't really want to give up my job and housing if something is going to go wrong later to get me sent back to the US.

Generally, anything more than 3 weeks apart risks breaking the one year of cohabitation.

Yes, you can volunteer.