I have a question. Me fiance and I have been together for seven years. I have recently started living with him in June. We are starting the sponsorship program and are about to hand in the papers to the po box address closest our location. The office said with this our son can go to school as well. Is this correct or do we absolutely have to get married now in order for the process to work faster. Also we have proof I have visted him multiple times in Canada as well. I just need a bit of help to make this go smoothly before we submit. We need proof that this is done in order to put our son in school at least.
Conjugal Sponsorship
- Thread starter AdamsCatherine
- Start date
Hello!
Would you mind sharing a few more details?
You're applying outland, correct? What country are you originally from?
A couple quick items:
1) The entire spousal/CL/conjugal outland application is mailed to Mississauga. After your fiance is approved to sponsor you, the application will be forwarded to your country's visa office to process your application.
2) From CIC Guide 3900 "Sponsorship of a spouse, common-law partner, conjugal partner or dependent child living outside Canada":
"A conjugal partner is a foreign national residing outside Canada who is in a conjugal relationship with a sponsor for at least one year, but could not live with the sponsor as a couple. This term applies to both heterosexual and homosexual couples. This category was established for partners of sponsors who normally would present an application as spouse or common-law partner but cannot due to circumstances beyond their control (e. g., immigration barrier, religious reasons or sexual orientation). Thus, they could not live together for a period of at least one year.
In most cases, the foreign partner is also not able to legally marry their sponsor and qualify as a spouse. In all other respects, the couple is similar to a common-law couple or a married couple, meaning they have been in a bona fide (genuine) conjugal relationship for a period of at least one year.
However, a significant degree of attachment and mutually interdependence between both partners must be demonstrated. They must also provide proof of the obstacles or restrictions that prevent cohabitation or marriage."
If you can legally marry your fiance, or live together for a year to become common law, IMO you should. Conjugal applications are very heavily scrutinized, and carry a significantly higher burden of "proof of genuine relationship".
Also, if you're already living with him here in Canada, you probably don't qualify as a conjugal partner.
3) If your fiance is a Canadian citizen, your son should be a Canadian citizen as well. Have you applied for his citizenship?
Would you mind sharing a few more details?
You're applying outland, correct? What country are you originally from?
A couple quick items:
1) The entire spousal/CL/conjugal outland application is mailed to Mississauga. After your fiance is approved to sponsor you, the application will be forwarded to your country's visa office to process your application.
2) From CIC Guide 3900 "Sponsorship of a spouse, common-law partner, conjugal partner or dependent child living outside Canada":
"A conjugal partner is a foreign national residing outside Canada who is in a conjugal relationship with a sponsor for at least one year, but could not live with the sponsor as a couple. This term applies to both heterosexual and homosexual couples. This category was established for partners of sponsors who normally would present an application as spouse or common-law partner but cannot due to circumstances beyond their control (e. g., immigration barrier, religious reasons or sexual orientation). Thus, they could not live together for a period of at least one year.
In most cases, the foreign partner is also not able to legally marry their sponsor and qualify as a spouse. In all other respects, the couple is similar to a common-law couple or a married couple, meaning they have been in a bona fide (genuine) conjugal relationship for a period of at least one year.
However, a significant degree of attachment and mutually interdependence between both partners must be demonstrated. They must also provide proof of the obstacles or restrictions that prevent cohabitation or marriage."
If you can legally marry your fiance, or live together for a year to become common law, IMO you should. Conjugal applications are very heavily scrutinized, and carry a significantly higher burden of "proof of genuine relationship".
Also, if you're already living with him here in Canada, you probably don't qualify as a conjugal partner.
3) If your fiance is a Canadian citizen, your son should be a Canadian citizen as well. Have you applied for his citizenship?
The fact you are currently living together makes you ineligible to qualify as a conjugal couple. Do not submit a conjugal app or it will be rejected.AdamsCatherine said:
Get married or become common-law, and then apply as such.
As Rob_TO stated, a conjugal app will fail. There are no legal barriers preventing you from living together or getting married.AdamsCatherine said:
Thank you for the replies. So if we were to marry like super soon maybe in the next few days. How long does it take for us to get proof we submitted the application for spousal sponsorship?
AdamsCatherine said:
I'm not sure what "office" you are referring to in your original comment. Either they are not giving you very good advice or you are misunderstanding the process. When you say "office", was that canadian immigration, a border office, an embassy or a consultant?AdamsCatherine said:
getting married does not speed up the process for getting PR. Couples can apply by commonlaw or as married. There really is not a time difference in processing for each category.
Assuming you are applying outland, the acknowledgement of receipt (AOR) from cic , which notes the application has been received can take anywhere from 2-4 weeks or even longer, depending on the speed of CIC and volume of applications. If you are applying inland, it can take several months to receive the AOR, if at all.
Keep in mind you need to have all the required documentation for your application to be considered complete by cic. this includes a marriage certificate, which is not given to you right after getting married. depending on the jurisdiction, it can take weeks or longer to get.
the application is not sent to the "po box closest to your location". If you do that, it will not be processed and will be sent back to you. the entire application package (the sponsor and applicant applications) get sent to a specific CIC office that is listed in the application guide, which is Mississauga. The application starts in Mississauga, then CIC will internally transfer it to the appropriate visa office. It is very important you read the application guide carefully and send it to the right location.
Your son may or may not be eligible to go to school if he is not currently a PR/canadian citizen. if he is in primary or secondary school, you will need to contact the specific school board and ask them about their rules. This decision is up to the school board, and while "the office" you went to suggests getting an AOR will allow him to go to school, they really shouldn't have told you that unless they called the specific school board you plan to send your son to and they confirmed that information. CIC can not say what a school board will and will not do - only the school board can say what they will or will not do. They may accept the AOR as proof of his application or they may require him to have a study visa - which means you will pay out of pocket for schooling until approved as a PR. If he is in college, then he would need a study permit to go to school. If your spouse is a canadian citizen, then your son may be as well and he doesn't need to apply for PR. If he's considered a canadian citizen, then he can start school at any time.
bottom line, i think you need to forget what this "office" you went to told you, do some more homework on this forum and read the application guide very carefully. it does not sound like you were given correct advise or if you did, it is not being communicated clearly on here.