Do I need to be living 2 years with my partner before I apply outland?

[Charl00Char]

When applying for the outland spousal Canada application, my wife read somewhere that we needed to be living together for 2 years before applying. Could someone clarify if this is true or not? I have been living with my wife since Sept 2014 and she has had to go back to Canada because her visa in the UK ran out last month, and I'm still living in the UK.

 

[CDNPR2014]

i think your wife is confused. there certainly is no rule about outland applicants needing to live with their spouse for 2 years prior to the application. thechnically, it is assumed outland married couples are not living together, as that is the reason for applying for PR status (to be able to live and make a life together in the same country).

my guess is she is referring to "condition 51" which is a condition (that may or may not be getting eliminated by the government) that states any couple who have been married for less than 2 years and have no children together at the time of application submittal MUST cohabitate for the 2 years immediatelyAFTER the applicant lands as a PR. This has nothing to do with the application. this is more about protecting sponsors from getting scammed for sponsorship (ie: someone marrying a canadian for sponsorship then disappearing after landing).

If couple is commonlaw and not married, then it is required for them to prove cohabitation for at least consecutive 365 days prior to submitting the application. married couples do not need to prove this.

 

[ImABule]

When applying for the outland spousal Canada application, my wife read somewhere that we needed to be living together for 2 years before applying. Could someone clarify if this is true or not? I have been living with my wife since Sept 2014 and she has had to go back to Canada because her visa in the UK ran out last month, and I'm still living in the UK.

No.

You must live together for at least one continuous year to qualify as common law. Since you are married this does not apply.

What your wife is confusing is that with couples married less than 2 years and don't have any children together when they apply the applicant will recieve Condition 51 on their permanent resident confirmation, which means that once the visa is issued and the applicant lands they will have a conditional PR that stipulates that the applicant must live with the sponsor for 2 years in a conjugal relationship or PR is revoked.

 

[Charl00Char]

Thank you very much for clearing this up for me! The whole process itself seems very confusing.