How to obtain Common-Law when only allowed 6 months?

[ajwhite]

Hi there, I'm in the early stages of researching a plan to live with my partner. I live in the US, and she lives in Canada.

We have been together for about a year by spending typically 1 month together and 1 month away.

As a US citizen, I am only allowed 6 months in Canada. The Common Law arrangement requires a consecutive 12-month living situation in order to be accepted. How do I achieve this?

As a Conjugal partner, it is to my knowledge that in order to fall under this category, there has to be a reason why we cannot be together for 12 months *and* why we cannot get married. As far as I can see, we cannot be together for 12 months, but we could still get married.

Am I stuck in between these two options? Am I a candidate to for a conjugal sponsorship since, or not since we could still (I think) technically get married?

 

[chala]

Hi there, I'm in the early stages of researching a plan to live with my partner. I live in the US, and she lives in Canada.

We have been together for about a year by spending typically 1 month together and 1 month away.

As a US citizen, I am only allowed 6 months in Canada. The Common Law arrangement requires a consecutive 12-month living situation in order to be accepted. How do I achieve this?

As a Conjugal partner, it is to my knowledge that in order to fall under this category, there has to be a reason why we cannot be together for 12 months *and* why we cannot get married. As far as I can see, we cannot be together for 12 months, but we could still get married.

Am I stuck in between these two options? Am I a candidate to for a conjugal sponsorship since, or not since we could still (I think) technically get married?

You do not qualify as Conjugal because of the fact that you are able to live together. To qualify as a Common Law couple you must continuously live together as if you were married for a period of at least 12 months. This is easily achieved by simply crossing the border into Canada as a visitor and extending your stay by applying for a visitor extension visa before the end of the 6 months. Or you can simply cross the border and return shortly thereafter with your partner, although you must declare that you are only visiting Canada each time you re-enter. Visitor extension visas are normally granted by CIC to a Common Law partner if they show proof of financial resources and have no criminal or political red flags.

 

[ajwhite]

You do not qualify as Conjugal because of the fact that you are able to live together. To qualify as a Common Law couple you must continuously live together as if you were married for a period of at least 12 months. This is easily achieved by simply crossing the border into Canada as a visitor and extending your stay by applying for a visitor extension visa before the end of the 6 months. Or you can simply cross the border and return shortly thereafter with your partner, although you must declare that you are only visiting Canada each time you re-enter. Visitor extension visas are normally granted by CIC to a Common Law partner if they show proof of financial resources and have no criminal or political red flags.

Thanks Chala,

As an American, I do not have a visitors visa when I travel to Canada. Can I still request an extension for my stay? What should my reasoning be for requesting more time? Do I want to mention that I am looking to fulfill the 12 month obligation or is it satisfying enough to say that I am exploring a relationship where we have grown financially interdependent, etc..

 

[chala]

Thanks Chala,

As an American, I do not have a visitors visa when I travel to Canada. Can I still request an extension for my stay? What should my reasoning be for requesting more time? Do I want to mention that I am looking to fulfill the 12 month obligation or is it satisfying enough to say that I am exploring a relationship where we have grown financially interdependent, etc..

Of course you enter Canada visa-exempt the first time. To maintain legal status in Canada beyond the 6 months without leaving and re-entering, you simply apply for a visitor extension, which can be done online. The reason of fulfilling the 12 months obligation is common and acceptable by CIC from my own experience. Lots of couples on this Forum have applied for visa extensions for a 2nd and 3rd time and have been granted same.

 

[ajwhite]

Of course you enter Canada visa-exempt the first time. To maintain legal status in Canada beyond the 6 months without leaving and re-entering, you simply apply for a visitor extension, which can be done online. The reason of fulfilling the 12 months obligation is common and acceptable by CIC from my own experience. Lots of couples on this Forum have applied for visa extensions for a 2nd and 3rd time and have been granted same.

Thanks Chala, great input!

At the border they ask how long I plan to stay in Canada. I'm obviously planning on staying 6 months, but I may have trouble convincing them I still have ties to the US and plan to return.. Is there any risk in telling them I am only planning on staying 2 months? This isn't documented anywhere unless I received a Visitor Record, right? So realistically I could stick to the duration that my visits have typically been, 1-2 months, and stay the 6 and request an extension without any harm?

 

[chala]

Thanks Chala, great input!

At the border they ask how long I plan to stay in Canada. I'm obviously planning on staying 6 months, but I may have trouble convincing them I still have ties to the US and plan to return.. Is there any risk in telling them I am only planning on staying 2 months? This isn't documented anywhere unless I received a Visitor Record, right? So realistically I could stick to the duration that my visits have typically been, 1-2 months, and stay the 6 and request an extension without any harm?

You can even say quite honestly that you're not quite sure how long you will be staying. If you are a frequent visitor, they will see that from your passport and may not even ask. If for some reason they stamp your passport limiting your visit for a period of less than 6 months (which is unlikely) it's still okay because you can request the extension prior to the expiration of the allotted time.

 

[Betina]

As a US citizen, I am only allowed 6 months in Canada. The Common Law arrangement requires a consecutive 12-month living situation in order to be accepted. How do I achieve this?

You can live with her in Canada for 6 months and then both of you move to the US for 6 months.

CIC doesn't care where you live, as long as you live together for 12 consecutive months. So if you move together from Canada to US you will not be interrupting those 12 months.

 

[TG71]

You can live together for 6 months and continue to build a home together if you go back to the US for a week or two or even a month. As long as there is proof the home is also yours (lease with both names, utilities bills with both names, insurance, letters from neighbours, furniture or major purchase receipts etc.) it will be up to the immigration officer, however, as an American it is much easier and if your proof is genuine you have a good chance. We included more than the average amount of proof to show in fact this was OUR home in our case, in a similar situation. We figured it didn't hurt to provide extra information that proved our situation was real, if we thought it would help we sent it in with our package.