Supporting documents for Sponsor (detailed explanation):
Proof that sponsor will move to Canada:
For those of you who need to provide proof that the sponsor is moving back to Canada once the applicant receives permanent residency, here is an example of some of the things we included to show proof:
> Communication with each other and friends regarding our plans of moving
> Severing ties to current country (this includes getting assets valued and planning to sell assets - only once approval is granted, arranging for shipment of items we are not selling, an asset list of what we will sell and ship and donate, tax clearance arrangements, letter from sponsor's employer acknowledging sponsor will resign upon applicant's approval - this is a tough one to do, but we played open cards with our employers)
> Proof of job and house searches - since we are not in Canada yet, we did not rent an apartment or find jobs. But what we did was research where we'd like to live and where we'd like to work. I put in screenshots and e-mails between the sponsor and realtors as well as employment agencies. E-mails showing job applications even if not approved, and also screenshots of housing research on Kijiji over the past three months. Anything I could find. We also have a friend in Oakville who wrote us a letter stating that she knows about our plans and will assist us when we arrive to get jobs and housing etc.
> Research regarding living costs and financial preperation - in this section we put in our budget that we intend to stick to each month, with average rental prices, public transport info we researched, food prices, utilities etc. We made it clear that we know what to expect in terms of cost of living in the area where we intend on living. We even put in average salries that we expect to earn, and how we will be able to stay within our budget. We also showed our current savings, and showed that we could live approx. 10 months off of our future savings once we move. (i.e budget for two people = 3500 CAD per month, savings = 35 000 CAD so we intend to be okay for roughly 10 months).
> Transportation and insurance - we also put in what we will do in terms of transport, that we will apply for our Full G and bring aling our driving experience letters etc. In terms of health care, we also explained that we know about the waiting period and we put in e-mails of discussions with Blue Cross for private health care for the first few months. It just shows that we are prepared.
A few other things we added were discussions with newcomer organizations, plans to restore our credit history, quotes for plane tickets and so forth. Rather too much than too little I say.
Employment and Source of Income:
Since we are outside of Canada, there were no option C or notice of assessments for the sponsor. what we did in stead was to give lots of evidence of both the sponsor and applicant's "employability", education, current reference letters, resumes, diplomas and also tax certificates from our current country. In this section we also added our savings and a letter from my father (notarized) where he said that he would provide financial support until we get onto our feet. So in this section we basically explained that we CAN get jobs in the area where we are going, we have applied, and we are not going to rely on social assistance of any sorts.
Supporting documents for Sponsored Person (detailed explanation):
Proof of relationship to Sponsor:
> Proof of cohabitation - since we are a common-law couple, we had to prove 12 months continuous living. For us this was easy as we have tons of bills being sent to us each month via e-mail, so we printed out the latest 12 (July 2017 - July/August 2018) as this was when we were compiling the app. We also included some random bills and pay stubs from 2015 - 2018 just to show that we have been living together for a few years. We also added a lease agreement from March 2014 to date.
> Vehicle insurance - I added proof that my partner is listed on my insurance as a driver for a vehicle on my name, and that this vehicle is parked at the same address as the lease etc.
> Payments between us and shared expenses - I added printouts from my bank to show that we transfer money to one another on a regular basis, as we share most of our expenses each month.
> Joint savings account - I added a letter from my bank showing that we both own a shared savings account that has roughly 10 000 CAD in at the moment.
>Other proof: The rest of the proof of our relationship consisted of two statutory declarations from family members confirming our relationship, six personal letters from friends/family members that spoke about our relationship and that we have told them about our plans of moving to Canada (shows some extra intent for the sponsor to move), some chats between us and Facebook screenshots of our engagement and anniversaries, chats about holiday getaway plans etc. We know that chats are only for conjugal relationships, but we put in the max 10 pages anyway, just in case.
>Photographs: We put in 20 photographs from 2012 to 2018, some on special occasions with friends and family etc. Each photo has details at the back starting with the name of the applicant, date of photo, who is in the photo from left to right, occasion of photo (i.e wedding, birthday etc.)
So yeah, that's about it. I truly hope that I can pay it forward and that this might help another couple in the future. I believe this can be customized for married couples etc. only difference is we had to include additional proof of living together and statutory declarations, whereas married couples need to provide wedding details and a marriage certificate. If anyone wants any additional info, please ask!
If possible, you can see the tabs to get an idea of what we provided and where. All blue tabs are for the sponsor and sponsor's supporting documents. The green tabs are for the principal applicant.
The whole app weighed roughly 1.7 kg.
Application's three different parts (Part A has sponsor forms on top, then PA forms, then the one form for sponsor and PA) The paper in the top right corner is simply a cover page we put in the box at the courier, just to show what they can expect inside the bubble wrap.
The final application before I put everything on top of one another. From left to right = bottom of application to top.
