I live exclusively outside Canada with my common law partner. Can I sponsor her to get her PR.

[thenatlab]

Hi, I am a Canadian by descent (born outside Canada) and have always lived exclusively outside Canada. Am I eligible to sponsor my common law partner to get her PR in Canada?

I downloaded the IMM1344 form and in the drop down menu for "the principal applicant is your...", the only available options are:

- common law partner living inside Canada
- conjugal partner living outside Canada

Just beside this field is "b) other" where I can type a very short description of the relationship but too short to for me to input "common law partner living together outside Canada". But, without selecting any option from the drop down menu, I can not validate the form, therefore, I can't submit the form.

We are in a common law relationship - we've been living together for a year and a half and have plenty of proof. How do I correctly enter this information? Any advice would be appreciated. Thank you.

 

[canuck78]

You would have to convince IRCC that you will be moving to Canada when she receives PR. I believe that will be pretty difficult. You can certainly try but you should only try if you are planning on moving to Canada. I can imagine you may need to move to Canada in advance to reassure IRCC that you plan on living in Canada for the first time in your life.

 

[thenatlab]

You would have to convince IRCC that you will be moving to Canada when she receives PR. I believe that will be pretty difficult. You can certainly try but you should only try if you are planning on moving to Canada. I can imagine you may need to move to Canada in advance to reassure IRCC that you plan on living in Canada for the first time in your life.

Thank you for the reply! Yes, I do plan to move to Canada. Would correspondence with a landlord there be enough proof of my intent on getting a place to move into once I get there? I plan to get my SIN once I get there so I can start working. What else could I do to prove that I really intend to stay in Canada for good?

I'm wondering whether it would be an easier process if I flew to Canada with my common law partner (with a visitor visa) and apply for her PR while there.

 

[canuck78]

Thank you for the reply! Yes, I do plan to move to Canada. Would correspondence with a landlord there be enough proof of my intent on getting a place to move into once I get there? I plan to get my SIN once I get there so I can start working. What else could I do to prove that I really intend to stay in Canada for good?

I'm wondering whether it would be an easier process if I flew to Canada with my common law partner (with a visitor visa) and apply for her PR while there.

Yes it would be easier if you were already living and working in Canada. Is your gf from a visa-exempt country?

 

[CanUK333]

Thank you for the reply! Yes, I do plan to move to Canada. Would correspondence with a landlord there be enough proof of my intent on getting a place to move into once I get there? I plan to get my SIN once I get there so I can start working. What else could I do to prove that I really intend to stay in Canada for good?

I'm wondering whether it would be an easier process if I flew to Canada with my common law partner (with a visitor visa) and apply for her PR while there.

YES it's definitely easier for you to go and set up in Canada with her as a visitor and apply INLAND from within Canada. I am a Canadian Citizen who lives in the UK and wanted to sponsor my husband but once looking into this forum and seeing the amount of proof needed that we intend on living in Canada it seemed way easier for us just to go there and apply from within. And that's even with me being a citizen and having a SIN, so your case would be even more difficult to prove intent on moving.

Another thing to take into consideration if you do go to Canada first is to remember that your wife can only enter as a visitor at this time, so when applying for a visa (unless she's from a visa-exempt country) or even when going through immigration at the airport DO NOT freely mention that your wife is going to Canada to immigrate or apply for PR, she is only coming to visit you. This is because if you freely mention this, they can deny her entry as they think she will "Over Stay". Of course if the immigration officers questions you about it or you get pulled into a room for further questioning you must divulge your plans, but never freely mention it if they don't ask.

 

[thenatlab]

No, she's not from a visa-exempt country. If she were to go on a visitor visa and her visa runs out before she gets granted her PR or worse, gets denied her PR, what can we do?

Yes it would be easier if you were already living and working in Canada. Is your gf from a visa-exempt country?

 

[thenatlab]

YES it's definitely easier for you to go and set up in Canada with her as a visitor and apply INLAND from within Canada. I am a Canadian Citizen who lives in the UK and wanted to sponsor my husband but once looking into this forum and seeing the amount of proof needed that we intend on living in Canada it seemed way easier for us just to go there and apply from within. And that's even with me being a citizen and having a SIN, so your case would be even more difficult to prove intent on moving.

Another thing to take into consideration if you do go to Canada first is to remember that your wife can only enter as a visitor at this time, so when applying for a visa (unless she's from a visa-exempt country) or even when going through immigration at the airport DO NOT freely mention that your wife is going to Canada to immigrate or apply for PR, she is only coming to visit you. This is because if you freely mention this, they can deny her entry as they think she will "Over Stay". Of course if the immigration officers questions you about it or you get pulled into a room for further questioning you must divulge your plans, but never freely mention it if they don't ask.

She's not from a visa-exempt country so I'm not sure what would happen if she ends up not getting her PR by the time her visa runs out or gets denied PR - then she would've overstayed in Canada. What are the consequences?

 

[canuck_in_uk]

Hi, I am a Canadian by descent (born outside Canada) and have always lived exclusively outside Canada. Am I eligible to sponsor my common law partner to get her PR in Canada?

I downloaded the IMM1344 form and in the drop down menu for "the principal applicant is your...", the only available options are:

- common law partner living inside Canada
- conjugal partner living outside Canada

Just beside this field is "b) other" where I can type a very short description of the relationship but too short to for me to input "common law partner living together outside Canada". But, without selecting any option from the drop down menu, I can not validate the form, therefore, I can't submit the form.

We are in a common law relationship - we've been living together for a year and a half and have plenty of proof. How do I correctly enter this information? Any advice would be appreciated. Thank you.

Scroll down in the drop down menu...

She's not from a visa-exempt country so I'm not sure what would happen if she ends up not getting her PR by the time her visa runs out or gets denied PR - then she would've overstayed in Canada. What are the consequences?

She can easily maintain valid status by either including an OWP app with an inland PR app or applying to extend her visitor status.

 

[CanUK333]

She's not from a visa-exempt country so I'm not sure what would happen if she ends up not getting her PR by the time her visa runs out or gets denied PR - then she would've overstayed in Canada. What are the consequences?

Yes, like the member said above. If you apply INLAND she can apply for an Open Work Permit simultaneously (worth doing regardless if she wants to work or not. Doesn't mean you have to have a job offer already, hence "open"). This permit is usually approved within 3-5 months and lasts up to 2 years or the duration of her application processing. This is good because once she gets an OWP she'll be able to stay at least throughout her application up to 2 years. With an OWP she can work and it's also easier to get bank accounts and health care. I highly recommend applying for the OWP along with your PR application. You send it and pay for both at the same time.

If you don't apply for the OWP, she will have to extend her visitor visa. If she does this, you'll need to state that you are in the middle of applying for PR and I believe you send the receipt/proof of the application. I've read on here people having their visitor visas extended up to a year. However, most of the examples on here are people from visa-exempt countries so not sure if it's tricker to extend if from a non-visa-exempt country.

 

[smallcoffee]

FYI, the OWP will not get you healthcare in Quebec