Including my Conjugal Partner's Wife in my application forms

[Steph C]

My Conjugal partner is not able to divorce hence he is still married to his ex. On the generic application form it says you must include your spouse etc.. so do I include her in the application and add her to the additional family information form (IMM 5406) ?
Do I have to fill out a Schedule A - Background Information (IMM 5669) for her? She would never sign the form or agree to it.

 

[CharlieD10]

NO, of course you don't include her. For the purposes of this sponsorship, you are sponsoring your partner, his relationship with his wife is not relevant to the sponsorship as far as including her name on any forms.

 

[Steph C]

Are you 100% sure? The form specifically instructs to include his spouse, I don't want to lie on the form. It would be completely silly to include her but I want to follow instructions as close as possible. Do you suppose for the purpose of his visa I need to include his marriage certificate? It says include all birth, marriage certificates..

 

[CharlieD10]

Yes, I am 100% sure. You are sponsoring HIM as your conjugal partner, she has NO place in this sponsorship and therefore CANNOT be included as his spouse. For all intents and purposes of this sponsorship, YOU are his spouse, not this person he is married to and separated from. You cannot include her, unless of course you want the application sent back to you.

No, you do not include his marriage certificate. The purpose of a marriage certificate in spousal sponsorship is to prove the relationship of applicant to sponsor where they are married to each other. Therefore, where the applicant is married to someone else, you don't include the marriage certificate for that marriage.

You are sponsoring your conjugal partner, you are to read the instructions and complete the forms in relation only to YOU and HIM and YOUR RELATIONSHIP. So, yes, I am sure you can't include his wife, or anything relating to his relationship to her, except where you need to show why you cannot live together and why you are not married to each other and therefore do not qualify as married or common-law, hence your applying under the conjugal class.

 

[toby]

But don't you have to include past lovers, and get medicals for them?

 

[Steph C]

Ok, good to hear she has nothing to do with it! It didn't make any sense for me to include her but I was taking the instructions literally.

However don't you think his marriage certificate would prove our barrier to marrying each other? Otherwise they would just be taking our word on it. I think we need to prove those barriers to qualify for conjugal.

 

[CharlieD10]

Yes, you do need to prove that there is an immigration barrier and a barrier to marrying. So his marriage certificate becomes part of your "supplementary evidence", not included with the main documents which substantiate the relationship between you and him. More than you need the marriage certificate though, you need proof that that relationship was irretrievably broken down and that your relationship has existed for more than a year. So concentrate on that. See the following from OP 2:

5.49. What happens if the conjugal partner (principal applicant) is married to another person?
Persons who are married to third parties can be considered conjugal partners provided their
marriage has broken down and they have lived separate and apart from their spouse for long
enough to establish a conjugal relationship with another person. In this case, they must have
separated from the legally married spouse and established a conjugal relationship with the
conjugal partner and been in that relationship for at least one year. A conjugal relationship cannot
be legally established where one or both parties continue in a conjugal relationship with their
spouse.
Establishing a conjugal relationship takes a period of time; it is expected that the date from which
the conjugal relationship exists will be some reasonable time after separation from the legally
married spouse has occurred. Although a couple in a conjugal partner relationship might have
known one another while one or both was still with their legally married spouse, they could not be
in a conjugal relationship until there was a separation from the legally married spouse and the
new conjugal relationship established. See also What happens if a common-law partner (principal
applicant) is married to another person, Section 5.38 above.
The conjugal partner must satisfy an officer that they are separated from and no longer cohabiting
with the legal spouse. Evidence may be in the form of a signed formal declaration that the
marriage has ended and that the person has entered into a conjugal partner relationship. An
officer may require that the person produce other written evidence of a formal separation or of a
breakdown of the marriage. Acceptable documents include a separation agreement, a court order
in respect of custody of children identifying the fact of the marriage breakdown, documents
removing the legally married spouse(s) from insurance policies or will as beneficiaries (a “change
of beneficiary” form). In the above circumstances, the legal spouse of the principal applicant will not be examined and
therefore is not a member of the family class.

 

[Steph C]

Thanks Charlie, I owe you a lot :-* You just saved us 3 months of delay while my forms got sent back to me

 

[Steph C]

On the additional family information form, when you leave the form blank under the spouse heading, you must sign in a space that says "I certify that I do not have a spouse or common-law partner, ex spouse or former common-law partner"

I suppose he should sign that even if it's not true?

 

[CharlieD10]

No, no...this is where he fills in YOUR information. Remember, for the purposes of the sponsorship, his spouse is you! So he can't say he doesn't have one here, he has to fill in your name. He cannot sign the declaration here, that would void the entire purpose of your application.

That declaration is used for dependent children over 18 when families are being sponsored, if they do not have a spouse or common-law partner. You are sponsoring your spouse as a conjugal partner, he fills in YOUR information in this slot.

 

[Steph C]

Thanks,

Under Marital status then should we write Conjugal?

 

[toby]

In all this exchange of practical, valuable information, I think my suggestion was given short shrift. My feelings are hurt. :-(

 

[CharlieD10]

In all this exchange of practical, valuable information, I think my suggestion was given short shrift. My feelings are hurt. :-(

Bahahaha!

 

[Steph C]

Toby.. actually.. I've printed off a lot of extra pages. What was your last name again?

 

[Steph C]

But seriously.. may I ask what should I write under marital status? Him "married" and me "single?" Write both "Conjugal?" Should I stop bothering you and phone the help line?