Inland application questions - Visa-exempt

[jesse91]

Hi there,

I am a Dutch citizen looking to apply for a common-law partner visa with my partner in Canada. We currently live in Australia and will have lived together for 12 months in June 2018. We are both on an Australian Working Holiday Visa that ends in October 2018. We are trying to decide between an outland or inland application, but leaning towards inland.

With outland, we won’t have the time to wait 12 months for it to be approved as our Australian visa runs out in October.

With inland, we would move to Canada after June, as soon as my partner is able to secure a job, and hopefully would submit application within 2 to 4 weeks. I would be on a visa-exempt TRV - and we would submit an OWP with the application and later submit an extension for the TRV.

• Is that enough time to gather evidence that we live together? Since we only need to prove that we live together in Canada for inland - do we also need to include evidence of our past 12 months living together in Australia?
• Is our application likely to be rejected if we have only been together for one year?

Thanks in advance. I am really looking for advice on how to approach the visitors visa for those that are from visa-exempt countries as well

Regards,
Jesse.

 

[evdm]

What you describe seems perfectly fine in terms of your sponsorship application but you will need evidence that you've lived together for over a year. Basically you will have to prove common law with things like joint bank accounts, rental agreements, shared expenses, utility bills, etc.

Your biggest stumbling block, however, might be your ability to enter Canada in order to do an inland application. You would have to be really convincing to the border officer that you are a visitor to Canada. Be prepared to show funds and the means to return to the Netherlands after 6 months (the term for a visitor visa) if any application is refused. It weighs heavily against you that you've been in Australia for so long, and it doesn't seem like you have any ties to the Netherlands. You are allowed to enter Canada under dual intent, but remember you are trying to enter Canada as a visitor, first and foremost.

Be prepared with a backup plan to convince the CBSA officer that you will (and have the ability to) leave Canada at the end of your allotted stay, and return to Europe. You are NOT allowed to work in Canada without a work permit. If the officer suspects that this might even be a possibility, you will be refused. If your partner is willing to vouch for you that they will support you if necessary, this might help. Also, never lie to a border guard. Misrepresentation is a serious offence and will see you banned from entering Canada for a period of time, potentially.

With seemingly very little ties to anywhere but Canada, you will have a hard time convincing the officer that you are a genuine visitor, but it can be done. Money, and the means to return to Europe will probably be the most important thing you can show to help your case for initial entry.

What might also help, is paying the fees for the sponsorship upfront. You have to submit a receipt with the application anyway, so if you have that done, it helps show the officer, if questioned, that you are serious about doing things the right way.