Long distance couple: becoming common-law on working holiday? Work permit?

[UmbrellaBoy]

I met my current Canadian boyfriend online in 2010. We've been "involved" since then inextricably, but it's been rocky and dramatic and wasn't always "official" (indeed, part of it was a love triangle). I spent from September 2011 to September 2012 in Canada on a working holiday visa to be near him (though he was living with an ex that year; more drama...)

I'm back in the US now. Things finally have stabilized and it's getting quite serious. Thinking about the future now, we're starting to explore the immigration options.

Civil marriage was the obvious first thought, but we're gay and for family reasons wouldn't want a big celebratory ceremony any time soon. I hear not having pictures of something like that can hurt the application process, and we're afraid it might look suspicious me just showing up after a long-distance thing and just getting a civil license right away and then applying for immigration immediately.

So then I was reading about the common-law option. I may have the opportunity (as currently a student again) to do the working holiday program again for a year in the next six months. We could use this year to establish a year of living together and shared utilities and accounts and stuff...but then what?

My one-year work permit would be up at that point. Unless there is a way to get that extended while the process is ongoing? I could probably save some to stay as a non-working visitor a few months beyond the year, but I couldn't just expect him to support us both on grad student income.

And how do we prove the relationship is genuine? Ok, a shared lease for an apartment, shared utilities and accounts, we have photos from the past three years but they're sparse due to the long-distance. We have a Facebook log going back to 2010 and which clearly shows we really have been "involved," but it's been a rocky relationship (several breakups and arguments about commitment and periods of No Contact until we got back together) and I don't know how that hurts things. There was the year I spent living and working in Canada to be near him (not living together), but how would they know that was why?

Also, I had this thought: I assume we must apply for the immigration process to start AFTER the 1-year living together has been complete. I wonder then if it would make more sense to live the first three months as a visitor on savings and then re-enter Canada and activate my working holiday permit so that after 12 months of living together I'd still have three months on my work permit and then...what? If I'm already working under a valid open work permit when the process starts, is there a way to extend it temporarily while the application is being processed inland?? And how long does that open work permit approval take (under this timeline, I'd still be covered for three months once the application based on the the 12-months living together started)? I don't want to be out of work for too long, but a few months could be ok.

Also, I don't know if I'm allowed to ask this, but since I'm an American they don't ever mark anything on my passport. Would I theoretically be able to "get away with" signing a lease with my guy, working for three months back in the US (but claiming that as "live together" time getting mail there and stuff), and then go up under the working holiday permit and apply after 9 months (ie, 12 total on the lease) and then...I dunno? Will they be able to tell if I was really in the US the first three months? If so I guess I'd just live on savings instead but it would be nice to work SOMEwhere during that time instead of loafing.

Basically, if we lived together 12 months and I was still under a valid working holiday permit when we applied...can this be extended to let me work while the app is processed?

And what are the chances such an inland app would be approved? It would be common law, so no wedding ceremony pics, but friends and family would attest to it being romantic, I'm sure, we'd have this shared lease and accounts, we could prove we've known each other (at that point) almost 5 years and made visits (including my previous year in Canada to be near him). We could take more pictures during the year living together. But is that enough to prove were really a couple and not just a Canadian helping a good friend immigrate?

 

[scylla]

Also, I don't know if I'm allowed to ask this, but since I'm an American they don't ever mark anything on my passport. Would I theoretically be able to "get away with" signing a lease with my guy, working for three months back in the US (but claiming that as "live together" time getting mail there and stuff), and then go up under the working holiday permit and apply after 9 months (ie, 12 total on the lease) and then...I dunno? Will they be able to tell if I was really in the US the first three months? If so I guess I'd just live on savings instead but it would be nice to work SOMEwhere during that time instead of loafing.

I'll help with this question. No - absolutely not.

You need to physically live together for a year. If you leave for three months - then you're not living together. Just because your passport isn't stamped doesn't mean they don't know when you come and go. Both countries swipe passports (and this info is stored in a database). Both countries exchange information. If you lie on your application and CIC figures this out, you could very well end up being charged with misrepresentation (lying to gain immigration benefits). Misrepresentation will result in having your application refused and likely a one year ban from Canada. Plus you can expect your next application to be scrutinized with a fine-tooth-comb. Do things the right way unless you want to screw up your life.

 

[UmbrellaBoy]

Ok. That answers that. So I'd live on savings combined with him supporting us for a few months. Then activate my one-year working holiday visa. After 12-months we'd apply. I'd still have three months on my work permit if the first three months living together were as a non-working visitor. But then what? Step 1 for inland apps is currently 11 months (though Outland it's only 29 days, which wouldn't be a big hassle, I could just stay at my parents for that month). But what do people recommend?

Should we establish a year living together using my working-holiday and then I go back to the US and apply Outland? Or should we try to apply inland while I'm there on the working holiday?

Outland is much faster for Step 1 currently, it looks like, but once Step 1 of Outland is approved...can I move back in with him? Can I get an temporary open work permit until the rest of the application is done? Or would I have to wait in the US the whole time?

Inland seems riskier (no appeals), etc...but would it let me work in the meantime if I already was there on a working holiday work permit?

 

[Rob_TO]

You should apply outland while residing in Canada. Applying outland only means your application is processed outland, it doesn't matter if you are living in Canada or elsewhere. You could stay in Canada with an outland application in progress, by simply applying for visitor status extensions, every 6 months.

There is no work permit associated with an outland app. You would have to wait until PR is completely finished. Usually for US citizens, outland apps take around 10 months to complete and then you have full PR.

If you apply PR inland you will just get stage 1 finished around 11 months, then still need to wait an additional 8 months for full PR. In majority of cases outland application is better for US citizens no matter if they are staying in Canada or the US.

 

[harryiswaiting]

I really would also suggest that you try to live together throughout the application processing because you are considering a common-law application. This is something the immigration officers look for and they do not like it if you're living apart after this type of application, so I am told by my lawyer (whom I hired after having our common-law application refused, appealed, and then finally accepted). So yes, apply outland, but try to live together, if possible. Our case is much different than yours, but I think it's best to keep this in mind. One thing they also seem focused on is proving that you are not just boyfriend(s)/girlfriend but in a marriage-like relationship. You really need to prove that your lives are totally combined financially, emotionally and physically through plenty of documentation.

 

[UmbrellaBoy]

Well that sucks because how do they expect us to support ourselves for a year or two while waiting for permanent residency?? I was offered a permanent job last time I was working in Canada on working holiday, but the labor market opinion for that visa got turned down. 1 income families are hard to sustain these days!

I'd commute back and forth to a border town but I hear daily commuting is frowned upon. I'd go out, work a few months, and come back for extender visits while remaining on the lease, but I was told not to try that (though maybe it's not illegal during the outland process given that strictly speaking I'm not required to live there after the 12 months have been established.)

It sounds like they basically reward the rich. If I won the lottery then we could survive 1-2 years living together as a family without me working. But since we're not rich...they won't let you work "in the meantime" while the application is processing!!! This isn't the age of 1-income families anymore.

But I'll ask this: once you send in your packet, how often do they check in on you while processing it?

Also, what about this (I know it may be technically illegal): if his dad gave us the money to live on for the year (you say 10 months for outland but the website says 22!) and then I "volunteered" at his small business in return? I know there's a small chance they could find out, but I'm not too worried as this is all "in the family."

Thoughts?

Also, how would this affect our chances: at the end of 12 months of living together, THEN we also get a civil marriage in a small ceremony with friends, and then I go back to the US to work? If we were applying spousal rather than common-law, would they be more understanding about me living/working in the US in the meantime?

Or this: what if we got married in a US state soon, and then applied in Canada without me ever living there again first?

It seems like they punish US citizens for being visa exempt. Someone from another country could apply outland and live (and work) in their home country while waiting and it wouldn't be suspicious. But since US citizens theoretically "could" come to Canada as an extended visitor, they're expected to do so while waiting, even though that means giving up an income...

 

[HoneyEllis]

Umbrella Boy,
Expect little sympathy on this forum, most of the members are enduring long periods of separation from their loved one and have little time for someone from a visa-exempt country who is trying to bend the rules and is proposing to work illegally in a family business.

Others here have given you good advice (like applying Outland while being in Canada - which is not open to lots of people on this forum because of visa requirements) I suggest you heed the advice and do what you can to make it work LEGALLY.

As an FYI, I met my husband while in Canada on a working holiday permit. Once the permit expired - we couldn't live on one income - so I returned to my home country to work for 8 months while my PR application was being approved. You know what, we survived. We sucked it up and got on with it, and now 2 years later it seems like a distant memory.

Good luck

 

[Ponga]

+1

Maybe you could look into finding work where you could telecommute. Sure, you'd probably not make much money but you'd not have to worry about working illegally in Canada. It's what I chose to do so that I could remain in Canada with the love of my life...while we wait!

 

[UmbrellaBoy]

HoneyEllis, I think you misunderstand me; I'm in the exact same situation you are in basically, and want to be able to do what you did: work in my home country while the application is going through. I'm not complaining about the separation. I'm complaining about the fact that they won't let me work IN Canada, but also will count it against me if I go back to the US to work in the meantime. Like I should just sit for 10 to 22 months and make my partner support us both??

I've been told working in my home country (the USA) will cause them to question the common-law status or marriage because I "could" live with him as a visitor. Well maybe, but I'd just be sitting around without work for the sake of a technicality and we probably can't afford that financially.

How did your application get approved with such a short relationship history? Weren't they suspicious, especially since you returned to your home country to work for financial reasons? I've been told if I go back to the US to work while my outland app is processing that will make them question if the relationship is truly conjugal, even if we had 12 months of domestic life proven for common law??

 

[screech339]

They would question your relationship if you were applying by common-law route which require you to live together for 12 months in a row. So hard to do that if you intend to work in US while waiting for PR outland. If you are married, CIC won't hold it against you if you continued to work in US while PR outland is in process.

Screech339

 

[screech339]

It seems to appear to me that common-law application may have no choice but to apply inland together or both live together outside Canada and apply outland. Don't think one can actually apply for common-law while one lives separately in different countries. Since common law requires that they live together for at least 12 months, it doesn't mean you can break the living arrangement for months at a time once the application is submitted.

So it appears that in your case, if you want to take the common-law sponsorship, you either have to stay in Canada the whole time or your partner moves with you and live in US thw whole time and apply outland.

If you want to live separated while PR process is in process outland, you got no choice but to get married.

Screech339

 

[UmbrellaBoy]

Ahhhh ok. Is that true? I thought common-law merely required that you had lived together for 12-months at some point in the (recent-ish) past, but after establishing the 12 months, could break it while the app was in process. I guess not, you have to keep living together.

Well then, a marriage it is!

However, I still wonder which is best: getting a civil marriage right away and starting the process, going to live with him for at least 12-months on a working-holiday visa while the app is in process (and then leaving to work at home if it takes longer than 12 months)...or establishing ourselves as a couple for 12-months first (by living together, etc) before getting married and starting the process with me back in the US at that point...

Like I said, we've been involved for 3 years, but long-distance and it was on-and-off for a while. If we get the civil marriage, there likely wouldn't be a huge ceremony for family reasons, but (like I said) we'd move in together after the marriage for at least a year using my possible working holiday 12-months. What is going to be "enough" for them to prove that our relationship is real? There are (some) photos going back 3 years, facebook threads (though rocky), gifts/love-letters I sent him (though I'm not sure he kept dated envelopes), and family could testify, he met my family last year a couple times and I've met his more recently a few times.

I'm just worried they won't take us seriously because we were long-distance. But I'm paranoid it's a catch-22: we can't be together because of the immigration laws, but we can't overcome the laws without being together. What do they accept as proof of genuine-ness when the relationship has been long-distance or when the marriage is very new?

 

[HoneyEllis]

How did your application get approved with such a short relationship history? Weren't they suspicious, especially since you returned to your home country to work for financial reasons? I've been told if I go back to the US to work while my outland app is processing that will make them question if the relationship is truly conjugal, even if we had 12 months of domestic life proven for common law??

I think three things helped us:

We had solid /good evidence (we had a mortgage together (which shows a serious commitment) and good letters of support, including from his Mom as well as friends)

We had no red flags - same language, no big age gap, I'm an Australian citizen so I'm visa exempt, no criminal record, military service etc

Our file was also pretty straightforward - no dependants for either of us, neither of us had previously sponsored / been sponsored

So basically we had nothing to slow us down (like background checks) and had enough proof that we weren't slowed down by interviews etc.

Good luck with your application

 

[Rob_TO]

Ahhhh ok. Is that true? I thought common-law merely required that you had lived together for 12-months at some point in the (recent-ish) past, but after establishing the 12 months, could break it while the app was in process. I guess not, you have to keep living together.

This is not true. Once you establish common-law, you can then live apart. As long as the time living apart is not too long (like many years) then it should have no impact on the PR application.

Read here for more info:
http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/resources/manuals/op/op02-eng.pdf
5.36. How can someone in Canada sponsor a common-law partner from outside Canada when the definition says “is cohabiting”?
According to case law, the definition of common-law partner should be read as “an individual who is (ordinarily) cohabiting”. After the one year period of cohabitation has been established, the partners may live apart for periods of time without legally breaking the cohabitation. For example, a couple may have been separated due to armed conflict, illness of a family member, or for employment or education-related reasons, and therefore do not cohabit at present. Despite the break in cohabitation, a commonlaw relationship exists if the couple has cohabited continuously in a conjugal relationship in the past for at least one year and intend to do so again as soon as possible. There should be evidence demonstrating that both parties are continuing the relationship, such as visits, correspondence, and telephone calls.

This situation is similar to a marriage where the parties are temporarily separated or not cohabiting for a variety of reasons, but still considers themselves to be married and living in a conjugal relationship with their spouse with the intention of living together as soon as possible.

For common-law relationships (and marriage), the longer the period of separation without any cohabitation, the more difficult it is to establish that the common-law relationship (or marriage) still exists

So it should be no problem to establish common-law, then move back to the US to work while outland app is being processed. CIC even specifies employment as a valid reason to live apart. You should make it easily apparent that you intend to return to Canada to live as soon as the app is completed.

 

[UmbrellaBoy]

Oh good!

I thought someone on here said that employment was NOT a valid reason to stay apart, or that leaving merely to be able to work would suggest that it wasn't genuine.

And yes, a mortgage sounds like it would be good evidence. Do you think, if possible, it would be good for us to make a down payment on a condo together and for me to keep sending up my half of the mortgage while living in the US? It would be tight, but might be more doable (and maybe I could even convince my parents to let me live there during that time...though I'd hope it was under a year rather than nearly two!)