Marriage and PR card

[digits]

Hi all,

at the moment, my processing for my own PR card is almost complete. I was wondering about the best way to get my girlfriend into Canada as well, and am researching different options. I would like some advice for the following hypothetical situation.

Assume I will move to Canada as a PR in february
A few months latere, she will come to Canada on a one year work visum
If we would get married about 9 months later, would she be able to stay in Canada ? Or would she need to leave after a year and then return when her paperwork is processed ?

Thank you for any information !

Kind regards,
Digits

 

[screech339]

Hi all,

at the moment, my processing for my own PR card is almost complete. I was wondering about the best way to get my girlfriend into Canada as well, and am researching different options. I would like some advice for the following hypothetical situation.

Assume I will move to Canada as a PR in february
A few months latere, she will come to Canada on a one year work visum
If we would get married about 9 months later, would she be able to stay in Canada ? Or would she need to leave after a year and then return when her paperwork is processed ?

Thank you for any information !

Kind regards,
Digits

Your girlfriend would be able to stay in Canada after you get married and submit your sponsorship inland along with her OWP application same time before your gf's work visa expires. If your gf is working on a IEC visa, she would have to quit her work on last day of IEC and but she continue to stay in Canada as "implied visitor status" until her PR process is done. However she cannot leave Canada during the process.

If you submit PR sponsorship outland, your gf would have to maintain her visa status while in Canada as "implied status" does not apply here.

Screech339

 

[canuck_in_uk]

at the moment, my processing for my own PR card is almost complete. I was wondering about the best way to get my girlfriend into Canada as well, and am researching different options. I would like some advice for the following hypothetical situation.

Assume I will move to Canada as a PR in february
A few months latere, she will come to Canada on a one year work visum
If we would get married about 9 months later, would she be able to stay in Canada ? Or would she need to leave after a year and then return when her paperwork is processed ?

According to your previous posts, your girlfriend moved in with you April 2012. If she still lives with you, you became common-law as of April 2013. If that's the case, she MUST be declared on your current PR application.

If you are common-law but you don't declare her before you land as a PR, she will be EXCLUDED from the family class and you will never be able to sponsor her, even if you marry. As well, you would be committing misrepresentation, which places your own status in jeopardy.

 

[Alurra71]

I read back to your first posts when you started on this forum. You and your girlfriend became 'common law' in April of 2013. If you do nothing and land as a PR listed as single, you will NEVER, read this again and again, NEVER NEVER NEVER be able to bring her to Canada via family class sponsorship. Since you guys are already common law and you already have an application underway, my suggestion is that you add her as a common law spouse now and be done with it. If you do not choose to do it this way, you will be in for a nasty surprise later when you have to figure out another way to be with her again ...

 

[digits]

Your girlfriend would be able to stay in Canada after you get married and submit your sponsorship inland along with her OWP application same time before your gf's work visa expires. If your gf is working on a IEC visa, she would have to quit her work on last day of IEC and but she continue to stay in Canada as "implied visitor status" until her PR process is done. However she cannot leave Canada during the process.

If you submit PR sponsorship outland, your gf would have to maintain her visa status while in Canada as "implied status" does not apply here.

Screech339

Hi Screech,

it is on an IEC visa yes. So she would be able to stay, but unable to work ? I'll look up the "implied visitor status". Thank you


@canuck_in_uk and @Alura71

I appreciate you looking in to my situation. I've contemplated adding her to my application as well. The problem is, that due to my particular situation, I have no way to prove we have been living together for a year in the way the Canadian government defines it: no shared bank account , no shared invoices, the house is registered on my company's name, we receive almost no personal letters addressed to the both of us etc. Don't worry, all this stuff is legal where I live, it just makes it impossible to prove.

So when/if we decide to go via the family class, we'll say we have been dating for X years and have been living together since she moved to Canada. That we will be able to prove. I read on all the documents I filled in regarding spouses/common-law partner that you had to prove what you wrote. Since I couldn't do that, I decided not to add her. Was this the wrong decision ?

 

[canadianwoman]

If you continue to do it the way you have, you must be very careful to give no hint that you lived together. Even at an interview, she must be able to maintain that fiction.

Or you could add her to your application. It is true you do not have enough proof that you are common-law. But you can add her, give the proof you have, and have her take the medical exam. This way, even if CIC refuses to give her a visa as your common-law partner, you have at least declared her and had her examined. Then when you marry and try to sponsor her later, there should be no problem.

Or declare her and say she is non-accompanying. This way she is also examined, and you will then be able to sponsor her later when you marry.

There was a recent case on the forums like yours, where they were living together, one partner immigrated as single, and later tried to sponsor his partner. The visa was denied, and CIC said he should have declared her as his common-law spouse. They also thought they did not have enough evidence to prove common-law. But keep in mind the amount of evidence an applicant needs to prove common law is much more than the amount of evidence CIC needs to suspect common law.

 

[screech339]

That's the thing I wonder about the 12 month common law thing. While it is the law here in Canada, most countries outside of Canada probably don't have common law. They may have lived together for 12 months in a country that don't recognize common-law, it is not proven to be common law unless they applied for common law application. I can understand getting into a lot of trouble if one were to apply for inland common law sponsor less than 12 months after landing as PR. This has happened to one person. This person almost lost PR status due to misrespresentation. Not claiming common-law relationship before landing. This person now got a record on file of misrespresentation but get to keep PR. Mind you I said that it was done inland where common-law is legal in Canada. But what about outside Canada where it is not legal or not recognized.

Screech339

 

[Catou]

I've contemplated adding her to my application as well. The problem is, that due to my particular situation, I have no way to prove we have been living together for a year in the way the Canadian government defines it: no shared bank account , no shared invoices, the house is registered on my company's name, we receive almost no personal letters addressed to the both of us etc. Don't worry, all this stuff is legal where I live, it just makes it impossible to prove.

So when/if we decide to go via the family class, we'll say we have been dating for X years and have been living together since she moved to Canada. That we will be able to prove. I read on all the documents I filled in regarding spouses/common-law partner that you had to prove what you wrote. Since I couldn't do that, I decided not to add her. Was this the wrong decision ?

Yes, it was the wrong decision. It's not too late to get her added though and I definitely recommend you doing this. Add her, include all the evidence you can, which won't be enough but including it with an explanation is fine, and get her to take the medical exam. CIC is highly likely to say that your evidence isn't strong enough but long-term this won't matter. She will be recorded as your partner, and will be given a UCI number. She may be lucky enough to be given a visa or she may be told to come back as soon as she has evidence of living with you for 12 months. Either way, its a win/win. By being honest with them neither of you can be tripped up later. There would be no misrepresentation hanging over your head and the path will be clear when you later marry and apply, or become provably common-law.

 

[canuck_in_uk]

So when/if we decide to go via the family class, we'll say we have been dating for X years and have been living together since she moved to Canada. That we will be able to prove. I read on all the documents I filled in regarding spouses/common-law partner that you had to prove what you wrote. Since I couldn't do that, I decided not to add her. Was this the wrong decision ?

Yes, it was the wrong decision because it means you lied on your application and your partner will have to lie on her future application. That is fraud, a crime that could result in having your status revoked if CIC finds out.

There are many ways to show you are common-law even if you don't have a joint lease/mortgage or bank account

- Photos of you guys over the course of the relationship
- Multiple letters from friends and family confirming your relationship, including some notarized
- ANY mail received at the address with both names or individual names
- If no shared utilities, what about your mobile phone accounts
- Address on your IDs
- Letters from employers confirming what address they have on file for you guys
- Are you guys listed as each other's beneficiaries of any insurance, benefits etc.
- Proof of travel together (boarding passes, e-tickets, iteneraries, hotel reservations, matching passport stamps)
- Any money transfers between your bank accounts, if she transferred you monthly rent or anything
- Letters or statements from any departments within your government where you need to register your address, i.e. healthcare system, tax system

 

[digits]

Thank you for the information. Now, please don't jump to any conclusions based on the limited information I posted on this public board. There are some other private issues that complicate it a bit further.

My question was only to find out what would happen if two people, who hadn't been common-law before, decided to get married. That is answered I believe, so thank you for that!

 

[Bibut]

I have another question regarding the topic.

Me and my partner applied as common-law partners for MPNP. Then my partner asked for a marriage proposal lately. What if we get married after the VISA is being issued to us and before we fly to Canada?
Would there be problems with that?
By the way, we are planning to get married also in Canada upon arriving but we just really want to have a ceremony here in our country so that we can experience the event with out families.

 

[Alurra71]

I have another question regarding the topic.

Me and my partner applied as common-law partners for MPNP. Then my partner asked for a marriage proposal lately. What if we get married after the VISA is being issued to us and before we fly to Canada?
Would there be problems with that?
By the way, we are planning to get married also in Canada upon arriving but we just really want to have a ceremony here in our country so that we can experience the event with out families.

I don't' see how that would affect you at all. Now you are married on paper, instead of just common law marriage.

 

[Bibut]

Thanks for the response Alurra.

We are just afraid that the embassy will know that we are married and with their database, we are still on a common-law relationship.

 

[Alurra71]

Thanks for the response Alurra.

We are just afraid that the embassy will know that we are married and with their database, we are still on a common-law relationship.

If you get married before your visa is issued, then send them a copy of the marriage certificate. Again, common law is a marriage as far as CIC is concerned. It is just not a signed document like you will get when you get married. Make sense?

 

[Bibut]

Yes. You really cleared my doubts Alurra. Thanks for all the help. +1 for you.