Meeting my PR obligation outside of Canada with my Canadian spouse?

[world_lobster]

Hello Leon/Toby and general forum users,

I'm a Permanent Resident of Canada, currently living in Canada with my Canadian partner. We would like to leave Canada next year to live in my country of origin, but we don't want to lose my PR status as we may want to return to Canada some day.

According to the letter (IMM 5518 B) that came with my PR card, I risk losing my PR status if I'm not present in Canada for 730 days over a five-year period UNLESS I'm accompanying a Canadian citizen (which I would be - my partner). This seems to be a solution to our problem, but I would like to know a bit more about this clause before acting on it. My questions are:

1) Is this definitely true? Is there a more official document stating this? I wouldn't want to lose my PR status by trusting a non-legal document or by misunderstanding it.

2) Do I need to officially declare my intention to live abroad with a Canadian citizen? Or can we just go ahead without need for official approval?

3) When living abroad together, should we accumulate or apply for any kind of documentation to prove that we did so?

4) My partner and I have been living together for long enough to qualify as common-law spouses, but we're not formally registered as common-law spouses in any way. Is there any advantage to doing so? And if so, how do we do it?

Thank you in advance for any advice, useful information or personal insights.

WL

 

[scylla]

1. Yes - it's true. If you wish, you can find the official statement on the CIC web site.
2. No need to officially declare.
3. Yes - it's a good idea to gather some kind of supporting documentation in case you're ever questioned.
4. You should declare yourselves as common law when you complete your 2012 taxes to ensure your status is clear and there's no question you're common law.

 

[world_lobster]

Thanks very much Scylla. Very helpful.

Further information for anyone else interested:

1. The facts are supported in Appendix A of this document: [www] cic.gc.ca/english/information/applications/guides/5445ETOC.asp#appendixA

3. Question. What documentation is best? Shared utility bills? A shared property lease?

4. When renewing my PR card, evidence is required to show that my spouse is (a) my spouse and (b) a Canadian citizen. According to the document mentioned above, (a) should take the form of a marriage licence or the common-law spousal alternative (whatever that is) while (b) is easily met with my partner's passport. Since evidence of a spousal relationship is required, there IS value in officially registering as common-law spouses (though I'm confused as to how to do this - the only clear information I've found yet concerns residents of Nova Scotia and not Quebec. Is it as simple, as Scylla suggests, as declaring it on a tax return? If so, what documentation do we receive once we've done this?) or getting married.

Additional question: when (and to whom) am I presenting this evidence if no declaration of living abroad is required? Is this evidence only presented when applying for PR card renewal?

 

[steaky]

4) Look at your COPR, does it shows your partner's name (the person willing to assist)? If so, the COPR is one evidence the person is your partner.

 

[world_lobster]

4) Look at your COPR, does it shows your partner's name (the person willing to assist)? If so, the COPR is one evidence the person is your partner.

Sadly it does not show my partner's name. I did not come to Canada on spousal sponsorship and we did not declare any kind of partnership at the time of my immigration as a skilled worker. More evidence required!

 

[steaky]

Sadly it does not show my partner's name. I did not come to Canada on spousal sponsorship and we did not declare any kind of partnership at the time of my immigration as a skilled worker. More evidence required!

How about your tax returns?

 

[world_lobster]

How about your tax returns?

Yes, maybe. We're in the process of filing our first tax returns now. Trouble is, while the forms ask each of us whether we have a spouse, it doesn't seem to ask for further details: it doesn't ask the status of our relationship (married, common-law - though I suspect it's really asking "are you married?") and it doesn't ask us to name our spouse. Without these specific details being on file at the tax office, maybe our tax forms won't be enough evidence either.

An easy solution to this would be to get married! Then our marriage license/certificate would be our evidence. But we'd prefer not to get married simply out of administrative convenience. :S

 

[steaky]

Trouble is, while the forms ask each of us whether we have a spouse, it doesn't seem to ask for further details: it doesn't ask the status of our relationship (married, common-law - though I suspect it's really asking "are you married?")

But the form ask you to tick the box that applies to your marital status on December 31, 2012. In your case, just tick "Living common-law" and enter your partner's info.

 

[world_lobster]

But the form ask you to tick the box that applies to your marital status on December 31, 2012. In your case, just tick "Living common-law" and enter your partner's info.

Aha! You are correct. The T1 form does indeed ask for detailed spousal information and has an option for "Living Common-Law". This is a good way of declaring our status as common-law spouses then. And presumably we'll receive some document relating to that at some point in the future, and that will suffice as our evidence. Hooray!