Non-Resident Spouse - INFORM CRA OF YOUR CHANGE IN STATUS TO MARRIED/CL

[jomz]

If you were not married or common-law by December 31st, 2012, your status on the most recent Option C will still show "single". But you should update your status with CRA so that your 2013 tax return will reflect same.

This is a good document to include with your sponsorship application to help proof your relationship. It will show that you are taking steps to merge your finances. Also, if you are both contributing to RRSP as a couple or have added your spouse as a beneficiary, include this evidence with your sponsorship application.

SenioritaBella, I have debated adding my spouse to my benefits, but as he is not a resident I cannot add him because he is not covered under provincial health care. I made the call to Manulife but they said my life event change will only be permitted once my husbands is a resident of Canada. I was able to make him beneficiary on my life insurance though.

 

[SenoritaBella]

Yeah, that's a good one. Also, if you can update your marital status at work, the bank, in your will, etc include those too. In my opinion, it doesn't make sense financially to be paying benefits for a spouse who isn't here to use it.

SenioritaBella, I have debated adding my spouse to my benefits, but as he is not a resident I cannot add him because he is not covered under provincial health care. I made the call to Manulife but they said my life event change will only be permitted once my husbands is a resident of Canada. I was able to make him beneficiary on my life insurance though.

 

[Ponga]

*Whew*

From what I can determine, it's an easy process to simply have my CL sponsor amend her previously filed returns by submitting an RC65 `Marital Status Change' form, along with the required T-1ADJ

Yippee! No extra demons trying to comandare my conscious mind today!

*EDIT*
I just realized that the RC65 would be redundant, as she's already made the change online, but will need to modify her details.

 

[Rob_TO]

Rob, please correct me if I'm wrong, but I think that an issue may arise with CIC if:

sponsor and applicant became common law in tax year 2012
sponsor filed 2012 taxes in 2013 and stated "single" as marital status in the year 2012
sponsor called CRA in 2013 and stated marital status changed in 2013

Right, it would be a big red flag to the VO if an applicant became common-law sometime in 2012... but the Option C printout stated taxes were done in 2012 as single.

As was also mentioned, simply adding your new spouse to CRA is good proof to include. You can do this online with the CRA "my account" feature, and then just print out the page that states marital status.

SenioritaBella, I have debated adding my spouse to my benefits, but as he is not a resident I cannot add him because he is not covered under provincial health care. I made the call to Manulife but they said my life event change will only be permitted once my husbands is a resident of Canada. I was able to make him beneficiary on my life insurance though.

My company does our benefits through Sunlife. It's funny that when we became officially common-law, I had no idea about the rule that your spouse MUST be receiving OHIP coverage, in order to be added onto benefits. But when I went to my HR department to add her, they just made me fill in her basic info and that was it. Neither my HR department nor Sunlife ever asked once what her immigrant status was, or if she had OHIP. So we used benefits for her for almost a full year! I didn't find out until after she had already gotten PR that technically she wasn't eligible at the time. Lucky for us they never noticed.

 

[Ponga]

Right, it would be a big red flag to the VO if an applicant became common-law sometime in 2012... but the Option C printout stated taxes were done in 2012 as single.

I just realized something. My CL partner's divorce wasn't final until last year, so I don't know if she had filed as single, or separated for the previous year (she's currently not home)?
If she filed as separated, would this still be a red flag, since it is technically possible to be both separated from your married spouse and in a CL relationship, with a new partner, simultaneously?

I suspect the answer would be...yes.