panicing over being able to prove 12 months! help!

[Gary_87]

ok guys! I'm telling myself not to panic and everything will go well but I can't stop thinking about this one problem we might encounter.

our application for outland commonlaw is a straightforward process. we have everything!

HOWEVER

I am worried about one thing. proof of having lived together. we have it. but I don't think it'll satisfy to vo.

for example, when we moved into our new place everything was legit and we have all the proof eg lease etc. but for our proof with our living arrangement from jan- november we may have problems.

we dont have paper statements as we are paperless. we have some random ones from various months but not dating all the way back. we have a letter from the landlord confirming we lived there but we can't get it notarized as he's too busy and rarely here. we have a notarized letter from a friend who lived below us saying we lived there. and that's it. no lease as there wasn't one.

I keep feeling the io will look at our app, think its perfect then look at the living arrangement and think' they only lived together from november and the rest is not strong enough' when infact its been a year.

is there anything I can do here? I really need some help!

 

[Sweden]

I don't think there is much else to do, apart from maybe getting a declaration of common-law notarised for you and your partner. It's not compulsory for your application but if you feel like your application is a bit weak on that part, then I think it's worth it... it's only for you and your partner to go in front of a notary, and declare that you have been living together since that date, and sign it in front of the notary. The notary won't certify the content of the letter, but it will make it more official. Also - you have the paper from CRA that your partner declared you and added you as common-law, so that's an added proof.

Explain the situation ( paperless etc) and show what you have been doing to get as many proofs as possible (from the landlord, from your friend, et as you have explained here), and the VO will see that you have tried your best to get as much information as possible.

Others may come up with other suggestions.

Good luck,
Sweden

 

[amikety]

Hey Gary,

Even though we are paperless, many times the statements are available online and you can print them. Many banks are this way. You should log on and check into it or ask your bank for help. Y

 

[Rob_TO]

We had hardly any actual proof of living together. We started living together in Feb 2011 in my condo i already owned, so my partner was not able to be added to any lease or mortgage since it was already in my name. Then in Oct we moved to a new place, and mortgage was carried over so she still couldn't be added to it. So by Feb 2012 we were common-law having lived 12 months continuous in 2 homes, with everything in my name only.

The only "proof" we included in our app was:
- A copy of the benefits statement from my employer, that my partner was added onto my benefits plan as common-law family member, in Feb 2012.
- official mail (from CRA and phone company) addressed to my partner, showing her address is same as mine
- 1 testimony letter from my mom stating our relationship was genuine and we were living together (though no specific dates given as to when we moved in together)
- in the "development of relationship" question on questionnaire IMM form, we stated we moved in together Feb 2011.
- in the Background declaration IMM form, under "Addresses" for past 10 year, my partners address starting Feb 2011 was the same address as mine

Umm and that was it. Very minimal.

One additional proof you could do is, get your sponsor to immediately change their status to Common-law with the Canada Revenue Agency via "my account": http://www.cra-arc.gc.ca/myaccount/ . When you make the change it will show your sponsor's name, status as common-law, the date the common-law status became official, and your name as partner... all on 1 page in "my account". You can print off this page, and include in the application to CIC as evidence of your common-law date (if you declare it to CRA it becomes more official).

 

[Gary_87]

thanks for the help!

we have the commonlaw dec signed and were changing the cra etc asap. she's also listed on all my forms as commonlaw.

the bank has my old transactions but only under my current address.

something else that was silly of me was I didn't change these addresses until april. we were both In europe for a month after we moved in together and it just slipped my mind so that won't help. I guess ill draft a letter and put it all together explaining as best I can. I just hope they read it and know were trying our best and that were genuine.

anyone else been through this? there are hiccups at every corner!

 

[Gary_87]

thanks rob.

were also working at putting me kn her benefits as commonlaw.

so what we have then should be ok. I guess its up to the io if they think yr lying.

thanks for that!

 

[ldjames]

the bank has my old transactions but only under my current address.

Hi Gary- when we were putting all our stuff together we went through all our printed bank statements and highlighted transactions that matched receipts for groceries, restaurants etc- do you have regular debits for rent? Ideally it shows the landlords name matching with your letter and is from a joint account (or again you can show payments from your spouse into the account to cover rent) but I expect you'll be fine- CIC tend to ask questions before skipping to any rejection.

Personally we had a four month gap in proof as we moved back to the UK and lived with my parents for a bit (with some Europe trips inbetween) and 1 month between lease expiry dates here in Canada where we stayed with a friend. Our only proofs for these were in the letters of testimony as there were no rent receipts etc. We think we've provided all we can but will see what happens when we get to In Process I suppose!

 

[Rob_TO]

thanks rob.

were also working at putting me kn her benefits as commonlaw.

so what we have then should be ok. I guess its up to the io if they think yr lying.

thanks for that!

For employee benefits, you should note that the benefits page showing family members/dependents will show an effective date the family member was added... which should match the date you officially got common-law status. So if you are already common-law but are just now getting the benefits changed at your workplaces, see if they can back-date it to the actual date you became common-law.

 

[Gary_87]

thanks rob.

and noID james we don't have that. we paid by check that was cashed out of my partners accounts.

I've taken screenshots of our joint account but my partner used hers and it doesn't say who cashed what. also were not really receipt people.

I guess were gonna rely on testimonials and our letter from the landlord and all our photos and stuff. we have the cra and will change that asap (waiting on account info) and well see about the benefits. hope it can help.

application is starting to eat my soul.

 

[Gary_87]

is it a problem if they can't backdate it? if we've only gotten around to it now is it still ok? it'll still be done before we send the application off.

think were almost there!

 

[Sweden]

is it a problem if they can't backdate it? if we've only gotten around to it now is it still ok? it'll still be done before we send the application off.

think were almost there!

Considering that you became commonlaw beginning of January and January is not over yet, I think it's Ok if it shows today's date! if there was a 6 months gap then it would be more questionable, but in your case, I think it's fine!

Once the application is sent off, you'll feel a huge weight lifted off your shoulders - and then you can start obsessing about waiting times etc ! but at least you know that your application is in line to be reviewed...

Just an advice : keep a copy ( or a scan) of your entire application once you have completed it - once it's all signed etc, so if you need to check something later on, you have something to refer to.
Good luck,
Sweden

 

[Gary_87]

thankyou sweden! were just waiting on police certs now then comes the fun task of organising the thing haha.
soon! then I can join the feb waiting game!

 

[AnaMaria]

You could also include joint tax return for 2012.

 

[Gary_87]

not gonna be possible there. my old job won't release their t4 until the end of feb and I dont really wanna wait that long haha. should have enough though!