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Possibly on record for not being "Common law", despite actually being so for 3 years

Dellace

Full Member
Jan 8, 2019
38
1
Odd situation. I'm from usa. Came to canada on a visitor and extended each visa by 6 moths for 3 years. Our relationship has developed and we do not wish to be parted (We're a gay couple). So we're starting a sponsorship and path to PR for me. But we are mostly closest from his mother (Considering coming out and living in the exact same space permanently just to satisfy the law)

My Canadian boyfriend and i are common law in practice. He lives and works from one of his fathers properties. His mother lives on the top floor area with him. When i first arrived, we stayed together quite frequently. But to not arouse suspicion from his mother, we started sleeping down stairs. On rare occasion, he will sleep upstairs alone when his mother is awake.

So we have this situation where we sleep together from room to room and on very rare occasions, not at all. The logic being "This is our house. We sleep where we want".

But fire inspectors came by randomly. We answered that have separate rooms. So now police and fire department have it on record as us not staying "together" in the same room (Downstairs area has game systems and PC and such). At the time, we had no inkling about what that could have meant in terms of our plans to apply.. If and when this some how ends up impacting my ability to apply for PR under sponsorship, what should i do? Are so inflexible that they would not consider our story? We cover all the basic requirements for sponsorship, but this one quirk is giving me extreme anxiety.

Am i overthinking this? Are random police records somehow shared with immigration? They have my name, picture of my passport and a picture of the bed that's downstairs they took for inspection purposes.

For now, we're going to continue living together in the same room just to prevent this. Renew my visa as common law and build the groundwork for our sponsorship/PR application and try and seek an immigration lawyer to verify and make everything is golden. Any insight is valued, thank you.
 
Last edited:

canuck78

VIP Member
Jun 18, 2017
52,981
12,775
Has he been declaring himself common law on his taxes for the past 2 years? The fire department doesn't share information with immigration.
 

Dellace

Full Member
Jan 8, 2019
38
1
Has he been declaring himself common law on his taxes for the past 2 years? The fire department doesn't share information with immigration.
Can't say yet. Will give an answer later as he is at work right now. I will create another thread and ask if marriage makes this process any easier. If there was any oversights by us in our absent mindedness that leads to our common law not being so, will a marriage solve this? It's not something we were anxious to do yet. But it seems like a natural thing to do now.

Right now, our number one goal is making sure i can stay inside the country indefinitely, without fear of being told to leave and work my way up to citizenship. Thank you!
 

canuck78

VIP Member
Jun 18, 2017
52,981
12,775
If you have been living as a common law couple for 3 years you could have applied 2 years ago. Have you been declaring that you are common law when you apply for your visitor extensions?
 

Dellace

Full Member
Jan 8, 2019
38
1
If you have been living as a common law couple for 3 years you could have applied 2 years ago. Have you been declaring that you are common law when you apply for your visitor extensions?
Yes, that's what we did and this has me extremely anxious and afraid. My time to apply for another visa is coming up and im really worried that they'll think ive been lying
 

scylla

VIP Member
Jun 8, 2010
92,972
20,567
Toronto
Category........
Visa Office......
Buffalo
Job Offer........
Pre-Assessed..
App. Filed.......
28-05-2010
AOR Received.
19-08-2010
File Transfer...
28-06-2010
Passport Req..
01-10-2010
VISA ISSUED...
05-10-2010
LANDED..........
05-10-2010
Odd situation. I'm from usa. Came to canada on a visitor and extended each visa by 6 moths for 3 years. Our relationship has developed and we do not wish to be parted (We're a gay couple). So we're starting a sponsorship and path to PR for me. But we are mostly closest from his mother (Considering coming out and living in the exact same space permanently just to satisfy the law)

My Canadian boyfriend and i are common law in practice. He lives and works from one of his fathers properties. His mother lives on the top floor area with him. When i first arrived, we stayed together quite frequently. But to not arouse suspicion from his mother, we started sleeping down stairs. On rare occasion, he will sleep upstairs alone when his mother is awake.

So we have this situation where we sleep together from room to room and on very rare occasions, not at all. The logic being "This is our house. We sleep where we want".

But fire inspectors came by randomly. We answered that have separate rooms. So now police and fire department have it on record as us not staying "together" in the same room (Downstairs area has game systems and PC and such). At the time, we had no inkling about what that could have meant in terms of our plans to apply.. If and when this some how ends up impacting my ability to apply for PR under sponsorship, what should i do? Are so inflexible that they would not consider our story? We cover all the basic requirements for sponsorship, but this one quirk is giving me extreme anxiety.

Am i overthinking this? Are random police records somehow shared with immigration? They have my name, picture of my passport and a picture of the bed that's downstairs they took for inspection purposes.

For now, we're going to continue living together in the same room just to prevent this. Renew my visa as common law and build the groundwork for our sponsorship/PR application and try and seek an immigration lawyer to verify and make everything is golden. Any insight is valued, thank you.
Common law requires that you prove continuous cohabitation. When you apply as common law, you'll need to show proof like joint utility bills, joint bank accounts / credit cards, other evidence dating back a year showing the same address, etc. Your partner definitely needs to change his CRA status to common law if he hasn't already. If he hasn't changed his status with CRA yet and you plan to apply for PR soon, he will need to refile his last tax return to ensure he's classified as being in a common law relationship.

Agreed the inspector thing will have no impact.
 

scylla

VIP Member
Jun 8, 2010
92,972
20,567
Toronto
Category........
Visa Office......
Buffalo
Job Offer........
Pre-Assessed..
App. Filed.......
28-05-2010
AOR Received.
19-08-2010
File Transfer...
28-06-2010
Passport Req..
01-10-2010
VISA ISSUED...
05-10-2010
LANDED..........
05-10-2010
Yes, that's what we did and this has me extremely anxious and afraid. My time to apply for another visa is coming up and im really worried that they'll think ive been lying
You really need to check if your partner has changed his tax status. If not and he has himself listed as single, recommend he change his status asap and refile his past tax returns where he should have declared himself common law. This is a key piece of evidence that IRCC considers when confirming you are common law.
 

scylla

VIP Member
Jun 8, 2010
92,972
20,567
Toronto
Category........
Visa Office......
Buffalo
Job Offer........
Pre-Assessed..
App. Filed.......
28-05-2010
AOR Received.
19-08-2010
File Transfer...
28-06-2010
Passport Req..
01-10-2010
VISA ISSUED...
05-10-2010
LANDED..........
05-10-2010
Yes, that's what we did and this has me extremely anxious and afraid. My time to apply for another visa is coming up and im really worried that they'll think ive been lying
I would file for PR as soon as you can. Sooner or later your extension is likely to be refused because you aren't meant to live in Canada on visitor status. This should be your primary concern right now.
 
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Dellace

Full Member
Jan 8, 2019
38
1
Common law requires that you prove continuous cohabitation. When you apply as common law, you'll need to show proof like joint utility bills, joint bank accounts / credit cards, other evidence dating back a year showing the same address, etc. Your partner definitely needs to change his CRA status to common law if he hasn't already. If he hasn't changed his status with CRA yet and you plan to apply for PR soon, he will need to refile his last tax return to ensure he's classified as being in a common law relationship.

Agreed the inspector thing will have no impact.
Thanks so much for the advice. These little details we keep finding and fixing is bringing a lot of relief to me.
 

Dellace

Full Member
Jan 8, 2019
38
1
I would file for PR as soon as you can. Sooner or later your extension is likely to be refused because you aren't meant to live in Canada on visitor status. This should be your primary concern right now.
Yeah, this is becoming a massive source of anxiety. We plan to put in a sponsorship/PR ASAP. Thanks.
 

scylla

VIP Member
Jun 8, 2010
92,972
20,567
Toronto
Category........
Visa Office......
Buffalo
Job Offer........
Pre-Assessed..
App. Filed.......
28-05-2010
AOR Received.
19-08-2010
File Transfer...
28-06-2010
Passport Req..
01-10-2010
VISA ISSUED...
05-10-2010
LANDED..........
05-10-2010
Yeah, this is becoming a massive source of anxiety. We plan to put in a sponsorship/PR ASAP. Thanks.
I'll be honest. You've already waited a very long time to apply and are incredibly lucky you have gotten this many extensions as a visitor. That's very unusual. You really really need to focus on getting the PR application submitted as soon as you possibly can. Generally speaking, what you are doing makes IRCC unhappy and is seen as a violation of visitor visa privileges.
 

Dellace

Full Member
Jan 8, 2019
38
1
I'll be honest. You've already waited a very long time to apply and are incredibly lucky you have gotten this many extensions as a visitor. That's very unusual. You really really need to focus on getting the PR application submitted as soon as you possibly can. Generally speaking, what you are doing makes IRCC unhappy and is seen as a violation of visitor visa privileges.
Let our guard down and dragged feet too much. Really bad, i guess. Anyhow, i need to reapply for visa soon due to status running out in Feb. We will try and send the sponsorship/PR application as quickly as possible after. Would you know what i should do should the visa renewal get rejected? What typically happens? They will either have not received it yet or be in the middle of processing my sponsorship during that. Trying to plan for any future outcomes.
 

canuck78

VIP Member
Jun 18, 2017
52,981
12,775
Let our guard down and dragged feet too much. Really bad, i guess. Anyhow, i need to reapply for visa soon due to status running out in Feb. We will try and send the sponsorship/PR application as quickly as possible after. Would you know what i should do should the visa renewal get rejected? What typically happens? They will either have not received it yet or be in the middle of processing my sponsorship during that. Trying to plan for any future outcomes.
Would try to file for sponsorship before you file for the extension if possible. If your extension gets denied you'll be given 30 days to leave Canada.
 

Dellace

Full Member
Jan 8, 2019
38
1
Would try to file for sponsorship before you file for the extension if possible. If your extension gets denied you'll be given 30 days to leave Canada.
Would you know such an order is able to be fought? How likely it is to win against it? Being forced away from my spouse and put into a situation where im homeless, unless my spouse shells out for rent while i live in the USA.. it would be a dire situation worth fighting tooth and nail to overturn. Especially considering if they effectively ban me from Canada for some time! (The thought puts me in a horrible mental state)
 

scylla

VIP Member
Jun 8, 2010
92,972
20,567
Toronto
Category........
Visa Office......
Buffalo
Job Offer........
Pre-Assessed..
App. Filed.......
28-05-2010
AOR Received.
19-08-2010
File Transfer...
28-06-2010
Passport Req..
01-10-2010
VISA ISSUED...
05-10-2010
LANDED..........
05-10-2010
Would you know such an order is able to be fought? How likely it is to win against it? Being forced away from my spouse and put into a situation where im homeless, unless my spouse shells out for rent while i live in the USA.. it would be a dire situation worth fighting tooth and nail to overturn. Especially considering if they effectively ban me from Canada for some time! (The thought puts me in a horrible mental state)
If your visitor extension is refused, you can try applying to restore your status. However given how long you've been in Canada as a visitor, I would say the chances of that being approved are low. If restoration is refused, you could try to remain in Canada without status (i.e. illegally). However this will cause some complications with the PR application and there's always a possibility you may be forced to leave (i.e. ordered removed). The fact you have nowhere to live in the US is irrelevant - the US is your home country and the only place where you are authorized to live at this time. You are only allowed to visit Canada at this time (not live here) and have been here extremely long as a visitor now (it's quite surprising you've gotten this many extensions approved). If your extension is refused, the best option would be to follow the rules and leave Canada and stay out for a number of months before attempting to return again for a short (few day) visit. If you are ordered removed and want to fight it - you'll be looking at hiring a lawyer which will cost thousands with no guarantee of success. You want to do what you can to avoid all of this.

This is what you need to do: Focus on getting your PR application in asap. You have dragged your heels on this for far (far) too long and you are in a potentially messy situation now due to your own inaction. Submit your PR application BEFORE you apply for your next visitor visa extension. If you have submitted the PR application and can mention this in the visitor extension application, this will greatly increase your chances of approval. If you don't, I would say there's a high chance of refusal given how long you've been in Canada now.

When you apply for the extension, do not mention that you have nowhere to live in the US. This will weaken the application by demonstrating that you are in fact living in Canada and effectively have no ties to the US.

Again, focus all of your attention on getting the PR application in as soon as you can. It's unfortunate you have done nothing for so long - but this can still be fixed if you do the right thing to legalize your status in Canada as a permanent resident.