PR obligations -proving you lived with (now estranged)common law in UK - help!!

[Frozenrose]

If anyone can assist me that would be great.. here is my situation. I am trying to establish whether or not I can use some time outside of the country toward my PR when I was living with a canadian partner. My apologies for far too much personal information - normally I would not do this, but i feel it may aid any assistance that anyone can give by having the 'full picture'

I applied for my PR while living in Canada on a work permit which was allocated to me after completing my undergraduate degree in Canada. While there I was in a relationship for 3+ years to a Canadian. This relationship became 'unhealthy' and due to his behaviour, he was issued a restraining order and incarcerated for assault. While he was in jail, I moved back to the UK as I needed familial support. As anyone who has experienced this sort of relationship may know, they are very hard to end. Due to my own feelings (read: stupidity) after he was released I tried to make it work again, and as he was a French citizen, he flew to france with my cat, my parents agreed (kindly, and I guess in order to support my decision) to pick him up as by this time my passport had been sent to Canada as I had received notification that my PR had come through ( I have this documented by a flight receipt and my pet information). During this time we legally should not have seen each other due to the restraining order. He lived with my family for 4 months, we flew to spain together (I have the tickets to prove it), went to France (I have the pictures), and among other things registered on the electoral roll here. After all the fun of the summer was over, he 'misbehaved', I learnt my lesson (old dogs, new tricks) and we threw him out of our house and out the country (we do not have an exit flight receipt or documentation). I am not saying any of this for sympathy, nor am I looking to be criticized. Rather, as I mentioned I think the back story may assist.

I am now returning to Canada and trying to meet my obligations. I am moving back to Canada to start a University course in a different city (Edmonton) rather than Toronto, and am looking to rebuild my life. If I leave in June I will be able to keep my residency provided i do not leave the country for more than 3 months within the subsequent two years. I want to be able to use the time when i was living with my Canadian partner and have the above documented evidence to prove he was here. I also have a phone bill from our time in canada. I am seeking advice regarding whether or not this is enough evidence to prove he was living here and was my partner. I do not want to contact him about this due to the manner in which our relationship ended. If anyone can advice that would be great. Clearly an additional 3-4 months of flexibility in meeting my obligations would be most helpful.

I should add - in terms of proof, in addition to the electoral roll, flight info, photos, phone bill, I also have some of his expired ID (eg. OHIP and Driver's license) to prove he is Canadian. I have no idea whether the restraining order would be an issue or not in terms of effecting me using this time (even though we shouldn't, we still did see each other). I know this is complicated, please don't judge or comment on my past decisions - I already learnt my lesson - I just need some advice x

Basically, in case it was not clear - my question is - will the 'evidence' I have be enough to prove that we were living together in a common law relationship for 3+ months - being able to use time to pop home to see family would be great and will effect when I book my flight to leave. Please help.

Thank you so much for your time.

 

[Leon]

IMO, because of the restraining order and because you are no longer in this relationship and not on friendly terms with him in order to get his statement that he was indeed living with you, forget it. If you can meet your residency requirements without it, what is the problem? If you really want to re-build your life in Canada, you will not need to leave for months at a time in the next 2 years. Worst case scenario, if you do leave for more then 3 months, just let your PR card expire and stay until you have your 730 days in the previous 5 years and then you can apply.

 

[Frozenrose]

IMO, because of the restraining order and because you are no longer in this relationship and not on friendly terms with him in order to get his statement that he was indeed living with you, forget it. If you can meet your residency requirements without it, what is the problem? If you really want to re-build your life in Canada, you will not need to leave for months at a time in the next 2 years. Worst case scenario, if you do leave for more then 3 months, just let your PR card expire and stay until you have your 730 days in the previous 5 years and then you can apply.

Hi Leon,

Thank you for this information, I was unaware that I needed a statement from him when submitting evidence re. PR obligations - can you confirm that this is indeed the case (in that he will be required to write a statement to confirm this) rather than me submitting evidence? I will be living in Canada for the next 5-6 years minimum. The reason that I wanted to use the time when he was living with me was to be able to give me some flexibility regarding Christmas and during the summer for a few weeks to visit my family and partner who is fulfilling his own residency obligations in the UK at the moment - I also wanted to go to Canada a month in to my time already accrued in order to save more money in the jobs that I have. I really value my residency, do not want to lose it, and therefore want to make sure all my proverbial ducks are in a row - if a letter is indeed required then I will leave earlier.. (am I being overly paranoid here?? I am quibbling over a month extra outside of canada max... whereas some people here seem to wing it by entering canada a month before there cards expire) I really appreciate your time and assistance.

 

[Leon]

Since you are not with him any more, a statement from him would help but you can try it with the evidence only. However, you don't have to rely on this, you can use it as a backup. IMO, if push comes to shove and your PR card is expiring and you still need a month to fulfill the residency requirements, it would be better to let it expire for a month and then apply because then you will not need this evidence.

 

[Frozenrose]

Dear Leon,

Thank you so much for your assistance and advice. I am aware that I may be being overly cautious however I am also aware that I am metaphorically flying close to the wind and do not want to lose my residency so want to use this time as a backup in case I need to prove that I have fulfilled my requirements. In your opinion, do you feel a letter stating he was on the electoral roll at my family residence, mutual bill, plane tickets, photographs and emails would be sufficient evidence if required?
Best wishes and thanks again

 

[Frozenrose]

Dear Leon,

Thank you so much for your assistance and advice. I am aware that I may be being overly cautious however I am also aware that I am metaphorically flying close to the wind and do not want to lose my residency so want to use this time as a backup in case I need to prove that I have fulfilled my requirements. In your opinion, do you feel a letter stating he was on the electoral roll at my family residence, mutual bill, plane tickets, photographs and emails would be sufficient evidence if required?
Best wishes and thanks again

Hi Leon,
I am sorry to carry on with this like a stuck bl**dy record, but I wanted to add - in addition to the above information, I will also have a birth certificate, (now expired) health card and drivers license and college card from my partner which I hope would be adequate proof of his Canadian status - do you believe this to be enough? I can also provide letters from witnesses of our relationship and the fact that he resided here with me. I also hope to have evidence that we both claimed benefits here as a joint claim, however this is request is being processed so I will not hear about whether or not I officially have this evidence for a month or (three - its the DWP - very slow) The two things I do not have which I wish I could have but will be unlikely to get are a. his return flight info (seems its been wiped off the airline records) and b. a letter from him stating that we were in a relationship (see above for boring drama as to reason why) To summarize then I have:

Birth certificate, drivers license, health card and college card to prove his status as a canadian
Photos, flights to spain together, emails before/after trip to uk, bill with both our names on it, electoral roll letter, letters from witnesses, evidence of flight with my cat to france, subsequent transportation of pet to uk, potential letter from dwp stating that we were living together/claiming benefits together.. to prove we were out of the country together and were a commonlaw couple - at a push, I could try and get a copy of our lease from when we lived together in toronto, but it would be a longshot and VERY unlikely....

I am probably missing something - I know I am being neurotic, but as I keep reiterating ala stuck record, I am worried about making a mistake here.. IYO do you think this is enough proof that you are out of the country, living with a common law partner? And finally - with regards to the common law part... the bill I have only goes back to april of the same year he was in the UK which means I do not have evidence of a full year of being common law prior to his visit - will this possibly be a problem even if I am proving that we cohabitated in the UK etc.?