astro313 said:
Hi,
I got ITA in the last draw and now I am preparing all the necessary documentation. How to proof common-law relationship? In the section documents to submit there is a section which states Statutory Declaration of Common Law (IMM5409) (required).
As I understand me and my partner should fill this form and sign it in front of a Public Notary. What if the notary does not agree since the declaration is in English (which is not our official language) ? Has any other PR candidate faced this situation ?
Me and my partner have a joined account of around 11k CAD, frequent plane tickets bought from my or hers credit card which can be used as proof.
My partner and I were together in Slovakia (I am from the US, my partner is Slovak) when we decided to apply to Canada. Keep in mind, though, that our first application was for a student visa for him and an open work permit for me. We had to prove the same relationship, but I can't be sure whether the standards are exactly the same.
In Slovakia, there is no objective way to prove a common-law relationship - even the concept doesn't exist. No one - not even married couples - has a joint bank account. Everyone - again, even married couples - files their own taxes. My name only was on the lease, as we lived in an apartment I originally rented. What we did was gather sworn affidavits from family and friends (those in Slovak were translated to English by a certified translator). The affidavits identified the affiant, how long they had known us, stated that they knew we had lived together for x number of years, that they visited us frequently at our apartment, etc. Family members mentioned that my partner and his family had traveled with me to my brother's wedding in Vermont, and that i had attended my partner's brother's wedding in Slovakia. What we were doing was painting a picture of a long-term, stable relationship in which our lives and families were intertwined. We got the visas without further questioning.
For the English-language declaration, we signed it together at the outpost of the Canadian Embassy in Bratislava (our actual Embassy was in Vienna, an hour away), and they notarized it. We did that exactly because it wasn't in Slovak. If there is a Canadian Embassy near you, ask them about doing that. They were quite friendly to us. (Looking at the flag on your post I suspect you are in Albania - there is a Consulate in Tirana - or in Kosovo - there is a CVAC, a kind of outpost like we had in Bratislava - in Pristina.)
That you have a bank account together is good. Look for any other objective evidence you can find in the form of leases, taxes, credit cards, etc. is good. If there isn't much of that kind of evidence, add affidavits from people who can attest to your relationship - its length, that you live together, etc. Good luck!
