Questions Regarding CommonLaw

[Masonb6888]

Hey All!

Situation; I am a student here in Canada who fell in love with my boyfriend and we're applying for common law here in Dec. (since that's the 1 year under a roof mark)

I just had a couple questions,
I've chosen to send my fingerprint to US FBI via an approved channeler. (which still seems complicated, but I'll figure it out.) I already got my finger prints done, and got my letter from the RCMP to include in my package.
We're picking up our applications here in the next week or two to go over and fill out.

I have two questions,
1.~ I keep seeing something about the medical exam. How do I got about this? Do I make an appointment with a clinic or with my boyfriend family GP? does my boyfriend need an exam? I can't see to find much info on it..

2.~ I was thinking about putting a little thank you card and a starbucks card along with our submission for the officer who's handling our case, since we're going to be submitting quite a bit of stuff for them to go over aside from our actual application forms
i.e.; 50+ personal testimonials from family and friends and over a hundred pictures..
would that be discouraged? or taken as a 'Bribe'?

Other than that... Any tips or personal experience with the application process would be appreciated. Something to make sure I fill out correctly? something to definitely include? It all helps !!!! <3

 

[scylla]

1) You need to use an approved doctor. Info is on the CIC site: http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/information/medical/index.asp
2) Bad idea.

 

[profiler]

1 - you can. It needs to be at a CIC panel physicians office though. You may want to check google or CICs website for who might be local to you.

2 - not a good idea. The person opening the mail may thank you, but it's unlikely it will make it to the case officers.... and yes it's a bribe

 

[Rob_TO]

To add:
1. Only the applicant needs to do medical exam from CIC panel physician. Not the sponsor.
Also since medical exam is only valid from 1 yr after you take it, it's recommended it's the very last thing you do before mailing in your application.

2. Also agreed sending any money or gift is a very bad idea. They will probably just throw it away.

Also I hope you have much more proof than just pictures and testimonials to prove your common-law status. You will need real proofs that showed you shared same residence for 12 months i.e. joint lease/rental agreement, joint bank/credit card accounts, shared utility/phone accounts, life insurance with each of you as beneficiary, mail to each of you delivered to same address, etc etc.

50 letters seems like way too much. Most people only submit a handful. Note also that 2 of the testimonials must be statutory, meaning certified by a lawyer or notary.

 

[Omegabyte]

My 2 cents worth-

You don't need 50 letters, especially coming from the US. Maybe 5-6, including the ones that are statutory declarations. As Rob_TO said, it's much more important to send a variety of other proofs showing that you two have been living as a common-law couple for the 12 months prior to applying.

Don't send a gift card. It's a nice thought, but you don't want anyone to think you were trying to bribe anyone. If you added short thank you "P.S." to your letter attached to your IMM5540, that would be plenty.

 

[canuck_in_uk]

As stated by the others, 50+ letters is WAY too much. Anything more than half a dozen, including your 2 Stat Deca, is overkill.

 

[Masonb6888]

To add:
1. Only the applicant needs to do medical exam from CIC panel physician. Not the sponsor.
Also since medical exam is only valid from 1 yr after you take it, it's recommended it's the very last thing you do before mailing in your application.

2. Also agreed sending any money or gift is a very bad idea. They will probably just throw it away.

Also I hope you have much more proof than just pictures and testimonials to prove your common-law status. You will need real proofs that showed you shared same residence for 12 months i.e. joint lease/rental agreement, joint bank/credit card accounts, shared utility/phone accounts, life insurance with each of you as beneficiary, mail to each of you delivered to same address, etc etc.

50 letters seems like way too much. Most people only submit a handful. Note also that 2 of the testimonials must be statutory, meaning certified by a lawyer or notary.

Thanks for the reply,
What do you mean when you say," 2 of the testimonials must be statutory" what two testimonials have to be statutory and how do i get it notarized?

 

[canuck_in_uk]

Thanks for the reply,
What do you mean when you say," 2 of the testimonials must be statutory" what two testimonials have to be statutory and how do i get it notarized?

IMM3910, point 10:

If you are a common-law or conjugal partner, provide evidence that your relationship is genuine and continuing and has existed for at least 12 months prior to your application. Also provide details of the history of your relationship and at least two statutory declarations from individuals with personal knowledge of your relationship supporting your claim that the relationship is genuine and continuing.

The people who write the letters need to have them notarized.

 

[Masonb6888]

okay, so that makes sense. We also do have more proof than just photos and written testimonials. We have our joint bank accounts, we have each other listed and beneficiaries, we have a lease and a rental receipt with both of our names on it, we're going to be getting our phone bills from the past year and highlight back all the times we've called one another on top of pictures of text messages and facebook screen shots showing our key dates and actually date nights. we just adopted a cat that registered under both of us. We have mail showing our separate names and same address. all of our shared house hold/ grocery receipts sectioned out into their individuals months... I really don't know what else we can get for proof. any ideas?

 

[profiler]

Here is a snip from CIC's Operations Manual OP-8:

5.35. What is cohabitation?
“Cohabitation” means “living together.” Two people who are cohabiting have combined their affairs and set up their household together in one dwelling. To be considered common-law partners, they must have cohabited for at least one year. This is the standard definition used across the federal government. It means continuous cohabitation for one year, not intermittent cohabitation adding up to one year. The continuous nature of the cohabitation is a universal understanding based on case law.

While cohabitation means living together continuously, from time to time, one or the other partner may have left the home for work or business travel, family obligations, and so on. The separation must be temporary and short.

The following is a list of indicators about the nature of the household that constitute evidence that a couple in a conjugal relationship is cohabiting:
- Joint bank accounts and/or credit cards;
- Joint ownership of residential property;
- Joint residential leases;
- Joint rental receipts;
- Joint utilities accounts (electricity, gas, telephone);
- Joint management of household expenditures;
- Evidence of joint purchases, especially for household items;
- Correspondence addressed to either or both parties at the same address;
- Important documents of both parties show the same address, e.g., identification documents, driver’s licenses, insurance polices, etc.;
- Shared responsibility for household management, household chores, etc.;
- Evidence of children of one or both partners residing with the couple;
- Telephone calls.

These elements may be present in varying degrees and not all are necessary to prove cohabitation. This list is not exhaustive; other evidence may be taken into consideration.