Spousal vs common law partner PR application

[princesultan]

Is one easier to get than the other?

We have been living together in Quebec for a little over a year. We met in 2007 in Asia and have had TONS of correspondence since then. She has been living in Quebec for the past 3 years (only 1 of those we have been living together, but she came here to be together). She has studied here and worked here. We have a lot of travel evidence as we would travel back to where she lives once a year (proof of pictures and emails with her family). We do not have a lease together (the mortgage is under my name), but we have proof that she sends her mail to where we live.

We are currently engaged and scheduled to be married in summer 2013. We are considering getting a simple civil ceremony in the coming month to be able to take advantage of the spousal PR application, although we would prefer to have the wedding next year (summer 2013) in her home country.

What would you guys do? If it's a lot easier to get the spousal PR, then maybe we should have a simple civil marriage in Canada now? Or do we have a good chance for the common law partner PR application? I read it's also not good to include that we're engaged to be married next year as they would hold the application until such a time.

What would everyone do in these circumstances? Simple marriage now and spousal PR or common law partner PR application?

 

[LeisaP]

Its not easier to get marriage over common-law
they are both the same, it all depends on the evidence

just for common-law you need to prove more joint things, such as accounts, bills, lease agreement, stuff like that.

but if you have the right evidence and it is strong, whether you apply common-law or married it wont matter.



we applied common-law.
and we just had a friend applied common-law through paris and he was approved in record time, 2 months. less than the average.
it just depends on the quality of your evidence

 

[princesultan]

i think the issue here is that we really don't have much that is joint. yes there is money that has moved back and forth between our accounts, but since she was studying and looking for work for the most part, it was mainly me paying the vast majority of the bills.

 

[CharlieD10]

Common-law rests on the minimum 12 months provable cohabitation. Even if she isn't on the lease, can your landlord swear an affidavit that she is residing with you? Has she ever received mail at the address? More important than the joint ownership of assets is the joint residence. If you can't prove that, then you can't apply as common-law.

 

[princesultan]

well it's a mortgage, i pay the mortgage, so there isn't a landlord.

she has been receiving mail at our place for the past year. she has been living there since january 2011 but only officially moved out of her apartment to live with me july 2011, so yes, she has been OFFICIALLY living with me for more than a year.

 

[CharlieD10]

Mail is good, you are getting there. How about family members or other upstanding citizens? Anyone there who can swear she has been residing with you? Combine the mail with proof of when she entered the country with affidavits from persons who know she is resident there, and you are able to show she is your common-law partner for the purposes of CIC.

 

[LeisaP]

well it's a mortgage, i pay the mortgage, so there isn't a landlord.

she has been receiving mail at our place for the past year. she has been living there since january 2011 but only officially moved out of her apartment to live with me july 2011, so yes, she has been OFFICIALLY living with me for more than a year.

do other people know she has been living there?
it is possible, ive seen it done where people are living with their parents or someone, so they dont have bills or joint lease, but they have many people who will give them notarized letters or affidavit(i dont really know what that is, but im assuming is similar) proving you lived together. and the mail in her name will help that..

also have you considered opening a joint account? or adding one another to your already open accounts?
or adding her name to your bills? to show you are both living under the same roof as a couple.
just a thought.

 

[princesultan]

here is what i can prove:

1 - she has been receiving mail to where we live for the last year (is a year even enough? i know it's the minimum, but if it's longer, does that have more sway?)
2 - we go back to see her family once per year (we have plane tickets where we go together, we have pictures with her and her family, we travel around together, these costs are sometimes on my credit card)
3 - her tax returns has our address on it
4 - we have emails dating back to 2007. we were having a long distance relationship for 1.5 years. i guess i could possibly request credit card statements and show all the long distance phone charges i have had back then.
5 - she moved to quebec 3 years ago, got her own apartment, went to school. she found work afterwards. we were in a relationship the entire time, but only started living together jan. 2011. she officially found some to take over her lease in july 2011.
6 - my family all lives in quebec and we see them very often. several members of my family (and friends as well if that helps) can attest that we have been living together since jan. 2011.
7 - gifts, presents, anniversary presents, TONS of pictures together from places and trips we've been to.

 

[princesultan]

do other people know she has been living there?
it is possible, ive seen it done where people are living with their parents or someone, so they dont have bills or joint lease, but they have many people who will give them notarized letters or affidavit(i dont really know what that is, but im assuming is similar) proving you lived together. and the mail in her name will help that..

also have you considered opening a joint account? or adding one another to your already open accounts?
or adding her name to your bills? to show you are both living under the same roof as a couple.
just a thought.

i guess i can get neighbors to write something. they know she lives there.

come to think of it, i believe she is has authorization to make changes for our alarm and cable tv. i could add her on to bills and a joint account, but the thing is, doesn't it look fishy if i add that stuff and we send the application a few weeks later?

 

[LeisaP]

here is what i can prove:

1 - she has been receiving mail to where we live for the last year (is a year even enough? i know it's the minimum, but if it's longer, does that have more sway?)
2 - we go back to see her family once per year (we have plane tickets where we go together, we have pictures with her and her family, we travel around together, these costs are sometimes on my credit card)
3 - her tax returns has our address on it
4 - we have emails dating back to 2007. we were having a long distance relationship for 1.5 years. i guess i could possibly request credit card statements and show all the long distance phone charges i have had back then.
5 - she moved to quebec 3 years ago, got her own apartment, went to school. she found work afterwards. we were in a relationship the entire time, but only started living together jan. 2011. she officially found some to take over her lease in july 2011.
6 - my family all lives in quebec and we see them very often. several members of my family (and friends as well if that helps) can attest that we have been living together since jan. 2011.
7 - gifts, presents, anniversary presents, TONS of pictures together from places and trips we've been to.

1) 1 year is fine, more would be good, but if you cant prove it you can use other stuff like pictures and such.
2) thats great! u can include plane tickets and proof you know eachothers family is good evidence, pictures and expensives from the trips is great.
3) tax returns on the same address is really good.
4) yeah, what we did with ours is we made a timeline journal, filled with pictures, and events, from the day we met untill the day we sent in our application this works well, alot of people do this!.
5) even if she still had a lease in july 2011, you can write a note saying why she hadnt given up her lease yet, because she couldnt find anyone to take it. anything that might make them wonder, just write a note about it to clear it up. so they understand the reasons behind things.
6) yeah letters from family, friends, employers, church leaders people like that is all really good, we sent in 7 letters with our application.
7)gifts and stuff like that is all good aswell.

if you want i can give you a list of what we sent in as common-law and see if you have anything else that you could add in.


also regarding the bills and such, as long as all the evidence is strong and suppporting you are a marriage like couple, adding her late shouldnt cause a concern.

we just had a friend who applied for common-law 2-3 months after they lived together for a year and they only got a joint account and bills about a month or so before they sent in their application. they were processed through paris and was approved in less than 2 months, so i guess it didnt cause any red flags.

 

[princesultan]

that's amazing. i'd love to have a list of what you sent if you don't mind.

by the way, what about an engagement ring? i heard it's not good to talk about that for a common law application.

 

[LeisaP]

that's amazing. i'd love to have a list of what you sent if you don't mind.

by the way, what about an engagement ring? i heard it's not good to talk about that for a common law application.

Honestly I dont know...
they say you should already be in a marriage like relationship and not be a BF/GF couple planning to get married.

but we had an experienced immigration consultant help us and she put in a note saying we planned to get married, but when in the right away.

i guess not just for immigration purposes. but i know most people dont even put anything about marriage.

i will send you a list of what i sent and also a list from the cic manual that shows exactly what they are looking for.

just let me find it!

 

[LeisaP]

we sent:
-300 pictures of events in a timeline journal from when we met till when we sent in the app.
-6 or 7 letters from friends, family and employers stating they knew of our relationship .
- a notarized common-law declaration. we got this at a notary office.
- our rental lease with both our names on it
-bills with both names on it, hydro, cable, internet
- joint bank account
- joint costco card
-a car under both of our names
- proof we purchased a dog together
- my spouse has life insurance with me as his beneficiary
- letters from employers.
- receipts from gifts we have given eachother
- facebook logs
-facebook logs of our parents talking to eachother (they are facebook nerds, never met in real life, but they talk online Tongue )
- plane tickets of trips we took together
-my brother passed away and my spouse flew with me to attend the funeral so we posted items from the funeral, proof that he came with me
- pictures of him with my family.
- events tickets, movies, sports events, etc.
- taxes done together as common-law

i think thats it..

 

[LeisaP]

and this is from cic manual, its what they look for when reviewing the application and evidence.


"In the M. v. H. decision, the Supreme Court adopts the list of factors that must be considered in
determining whether any two individuals are actually in a conjugal relationship from the decision of
the Ontario Court of Appeal in Moldowich v. Penttinen. They include:
• shared shelter (e.g., sleeping arrangements);
• sexual and personal behaviour (e.g., fidelity, commitment, feelings towards each other);
• services (e.g., conduct and habit with respect to the sharing of household chores)
• social activities (e.g., their attitude and conduct as a couple in the community and with their
families);
• economic support (e.g., financial arrangements, ownership of property);
• children (e.g., attitude and conduct concerning children)
• the societal perception of the two as a couple."

"Based on this, the following characteristics should be present to some degree in all conjugal
relationships, married and unmarried:
• mutual commitment to a shared life;
• exclusive – cannot be in more than one conjugal relationship at a time;
• intimate – commitment to sexual exclusivity;
• interdependent – physically, emotionally, financially, socially;
• permanent – long-term, genuine and continuing relationship;
• present themselves as a couple;
• regarded by others as a couple;
• caring for children (if there are children).
People who are dating or who are thinking about marrying or living together and establishing a
common-law relationship are NOT yet in a conjugal relationship, nor are people who want to live
together to “try out” their relationship.
Persons in a conjugal relationship have made a significant commitment to one another."

and then outlines examples of evidence:

"Financial aspects of the relationship
• Joint loan agreements for real estate, cars, major household
appliances;
• Joint ownership of property, other durable goods;
• Operation of joint bank accounts, joint credit cards evidence that any
such accounts have existed for a reasonable period of time;
• The extent of any pooling of financial resources, especially in relation
to major financial commitments;
• Whether one party owes any legal obligation in respect of the other.

Social aspects of the relationship
• Evidence that the relationship has been declared to government
bodies and commercial or public institutions or authorities and
acceptance of such declarations by any such bodies;
• Joint membership in organisations or groups, joint participation in
sporting, cultural, social or other activities;
• Joint travel;
• Shared values with respect to how a household should be managed;
• Shared responsibility for children; shared values with respect to
child-rearing; willingness to care for the partner's children;
• Testimonials by parents, family members, relatives or friends and
other interested parties about the nature of the relationship and
whether the couple present themselves to others as partners.
Statements in the form of statutory declarations are preferred.

Physical and emotional aspects of the relationship -the degree of commitment as evidenced by:
• Knowledge of each other's personal circumstances, background and
family situation;
• Shared values and interests;
• Expressed intention that the relationship will be long term;
• The extent to which the parties have combined their affairs, for
example, are they beneficiaries of one another's insurance plans,
pensions, etc.?
• Joint decision-making with consequences for one partner affecting
the other;
• Support for each other when ill and on special occasions letters,
cards, gifts, time off work to care for other;
The terms of the parties' wills made out in each other's favour
provide some evidence of an intention that the relationship is long
term and permanent;
• Time spent together;
• Time spent with one another's families;
• Regular and continuous communication when apart.

Examples of supporting documents:
• Family memberships, medical plans, documentation from institutions that provides
recognition as a couple;
• Marriage certificate (not just a solemnization record), wedding invitations, commitment
ceremony (certificate, invitations), domestic partnership certificate;
• joint ownership of possessions, joint utility bills, lease/rental agreement, joint mortgage/loan,
property title, joint bank statements; money transfers.
• documents showing travel together, long distance phone bills; other proof of continuous
communication (emails, internet chat site printouts, letters).
• insurance policies (documents naming the partner as a beneficiary), wills, powers of
attorney;
• significant photographs;
• statements of support from families, bank manager, employers, financial professionals,
religious leaders, community leaders, professors, teachers or medical professionals."

 

[princesultan]

very helpful, thank you very much!!