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kiarec

Newbie
May 10, 2017
4
0
Hi so I just found this forum after getting anxious about me and my girlfriend's application. I sent in in the first time March 8 2017 and they received it March 12, but I was missing a signature and the principal applicants address could not be the same mailing address as mine without use of representative, and got it back two weeks after they received it. So I corrected the mistakes and sent it back April 12 2017, and they should have received it April 17 2017, but I have only seen timelines and most info for spouses, and I do not know if the same line-up would be applicable to our situation. And also if it took two weeks the first time we made a mistake I would have gotten in back again if it still had errors right? since I was sure if correcting the same paper with paper white-out and writing the new info would make a difference..

Also we chose conjugal because she was in Canada on a student visa and already had an apartment when we got together, thus couldn't just break her lease to live with me, and then only lived with me for a month at my parents house before having to leave Canada because of the expiring of her visa. So since it was an immigration barrier that kept us from living together for a year we thought conjugal would be appropriate. Also the fact that we are a same-sex couple made getting married difficult with the past view of it in the US.

So my questions would really just be, did we choose the right application or will they refuse us because we could have done it differently? and if we chose correctly, is the process the same as the spousal one where we will get an AOR and document requests?

further info; she is trying to immigrate from the US into Quebec, she has been here studying and renewed her student visa each time but finished her program last year and thus couldnt stay here again on that basis.
 
Sorry to be the bearer of bad news and I am not the expert here, but I would say that you have no chance of a conjugal sponsorship.

Some reading for you from another forum on this topic here:

http://britishexpats.com/wiki/Spousal_Sponsorship-Canada#Conjugal_partner

There is nothing to stop you getting married either in Canada or the USA.

Ok, I mean i figured just recently that something like that might be the case, and the reason we didnt want to marry yet is that we are both 21 and financially unstable and if we did plan out a marriage we would want something a bit better than just a court day as the cheapest option. Would we have to have her get an extended visitor visa here and apply as common-law?

And so seeing as it will mostly likely be refused, will they just send back the whole application like the first time when there were mistakes? or will we have to start 100% from scratch if we end up needing to wait and try a different application? Also we already payed the fees, and will those be returned or is that lost too?
 
Ok, I mean i figured just recently that something like that might be the case, and the reason we didnt want to marry yet is that we are both 21 and financially unstable and if we did plan out a marriage we would want something a bit better than just a court day as the cheapest option. Would we have to have her get an extended visitor visa here and apply as common-law?

And so seeing as it will mostly likely be refused, will they just send back the whole application like the first time when there were mistakes? or will we have to start 100% from scratch if we end up needing to wait and try a different application? Also we already payed the fees, and will those be returned or is that lost too?

Same-sex marraige is legal in Canada, legal in US, and there are no immigration barriers to visit each others country for extended periods of time to become common-law (or even spend 6 months living in US, and then 6 months in Canada). As such, a conjugal app will almost certainly be rejected. If you proceed with it, you will just be wasting the application fees.

You should withdraw your app, get some refund on your fees, wait until you get married or become common-law, then apply again from scratch under one of those categories.
 
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Ok, I mean i figured just recently that something like that might be the case, and the reason we didnt want to marry yet is that we are both 21 and financially unstable and if we did plan out a marriage we would want something a bit better than just a court day as the cheapest option. Would we have to have her get an extended visitor visa here and apply as common-law?

And so seeing as it will mostly likely be refused, will they just send back the whole application like the first time when there were mistakes? or will we have to start 100% from scratch if we end up needing to wait and try a different application? Also we already payed the fees, and will those be returned or is that lost too?

Unless you do something now, they will go through the normal evaluation progress, then give you a 'decline' decision, probably in a few weeks or months after you have been 'sponsor approved' (which will of course have raised your hopes by then). I am pretty sure that you don't get your money back for a 'decline' decision (but happy to be put right on this).

IMHO, your best option is to contact them immediately and withdraw your application and get a full refund (i.e. before they start to process it in earnest). Then either live together for the required one year to obtain 'common law' status (with all of the proofs that CIC mandate), or get married - then start over again on whichever basis you then qualify for.

I would love to be wrong about your chances of conjugal sponsorship, but I don't think so......
 
Ok, I mean i figured just recently that something like that might be the case, and the reason we didnt want to marry yet is that we are both 21 and financially unstable and if we did plan out a marriage we would want something a bit better than just a court day as the cheapest option. Would we have to have her get an extended visitor visa here and apply as common-law?

And so seeing as it will mostly likely be refused, will they just send back the whole application like the first time when there were mistakes? or will we have to start 100% from scratch if we end up needing to wait and try a different application? Also we already payed the fees, and will those be returned or is that lost too?

No, they will not send the app back. You requested to be processed as conjugal, so IRCC is legally obligated to process the app as conjugal. You will be approved as a sponsor and the app will be sent to Ottawa. It is there that they will determine, after many months, that you do not meet the requirements of conjugal and the app will be refused. You would not receive the app back and would only be refunded the RPRF. You would then have to start from scratch.

As Rob said, withdraw now. In terms of the fees, provided they don't approve the sponsor and send the app to Ottawa before the withdrawal request is processed, you would only lose the $75 fee. If the app is transferred and they begin processing the applicant before the withdrawal, you would only receive the RPRF back.
 
No, they will not send the app back. You requested to be processed as conjugal, so IRCC is legally obligated to process the app as conjugal. You will be approved as a sponsor and the app will be sent to Ottawa. It is there that they will determine, after many months, that you do not meet the requirements of conjugal and the app will be refused. You would not receive the app back and would only be refunded the RPRF. You would then have to start from scratch.

As Rob said, withdraw now. In terms of the fees, provided they don't approve the sponsor and send the app to Ottawa before the withdrawal request is processed, you would only lose the $75 fee. If the app is transferred and they begin processing the applicant before the withdrawal, you would only receive the RPRF back.

Ok, thank you for all this info, but how do I go about sending a withdrawal/refund at this point? do I have to call or is there a form to fill out?
 
Thank you, I will talk with my girlfriend and hopefully sort this out and reapply properly with better chances in a few months.

The only way you can apply in a few months is if you get married. Otherwise, you need to live together continuously for a year to become common-law and apply after that.