# Moving back to Canada with German boyfriend - I hope?



## coreygirl (Jan 31, 2012)

Hello all!

I have a question about moving to Canada with a German, and common law allowances.

My boyfriend and I have been living together here in Denmark since June of 2011. We had planned to move to England but as it happens, there are rules that we have to meet in order for me to be able to live there.

Namely, we need to be married or have lived together for two years. While we have talked about getting married, we really didnt want to have to rush it just for a visa. 

I am wondering, if we were to move to Canada for a year or five, does Canada recognize common law partnerships from outside the country? I have read that each province seems to have its own rules about it, but how does that apply to a Canadian and a German? 

Are we up against the same rules regardless of where we go? Any help would be appreciated!! I shall continue to troll these here forums in the meantime..

Thanks in advance eh?!


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## Auld Yin (Mar 10, 2009)

You must have lived together for 12 months for Canadian Immigration to recognize a common-law relationship. The nationalities of the applicants is irrelevant.


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## MLH (Jan 22, 2012)

When my (now) husband came to Canada from the UK, he entered as a visitor. We lived common law for 12 mos on an extended visitors visa, at which point we had to file a tax return together to prove we lived together in a common law relationship for the sponsorship application from within Canada. 

This also meant he could not work for a very long time because of the way we chose to apply...

2+ yrs.


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## coreygirl (Jan 31, 2012)

That is very good to know, thank you!

I believe that we will now get married before we come over.

Does anyone know if he would have any issues being able to work straight away?
Im guessing that that will not be possible and we will still have to go through a lot of paperwork...


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## coreygirl (Jan 31, 2012)

Our situation has actually changed now, I realized after posting.

I will start a new thread to avoid any confusion now and for those searching for likewise situations.  lane:


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## coreygirl (Jan 31, 2012)

And Im back to this one here. 

We plan to arrive in Canada at the beginning of July 2012. 

We would like to apply for common law status, as we will have lived together for 12 months here in Denmark by the start of June 2012.

Once we hit that 12 month mark, am I able to start the application process or do we actually need more time before coming to Canada?

And what would need to be done for him to have any sort of a work visa? I am able to get a job and support us, but I think he would go crazy if he couldnt work for too long. =P


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## G-Mo (Aug 17, 2011)

It'll take about 9 months - 1 year from the time you apply for him to get his PR and be able to work. How old is he? Could he apply for an IEC visa (1 year) which would allow him to enter Canada and work while you wait for his PR application to process? Make sure you have lots of proof of living together; joint account, joint lease/rent payments, photos together, holiday photos, letters from friends and family, etc... to prove your genuine and stable relationship and length of time living together.


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## Guest (Mar 4, 2012)

From the CIC web site with definitions:

_*Common-law partner*

You are a common-law partner—either of the opposite sex or same sex—if:

- you have been living together in a conjugal relationship for at least one year in a continuous 12-month period that was not interrupted. (You are allowed short absences for business travel or family reasons, however.)

You will need proof that you and your common-law partner have combined your affairs and set up a household together. This can be in the form of:

- joint bank accounts or credit cards
- joint ownership of a home
- joint residential leases
- joint rental receipts
- joint utilities (electricity, gas, telephone)
- joint management of household expenses
- proof of joint purchases, especially for household items or
- mail addressed to either person or both people at the same address._

I don't know for sure, but I would assume that you can only start the application process after you qualify as common law partners.

There are a couple application processes for permanent residency and the differences are pretty important.

From the CIC website's FAQ on sponsoring family members:

_Some differences between the processes:

*Inside Canada*

- average of 12 to 18 months to process routine applications
- no right of appeal
- you are advised to stay in Canada while your application is being processed (If you leave Canada and cannot re-enter, the application will be abandoned)
- you can send an application for an open work permit with the sponsorship application (the permit will be issued as soon as you are eligible for it)

*Outside Canada*

- average of 6 to 12 months to process routine applications
- right of appeal
- you can leave and re-enter Canada while your application is being processed as long as you meet all requirements to enter Canada
- if you want to work in Canada while your application is being processed, you must apply for a regular work permit_

I think both application processes are viable options, but some of the disadvantages of applying from inside Canada are:

- you can't apply until you're inside Canada
- the application process is a lot slower
- you can't legally work or go to school until step one of the process is complete (which takes about a year, but after that you can apply for an open work permit)

The advantages I see of applying from outside Canada:

- you can apply before you even move
- you can immediately apply for the work permit...and if for some reason you aren't eligible or it is denied, the permanent residency processing time is significantly shorter (the current processing time for the Germany visa office is 11 months).
- you can leave and re-enter Canada (assuming there is no other barring circumstance)

You might want to consult with a lawyer to see how solid your application will be given the supporting documents you can provide. I do not know how they treat common law partner applications, but my now-husband and I originally applied as conjugal partners (we were both in school in separate countries, and we decided to apply after I graduated from university). Our application was denied and it was pretty devastating, and I don't want you to go through that too. We originally appealed the decision, but the processing time seemed to climb with the more time that passed.

We consulted a lawyer (only after our application was denied - our mistake) who helped guide us through the decision to appeal or reapply. Some tips he gave us for when we ultimately reapplied (this time we are married and we reapplied from inside Canada so it may be a little bit different):

- provide a timeline of your relationship
- order your supporting documents chronologically
- provide pictures of you and your common law partner (with family, friends, etc.), and provide detailed descriptions
- include statutory declarations and/or letters from friends and relatives who can attest to the nature of your relationship

Basically, you want to make it really straightforward and easy to read (because if you don't, they may just glance over it or not take it seriously).

I know that I already suggested consulting with a lawyer, but I guess the more I think about it the more I believe that it's too important not to make sure you do it right the first time.

I hope I was concise enough and not too rambly.

Good luck!


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## G-Mo (Aug 17, 2011)

In order to speed things up, when you apply from "inside" Canada, you apply from "outside" via the US (e.g. Buffalo), and it's much faster. All you need to do when you get your papers is drive to a border, exit Canada and re-enter to activate your PR status.


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