# spousal/common law partner/conjugal



## tommo500 (Mar 4, 2011)

hi i'm dave and getting confused lol
my girlfriend lives in alberta and we want to be together living in alberta. we are not sure on which path to take. my situation is that i'm still married but my divorce is going through likewise hers........i'm planning going again to see her but this time for 6 months ..we both would like to start application as soon as possible but don't know where to start ...any help would be highly appreciated thanks


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## Auld Yin (Mar 10, 2009)

tommo500 said:


> hi i'm dave and getting confused lol
> my girlfriend lives in alberta and we want to be together living in alberta. we are not sure on which path to take. my situation is that i'm still married but my divorce is going through likewise hers........i'm planning going again to see her but this time for 6 months ..we both would like to start application as soon as possible but don't know where to start ...any help would be highly appreciated thanks


For your girlfriend to sponsor you requires that you have lived common-law for a minimum of one year. You would need to have proof such as rental receipts, utility bills etc. Other than this you need to be a skilled worker or have pre-arranged employment.


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## tommo500 (Mar 4, 2011)

*spousal/conjugal etc.*



Auld Yin said:


> For your girlfriend to sponsor you requires that you have lived common-law for a minimum of one year. You would need to have proof such as rental receipts, utility bills etc. Other than this you need to be a skilled worker or have pre-arranged employment.


hi thanks for your reply ...ive just found facts needed for conjugal stay on the main official canadian website...it states a conjugal permit is when a couple of opposite or same sex are prevented from living together as a couple ie they are already married or they tied to a job...but have both shown commitment to each other for over a year ...also states joint bank accounts etc is whats needed as proof plus visits and documents...anything that proves that they are in a commited serious relationship.........now where do we start
thanks dave


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## tommo500 (Mar 4, 2011)

*spousal*



ralphdzegniuk said:


> and in order to show that you have started a "conjugal" relationship you must also document that you have both officially separated from your respective ex's... if you have not been living with your ex's for over a year, that's already taken care of. However, the conjugal category for opposite-sex partners almost never works out because there really isn't any immigration impediment preventing the 2 of you from living together (and, unfortunately, job obligations are not accepted as a reasonable explanation). Common-law or spousal would really be your only realistic options (although spousal won't be available until your divorces are finalized).
> 
> feel free to contact me should you have any questions/concerns,
> 
> ...


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## ralphdzegniuk (Mar 7, 2011)

there's no minimum cohabitation requirement for spouses. only for common law partners.

Ralph


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## American_Woman (Mar 31, 2010)

You can come to canada as a visitor for 6 months at a time. At least one month prior to the end of your stay, you can submit an application to extend your stay as a visitor for $75. During the time it takes for them to approve/disapprove your application, you can stay legally. Usually it takes them anywhere from 4-6 months to give you an answer.


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## Ashleigh87 (Mar 13, 2011)

tommo500 is right, to be approved for conjugal there needs to be extreme circumstances as to why you were unable to live with the other person. when i was considering options for my move from australia to canada to be with my canadian bf, i consulted a migration expert website, and they told me conjugal visas are usualy reserved for people effected by circumstances such as war. I was actually told by the consultant to apply for a working holiday visa which is valid for 24 months, and by the half way mark i would have lived with my bf for the minimum required time (1 year) to apply for a spousal/commonlaw visa. which is what ive done! so im now in the process of applying for my spousal/commonlaw visa while i still have a year left on my working holiday visa. Takes some of the stress out of it i think!


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