LizLon

Hi everyone!

Thanks for the add - I love this forum so much already... what an incredible resource.

So, I am Canadian (by birth) have been in the UK over 10 years now and would like to sponsor my fiance (British) to live in Canada. We plan to move 'home' with our daughter (who has a cert. of cdn citizenship) when our application is approved.

My question is regarding being 'common-law'. This isn't technically a real thing in the UK. We have obviously been living together (almost 9 years now) as we have a mortgage and child together etc so I'm not worried about proving our relationship, but the forms keep asking for the date on which we became common-law and ask for certificates.

I've just seen that we can't apply as conjugal but the forms seem to imply that we can't apply in the common-law partner class if we are living outside of Canada.

So if we apply under the Family Class - that isn't correct either as he is not actually a family member?

I was so sure this was straightforward but I don't seem to be able to actually find the class that we should be applying under.

Do we need to get married? Or do we need to move to Canada before applying? Surely they can't expect us to move there first?!

Thanks for any help, I'm so confused!

christmasoompa

I think you must be looking at the wrong forms, sounds like you're looking at an inland application rather than an outland application.

Yes, he is. He's your spouse.

No need to move before applying (in fact, it wouldn't be wise to even try). You simply apply to sponsor him 'outland' from the UK, and he'll arrive in Canada as a Permanent Resident then.

Full details are in our amazing spousal sponsorship FAQ and Wiki - on the sticky thread above. That thread also has a direct link to the outland forms you need. http://britishexpats.com/wiki/Spousa...lication_Forms

HTH and good luck.

LizLon

Thanks! It's reading the amazing sponsorship FAQ and wiki that made me realise we can't apply under conjugal! Which is what we were about to do!

The forms I have are the ones that come up on the CIC website when I select the drop down menus.

There just isn't very much information about 'family class' that I can find anywhere... but yes, I guess he is my family as we are partners. That just isn't really spelled out anywhere.

Then on the document checklist it says to select the class of application and I was just worried that we didn't qualify for Family Class!

christmasoompa

Phew! Yep, you definitely can't apply for that.

Use the link in the FAQ thread to make sure you definitely have the right ones.

Here you go, this is an overview of Family Class with links on sponsoring each type of eligible relative - https://www.canada.ca/en/immigration...onsorship.html

You can then click on the 'spouse' section and from there download the guide, which gives you definitions for each of the three spouse options (spouse, common-law spouse, and conjugal) so that you can check which he would come under. But it's definitely common-law from what you've said!

HTH.

LizLon

Thanks again! You are an unrivalled font of information!

Just double checking that since our daughter is a Canadian Citizen (with certificate) that she doesn't need to be included on the application?

ta

glendem4

FYI. My partner is a Canadian citizen and I am a British citizen. We have lived together for 12 years and we are not married. I applied under the common-law route and it took under 6 months from starting the process to getting my PR agreed. As long as you have evidence showing you have been in a relationship and photos to back it up you should have NO PROBLEM getting through the system. Any questions, please ask as we are here to help.

LizLon

Wow! Thank you. That is MUCH faster than we have been anticipating. Maybe even TOO fast! When was this? The website currently says it is 12 to 18 months for approval... so we are basing everything on this time frame... eek!

christmasoompa

It says 12 months at the moment, but it's usually a wee bit quicker than that (used to be much quicker, but has slowed down recently). Have a look at the spousal sponsorship timeline thread for info on how long it's taking at the moment.

But it doesn't really matter if you get it sooner than planned, you have a year from the date of medical to 'land' and activate your OH's PR, and then once you've done that he keeps PR indefinitely if living with you, even if he's back in the UK.

HTH.

LizLon

Wow. Really good to know! Thank you. We were a bit worried it would be a case of needing to be there in a three to six month window... which when you own property over here can be difficult to say the least!

glendem4

As long as you are living together, you don't actually need to move to Canada!!!

I would get your Police check organised a.s.a.p and submit the paperwork with your initial application. Wait for the IRCC to inform you when to get the medical done. They give you 30 days to arrange the medical. Then you have 1 year from the medical to enter Canada and validate the COPR (Confirmation of Permeant residency). You are then free to return to the UK to complete all your affairs. When your COPR is validated, your ETA will be cancelled automatically.

Please be aware that the PR card can only be sent to an address in Canada and can take up to 58 days to be processed. If you are only going to go back to the UK for a short period, you will need to request a PRTD (PR Travel document) from the Canadian Embassy to get back into Canada.

Hurlabrick

For 'real world' spousal sponsorship timelines via London Visa Office (which is where yours would go) are tracked from participating individuals in the spreadsheet link in my signature line - have a look. Generally quicker than the bland 12 months stated by CIC.

As regards your child, you should also get him / her a Canadian passport if you have not already got one. If a person is a Canadian citizen, they MUST use a Canadian passport to travel to Canada.