Jhulley

Hi there

I have read many common law related posts on here and must say that have been very informative!

I am actually writing about myself (Canadian) and my boyfriend (British). We have been together for a while but have only recently started living together. We plan to go to Canada next year around Feb-March, he using the BUNAC visa.
At that point we will have been living together for a year and have lots of documentation on that (bills, letters, cards, leases, bank stuff etc).

My question is this - we know we want to stay longer than a year and so think we will go the common law sponsorship route in order to extend his stay. Where I get confused is the '12 month continuous living together" bit.

We will have 12 months documented here, and then when we land in Canada we plan to stay with my mom for about a month or so to get settled while finding a place. I wonder if this break in documented shared leases will muck up the application? Like if we land in Feb, and have 12 months documented in the UK and then dont start a new lease till say, March, if we apply for a spousal in april or may will that gap in time void the 12 months continuous bit? Im not even sure if what I am asking is making sense! All this reading has my head muddled.

Basically we want to do it the easiest way possible. And we want to leave here for Canada around next February. We decided to have him enter on a working holiday and then switch would be the easiest as it gives him right to work immediately while the other application is processed - Ive read that it can take a long time.
I am just worried that the gap between our lease here in the UK and a new one in canada will mess it up. I realize if we spent that month 'travelling' and had hotel receipts it probably wouldnt make a difference, but because we are going to stay with family - is there any way to document this?

Sorry for the long winded question - and I hope it made sense!

thanks!

destinationnovascotia

I may be wrong, but I thought that you couldn't get a BUNAC if you have a Canadian Citizen or Canadian PR common law.

You may just have to apply to sponsor him and go that way. He can always go over as a visitor while you are waiting and then apply for an extension if his PR isn't through within 6 months of getting there.

I can't really see that he would need a BUNAC anyway even if he could get one, just seems like a waste of money.

destinationnovascotia

Sorry, just read the extra bit about wanting to work.

I still think that he is ineligible for a BUNAC under the new rules.

Jhulley

Its more that we kinda want to be in canada next February, which is when our 12 months of living together will be valid. This would be the point in which I could then apply to sponsor him and from what Ive read it can take 6-12 months to get that, and we dont really want to be in the UK for another year. Also the option of him just being a visitor in Canada with out a right to work seems to be a financial pressure. Basically we'd like to get to Canada ASAP and have him with the right to work. But with the BUNAC we know he'd be limited to a year, and moving over there for a year seems like such a big move for a short time.

Jhulley

I know I just read the new BUNAC thing literally about 5 min ago. Now I am wondering if he should apply for BUNAC and pretend I dont exist, then when we are in canada try to go under skilled worker (he does have enough points - but again the wait is a few years!) or try to get a temp work permit to extend it.

destinationnovascotia

You should check the new rules on the BUNAC site, I think that living with you makes him ineligible.

http://www.bunac.org/uk/workcanada/eligibility.aspx

Jhulley

Another though, if he applied for the BUNAC in Dec when it opens, we will not have been living together for a year.....only in feb will it be a year which is when we were going to leave.
Does anyone know if this makes any difference?

destinationnovascotia

I am sure that one of the experts will be along later with more info. Personally I would be wary of trying to run a little close to the edge on the rules. It may come back to bite you in the butt later.

Good luck anyway, I hope that it all works out for you.

Jhulley

Me again, and hopefully someone out there can help!

Ive been reading and reading about the common law sponsorship and now am wondering a few things:

Can we apply for his sponsorhip here in the UK and then move to Canada after it has been submitted, but before it is approved? I would be entering as a citizen but he would have to be on a visitors basis - I understand he wont be able to work with this. I read that applications are faster if they are made outside Canada - and we are trying to avoid applying from outside Canada and having to be separated for months. If we do that would I have to return to Canada in before we submit it so that I am in the country, we mail off the app and then he comes and enters Canada as a visitor during the waiting times?
We currently live together and if this were the case I would move home and he has family here that he could use as his permanent address while it all gets sorted.

I hope this makes sense,

we are getting a little discouraged with the thought of having to apply and be separated for months, or having to apply and wait months here before we can return together (long story but has to do with me being on a work sponsored permit in the UK and getting burned out very quickly at the job). We would be very happy with a solution that allowed us to apply and have him be in Canada but not working so long as it wasnt something like a whole year as that is a very long time to be idle!

Thanks so much in advance.

J

Maple Leaf

if you do a search here you will see that outland applcations are processed and settled realy fast!!!!

i see you started another thread about common law.

however..i just also want to say that misleading cic in anyway....could be a huge mistake!.....i do think that going through bunac...skilled worker..and pretending you two do not know each other is so unnecessary when you can apply for common law...next feb.

good luck with it all

Linzania

hi,

i am in a similar situation - the only real difference is that i have not lived with my canadian boyfriend yet and when i get my bunac visa in the summer i will go to canada to start living with him. hopefully i will apply for common law near the end of my bunac year...i understand that i will be able to do this because he is not (or wont be) my common law partner until we have actually lived together...so even though we have been together for nearly 2years by the time i go to canada, we arent classed as common law (this is stipulated on the bunac site with these new regulations.) so we believe we fall clear of this new "rule".

i would also suggest not lying to the CIC about you not knowing each other. if you have the proof to apply as common law then do it. keep us updated with what you decide and good luck!

Jhulley

Hiya.

We talked to the Bunac people who said that since the application will be made in December, he can not say that we are common law. Common law will apply at the end of February when we have been living together for 12 months.

Does anyone know of trouble entering Canada this way and then applying for the common law sponsorship a few months later? The main reason we would do this is so that he can work during the whole application process.

Thanks!

Linzania

well that sounds exactly like my situation..obv applying before you are common law will help you out because you want to go there to work/live together. i cannot see there being a problem then applying for PR once the bunac has expired; you would be applying and keeping within the bunac rules. it is good that they told you you (your bf) can apply.

Maple Leaf

just a suggestion, but i would take a look at the common law forms ( if you haven't yet) and just see what is asked and required.

you will find that it asks when and how you met etc..dates you started to live together etc etc. and other questions just so you are aware of what will be ahead for you.

Jhulley

Yeah Ive been reading them.....exhausting!

started to compile our file and keep things etc etc so that at end of Feb we could have a 12 month living together situation etc etc. the main reason for the bunac one was just so that he can work while we wait for it. I know they (bunac) said because its only 10 months at time of application that we cant qualify for common law and therefore can have bunac, and then after we land in canada and the 12 months has passed to apply for common law sponsorship (around march/april). For some reason, I dont trust them to know this! Im going to keep looking. Common sense says that if we arent common law when we apply for bunac (which we wont be) then we could apply. I worry about them looking at a common law application 3 months later and thinking its not allowed because he came over on a bunac.

am I wron? I think I expect the visa process to be as painful and filled with red tape ass possible! lol.