common-law status
Feb 1st 2007 | 7:40 am
#1
Thread Starter
Forum Regular
Joined: Sep 2006
Posts: 212
From: Cobble Hill, Vancouver Island
common-law status
hi,
has anyone applied for a work permit under PNP as common-law, if so, how did you prove your common-law status, as someone has told me that you need either notary publis or solicotor to do a commisioner of oath. does anyone know if this is true or is there any other way you can prove yhour common-law status
thanks
has anyone applied for a work permit under PNP as common-law, if so, how did you prove your common-law status, as someone has told me that you need either notary publis or solicotor to do a commisioner of oath. does anyone know if this is true or is there any other way you can prove yhour common-law status
thanks
Feb 1st 2007 | 7:50 am
#2
Now on Vancouver Island
Joined: Feb 2005
Posts: 6,935
From: Nanaimo, British Columbia, Canada
Re: common-law status
According to the immigration section of Citizenship and Immigration Canada's website, this is the definition of a common-law partner:
Common-law partner
You are a common-law partner—either of opposite sex or same-sex—if you have been living with your sponsor in a conjugal relationship for at least one year. The year of living together must be a continuous 12-month period and cannot be intermittent periods that add up to one year. However, you are allowed temporary absences for short periods of time for business travel or family reasons.
You will have to provide documents that prove that you and your common-law partner have combined your affairs and have set up your household together in one home. This could include:
I am guessing that the "proof" you use for a work permit under PNP is the same.
You are a common-law partner—either of opposite sex or same-sex—if you have been living with your sponsor in a conjugal relationship for at least one year. The year of living together must be a continuous 12-month period and cannot be intermittent periods that add up to one year. However, you are allowed temporary absences for short periods of time for business travel or family reasons.
You will have to provide documents that prove that you and your common-law partner have combined your affairs and have set up your household together in one home. This could include:
- 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
- correspondence addressed to either person or both people at the same address
Feb 1st 2007 | 7:56 am
#3
Thread Starter
Forum Regular
Joined: Sep 2006
Posts: 212
From: Cobble Hill, Vancouver Island
Re: common-law status
hi
thanks for that,
we are applying thru PNP but we aint got our work permit papers yet,although a friend of ours has, and it states in theirs to get a solicitors oath as well as other proof.
thanks
thanks for that,
we are applying thru PNP but we aint got our work permit papers yet,although a friend of ours has, and it states in theirs to get a solicitors oath as well as other proof.
thanks
Jul 13th 2007 | 10:55 am
#4
BE Forum Addict
Joined: Jul 2007
Posts: 1,201
From: Vancouver, BC
Re: common-law status
Did you very get to the bottom of this?
I was rather confused about the Commissioner of Oaths part on the Comon-law form.
We've in BC at the moment on BUNAC visas and submitted indivdual PNP with our respective employers on Monday and Tuesday (9&10th July 07). We have declared each other common-law just in case one of us is turned down so we can then go in on the other persons - covering all bases type of thing.
We filled in the first part of the common-law form saying that have a joint bank account, joint utilities, joint tenancy agreement, benficiery on each others life insurances etc, but just the 'oaths' part blank.
We also both included cover letters saying that the other was doing their own application.
OH got phone call on Wednesday from BC PNP saying that it had been flagged that he was already a common-law of me when they started opening his own file and seeing that it is a $550 fee each did he want them to proceed. Thought that was VERY niec of them and doubted Feds would the same. As both companies paying we aren't bothered and prefer this 'belt and braces' approach.
Anyway, back to my orginal question - have you had to see a commisioner or oaths or anything to prove common-law, or have you just submitted your joint bacnk account details???
If so we're tempted just to get married here and now just for the piece of paper, and then have a "wedding" back in the UK in a few years.
Jul 13th 2007 | 1:08 pm
#5
Joined: May 2004
Posts: 8,982
Re: common-law status
I strongly suggest reading very carefully sections of Immigration Manual that deal with common-law and conjugal relationships - extracted sections are attached to this post. There is way more to it than quoted earlier by Judy few phrases from CIC website.
Last edited by Andrew Miller; Jul 13th 2007 at 1:18 pm.
Jul 14th 2007 | 5:14 am
#6
Joined: Feb 2007
Posts: 3,020
Re: common-law status
You should complete a statutory declaration of common-law union:
http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/pdf/kit...s/IMM5409E.PDF
plus provide as many pieces of evidence as you can - i.e. joint bank statements, any insurance or pensions showing your partner as the main beneficiary, wills listing each other, utilities bills, tenancy agreements.
This is what we did for our work permit application and had no problems. We inquired with CHC London and they advised us that we'd need to provide the exact same sort of stuff for our PR application. I was a little confused as I'd read about people providing all kinds of testimonies from family members, photos of themselves together, etc, but that seems to be required only for family-class sponsorships.
http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/pdf/kit...s/IMM5409E.PDF
plus provide as many pieces of evidence as you can - i.e. joint bank statements, any insurance or pensions showing your partner as the main beneficiary, wills listing each other, utilities bills, tenancy agreements.
This is what we did for our work permit application and had no problems. We inquired with CHC London and they advised us that we'd need to provide the exact same sort of stuff for our PR application. I was a little confused as I'd read about people providing all kinds of testimonies from family members, photos of themselves together, etc, but that seems to be required only for family-class sponsorships.
Jul 14th 2007 | 11:54 am
#7
Senile Member
Joined: Sep 2006
Posts: 1,253
From: North of Manchester
Re: common-law status
You should complete a statutory declaration of common-law union:
http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/pdf/kit...s/IMM5409E.PDF
plus provide as many pieces of evidence as you can - i.e. joint bank statements, any insurance or pensions showing your partner as the main beneficiary, wills listing each other, utilities bills, tenancy agreements.
This is what we did for our work permit application and had no problems. We inquired with CHC London and they advised us that we'd need to provide the exact same sort of stuff for our PR application. I was a little confused as I'd read about people providing all kinds of testimonies from family members, photos of themselves together, etc, but that seems to be required only for family-class sponsorships.
http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/pdf/kit...s/IMM5409E.PDF
plus provide as many pieces of evidence as you can - i.e. joint bank statements, any insurance or pensions showing your partner as the main beneficiary, wills listing each other, utilities bills, tenancy agreements.
This is what we did for our work permit application and had no problems. We inquired with CHC London and they advised us that we'd need to provide the exact same sort of stuff for our PR application. I was a little confused as I'd read about people providing all kinds of testimonies from family members, photos of themselves together, etc, but that seems to be required only for family-class sponsorships.
Jul 18th 2007 | 6:47 am
#8
Forum Regular
Joined: Jul 2006
Posts: 100
From: Victoria, BC
Re: common-law status
we applied for PNP in BC as common-law, and included bank account info, etc, plus we got both sets of parents and my sister to write a simple letter each stating that to best of their knowledge confirm that we have been living and co-habiting as common-law partners since x (our approach was better to have too much rather than risk delaying the processing)
we also completed the statutory declaration of common law union in the presence of our solicitor (commissioner of oaths in Canada) who stamped it etc.
That seemed fine for PNP in BC.
We just applied to extend work permits (now come through) whilst waiting for PR and I called CIC to clarify and they said just include a copy of the common law declaration (ie don't have to "re-prove" with all the evidence) and that was fine.
we also completed the statutory declaration of common law union in the presence of our solicitor (commissioner of oaths in Canada) who stamped it etc.
That seemed fine for PNP in BC.
We just applied to extend work permits (now come through) whilst waiting for PR and I called CIC to clarify and they said just include a copy of the common law declaration (ie don't have to "re-prove" with all the evidence) and that was fine.
