Qualifying as a Common-Law Partnership

Common law partnerships are unique because they cohabitate in a marriage like commitment but are not actually married. Recognizing and assessing these types of partnerships are challenging for Canadian Immigration but is essential. Common law couples must provide sufficient supporting documentation and information in order to prove the genuiness of their relationship to Immigration officers.

To learn more about common law relationships from the immigration side, continue reading below.

What is a common law partnership?

Canadian Immigration holds family reunification as a high priority while diligently assessing and recognizing common law partnerships. Canadian citizens and permanent residents have the ability to sponsor their common law partner to come to Canada for permanent residency. Before this can happen, they must first ensure that they qualify as a common-law partnership or union. In order to be considered common law, you must be together in a marriage like commitment, have combined affairs, be dependent on each other and most importantly must have cohabited together for at least 12 months.

Eligibility Requirements to Sponsor your Common-Law Partner

It is very important for the Canadian sponsor to determine whether they are eligible to sponsor their common law partner before applying. In order to sponsor your common law partner to Canada the sponsor:

• Must be at least 18 years old
• Be a Canadian Citizen, permanent resident of Canada or a Registered Indian
• Permanently reside in Canada or demonstrate the intention to reside in Canada if their common law partner successfully gains permanent resident status in Canada
• Have the financial ability to provide the basic necessities for their partner
• Cannot be inadmissible to Canada
• Both the sponsor and the sponsored partner must sign an undertaking agreement which dictates the sponsor’s commitment of responsibility and support for the sponsored partner.

Once the undertaking agreement has been signed that sponsor is responsible for supporting the partner fully for the next 3 years. This includes financially, physically, emotionally etc. The responsibility of the sponsor is very significant and the sponsor must fully understand what they are committing to before undertaking such responsibility. The sponsor must provide the sponsored common law partner with basic necessities which include:

• Health care
• Dental care
• Food
• Shelter
• Clothing
• Eye care
• And all other necessities which are not provided by the public health system

How to qualify as a common law partnership

Common law unions and common law partnerships are defined as “ a person who has been living with another person in a conjugal relationship for at least one year. It is very important to make sure you and your common law partner qualify as common law partners in terms of Canadian Immigration before submitting an application. The qualifications include:

• Must be cohabitating together for a least 12 months
• Must not have left each other for more than a short period of time (business trips etc)
• Must be able to demonstrate combined affairs
• Must share a household

Akrami and Associates

Common law applications are difficult applications and attempting to pursue and submit on your own is not recommended. It is recommended to consult with legal representation prior to submitting. Here at Akrami and Associates we work with and have experience with many different immigration matters. We have helped many clients reunite permanently under common law sponsorship. Contact us today to discuss 416-477-2545  This email address is being protected from spambots. You need JavaScript enabled to view it.