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Though there may be moral judgments made in many cultures regarding common-law partners and conjugal relationships that are not legal marriages, Canadian immigration policies don’t favor one type of relationship above another for sponsorship purposes. The person being sponsored should be a member of the family-class as defined in the immigration guidelines.

Such relationships entail the same amount of rigorous screening when it comes to sponsorship, and there is a greater burden of proof required to establish the validity of common-law relationships, whereas married partners have to only present a marriage certificate and photographs of the wedding ceremony.

Sponsor Eligibility

Sponsors also have to fulfill certain eligibility criteria. The sponsor should be:

• Aged 18 years or older
• Canadian citizen or permanent resident
• Residing in Canada
• For Canadian citizens not residing in Canada, you should prove that you will live in Canada when the sponsored persons get permanent residentship
• Able to sign an agreement undertaking full financial responsibility for the sponsored person/s
• Able to sign a joint agreement with the sponsored person that confirms that both parties understand their obligations and responsibilities

Definition of Common-law Partner

Common-law marriage is an accepted consensual arrangement between two adults that is recognized by law. Though it has not been legally registered or sanctified by religious or civil rituals, such a relationship has all the attributes of a marriage and both parties consider it to be a valid one.

The IRCC (Immigration Refugee Citizenship Canada) defines a common-law partner as a person living in a conjugal relationship with another person of the same or opposite sex for a period of one year or more. The couple may have children together or separately, they may share the same home, support each other financially and/or emotionally and present themselves in public as a couple. In some cases, common-law partners are unable to live together in their own countries (e.g. where same-sex relationships are not permitted) or they have been separated due to unavoidable circumstances.

The Ontario Family Law Act specifically recognizes common-law relationships for purposes of spousal support.

Some provinces allow the legality of common-law relationships even when one of the partners is married to someone else. An experienced Legal Canadian Immigration Lawyer can advise you further.

For sponsorship purposes, the common-law partner is:

• Not legally married to the sponsor
• Of either sex
• Aged 18 or older
• A person who has been living with the sponsor continuously for a period of at least 12 months unless valid reasons are provided

Proof of Common-law Relationship

There are certain items and criteria that can be used as proof, including:

• joint property ownership, leases, rental agreements
• shared use of utilities like gas, electricity, telephone etc
• shared address on driver’s license, insurance policies etc
• joint bank-accounts/investments/savings
• statutory declarations stating that the relationship is genuine and continuing
• supplementary proofs like photographs of shared holidays, dates, text-messaging/email/instant-message logs, receipts for gifts, etc.

An experienced, authorized Canada Immigration Consultant can assist you with the entire process so that it is completed swiftly and smoothly.

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