Canada Border Services Agency or IRCC officers may be interested in a relationship you had before you landed. Specifically, if you sponsor a spouse after entering Canada on a visa, an officer may form the impression that you were in a common-law relationship for one year before you entered Canada on that visa. That impression could lead to a finding of a material misrepresentation (defined at subsection 40 of Immigration Refugee Protection Act ).
Why do officers care? Failing to disclose such a relationship may have cut off a line of inquiry that would have affected whether or not you should have been issued a visa. For example, in the case of sponsoring a spouse, you may have indicated that you lived together for more than one year before you landed as a permanent resident. Such a living arrangement would be deemed to be a common law relationship under Immigration Refugee Protection Act. Such a relationship would normally require a medical and police check of your common law partner prior to your obtaining permanent resident status. This was not done since the immigration authorities were not informed of the relationship. If your common law partner had a criminal conviction or serious medical condition, your permanent resident status may have been denied.
If faced with an investigation of a non-disclosed relationship, beware that an officer would presume that you intentionally hid the existence of such a relationship because the disclosure of the relationship may have adversely affected your chances of landing as a permanent resident. Since officers presume an intention to hide the relationship, the standard of evidence they required to deem a relationship to be a common law one is quite low.
In some cases the mere mentioning on an application – without proof – that you lived for one year with someone that you were in love with can trigger an allegation of being in a common law relationship. This mentioning of living together for one year on an immigration form need not be accompanied by evidence typically required such as: joint insurance policies, wills, anything naming your partner as beneficiary, documents showing travel together, identity documents showing same address, documents showing joint ownership of possessions, joint mortgage/loan, joint lease/rental agreement, joint bank accounts/statements. Rather, only the mentioning of living together would be sufficient to incline an officer to investigate you.
Then, based on your failure to mention an allegedly common law relationship, an officer would initiate the steps to issue you an exclusion order, accompanied by a five year ban on being in Canada.
Your only hope in such situations would be to show that you were not in a common law relationship: for example, showing that you had multiple sexual partners, that you did not present the person you lived with as an exclusive boyfriend or girlfriend to friends and family, that you did not share financial responsibilities, and that you lived with other persons during the one year prior to landing.
If faced with such an allegation, you may need professional legal advice. We’re here to help in such situations.
I have been married for 5 yrs now. Everything was going fine. I applied for Canada student visa. I got the visa. While filing for visa, I added as married. But that time my husband wasn’t interested to travel so I didn’t add him in dependent coming with me. I applied for myself and I got visa on march this year. Now the problem is we got divorced this June due to arguments and difference in choices and personality.
Now my problem is, do I need to inform immigration abt change in my marital status? Or I have to send application ? If so…how? And I’m going this sept if possible or next January.
Do I need to disclose abt my divorce to immigration officer even if they don’t ask…or do I need to inform them as soon as I land Canada? This will be my first ever trip to Canada
Hello you may want to consult with us for a client-specific question.
I have been married for 5 yrs now. Everything was going fine. I applied for Canada student visa. I got the visa. While filing for visa, I added as married. But that time my husband isn’t interested to travel so I did not add him in dependent coming with me. I applied for myself and I got visa on march this year. Now the problem is we got divorced this June due to arguments and difference in choices and personality. Now my problem is, do I need to inform immigration abt change in my marital status? Or I have to send application ? If so…how? And I’m going this sept if possible or next January. Do I need to disclose abt my divorce to immigration officer even if they don’t ask…or do I need to inform them as soon as I land Canada? This will be my first ever trip to Canada
Hello we’ll reach out to you shortly.
Hi. I applied for a post graduation work permit as single, but recently, my boyfriend declared our common law partnership that I should have done in the first place. The reason was because the immigration representative did not explain common law partnership clearly that resulted to my application remaining single. At the moment I am working with an implied status, waiting for my post graduation work permit. I submitted the application in January 23, and my boyfriend submitted his around May. Do I need to update my post graduation work permit application, then? Thank you
Hello, to help preserve confidentiality please email your question to clerk@chaudharylaw.wpenginepowered.com, thank you.
I applied for AINP and I got nominated. On that application my status was in common-law relationship. I submitted my application last january 2022 and got nominated by March 2022. But in February 2022 we decided to separate. Then last week I got invited to apply for PR but im already single. What am i going to do?
Hi there! My case is pretty similar to this one. I got married 2 weeks before making my soft landing and i failed to update the status before landing in canada. But, my wife wasnt financialy dependent upon me nor had she moved in with me. We had a seperate function where she was officially sent off to live with me after coming back from Canada. Is there a solution for this or will i have to bear the brunt of the mistake that i made??
Hello, we’ll try to reach out to probe this matter further.
Hello,
I just finished my college program and now I can apply for my post graduate work permit. I currently live with my girlfriend and I love her, we have been living together for 7 months. She is from Japan and has a work permit that expires next February. Should I include her as a common law partner in my application? She is planning on applying for her work permit extension but if that doesn’t work I would love to have more options available for both of us since I don’t want to lose her. Thank you in advance.
Hello we’ll try to reach out on this in a separate communication.
Hi,
I lived in common law in saskatchewan . My common-law partner applied for SINP but did not include me as a common law partner because we were not sure in Saskatchewan it required 2 year of living to become common law or 1 year. It had just been 1 year of our living together. However, we got married and applied he applied me as a spouse and we also included our common law relationship. Will it matter if we did not apply as common law before but after marriage we mention it that we had been living together as common law?
Hello you may want to consult with us on this.
Does it also include failed to disclose the marital status during provincial nominee.
My girlfriend PR application is still under process, if it is the law then I can update it right now. However, she already got her provincial nominee under single status, is it too late to change?
Hello i’ll also reply privately.
Is it too late to make the claim, my girlfriend already applied for Provincial Nominee under single status. The PR is still in process, can I update it right now? Or is it too late?
Hello i’ll send you a message privately.
Hi, I have applied and was approved for a temporary work permit, I also have already received the port of entry letter, but I want to get married before traveling, is it ok getting married before arriving in Canada?
Would I need to inform IRCC about my marital status change before arriving?
Thank you.
Hello i’ll send you a messaage privately.
I have the same question in the exact situation as above.
you mean not declaring a relative?
Do you mind letting me know how it turned out? I am in the same situation
please email us at clerk@chaudharylaw.wpenginepowered.com
I have remarried and I have to file express entry pr for canada… wheather I have to disclose dt m remarried or I have to fill dt divorced… bcoz single have maximum points…kindly suggest me.
Hello Tarun, you must file a case such as Express Entry with the most accurate history reasonably possible which includes the history of marriages and divorces. The failure to do so may result in a ban of five years which can also occur if you obtained permanent resident status and the authorities discovered a material misrepresentation in the permanent resident application that led to landing as a permanent resident. One can be deported even after that person acquired permanent resident status in Canada. Further details can be had via the link: https://chaudharylaw.com/book-an-appointment/
I recently received my ITA and just realized after tax season that I have been common-law with my girlfriend since September 2020. I filled out my Express Entry profile as Single, and am contacting IRCC tomorrow to see if the marital status on my application can be changed post ITA or if I have to decline my invitation and re-enter the pool. I had applied for and received a PGWP extension under a public policy earlier this year before tax season, declaring myself mistakenly as Single. My question to you is, will this affect my PR application? I was planning to write a letter of explanation in my PR application explaining my mistake on the PGWP application. My girlfriend is a Canadian citizen and I have been living with her in Canada since September 2019. Any advice would be greatly appreciated, thank you.
Hi we reached out to you today, if there’s any question please let us know.
Dear Chaudhary,
I want to get your consultation, please share the procedure.
hello you can do this online using the link: Hello and thanks for emailing Chaudhary Law Office ,
https://chaudharylaw.com/book-an-appointment/ (you have to select the
length of the consultation next to the word ‘service’.)
-or-, If you have any issues with the link above please let me know
and I can try to directly assist you by emailing us at clerk@chaudharylaw.wpenginepowered.com.
Hi, my partner and I have been living together for more than a year since January 2020 I applied for provincial nominee sometime in 2020 as a single applicant and got my nomination certificate and also filed my PR application as single and haven’t updated my marital status since. We don’t have joint bank accounts or any online presence showing that we are together due to family issues. Now I am planning to apply for express entry and having trouble whether to apply as common law or single? Will there be any issues with my PR application?
Hello, you want to be as truthful as possible and at the same time not jeopardize your potential application. We’ll send a message to you privately.
I am already in the last stage for my express entry but I got divorced in March 2021 and my only beneficiary is my husband. Should I report to IRCC?
Hello it is good to report material changes in an Express Entry application . I spoke to one of the lawyers and in some cases when someone reports a change, an officer might query if the case should still be approved after declaring a change like a divorce. Some caution may be needed to avoid some form of surprise. If you need further information you can contact us at clerk@chaudharylaw.wpenginepowered.com
Hi
I landed in Toronto on Apr 15th
my status is PR
my landing process could not be done because two weeks before I came to Canada,
I got married and didn’t know I should declare my marriage to the Canadian government.
the officer didn’t do my landing process and sent me to further examination department
It has been more than 15 days that I am living in Toronto and I do not have any IDs or status
for living in Canada, I also do not have SIN number which means I can not work and open a bank account, and so on
I would appreciate if you could help me
This is my husband not me
I landed in Toronto on June 25 my status is PR my landing process could not be done because I get married after my visa was approved before I came to Canada, I got married and didn’t know I should declare my marriage to the Canadian government. the officer didn’t do my landing process and sent me to further examination department do not have SIN number which means I can not work and open a bank account, and so on I would appreciate if you could help me
You may likely have an opporunity for providing an explanation at the immigration division of the Immigration Refugee Board and you may want to get experienced legal representation for that.
Hi,
please advise me,
I came to Canada on a study permit, while filing my study permit application, I did not disclosed that I had a common law relationship as in India, the term is not famous and I did not knew that the living relationship and common law is the same. Hence, I showed my relationship status single.
I want to call my partner on open work permit on the basis of common law now,
we have 2 years of lease agreement, internet bills and all required documents to prove our relationship
hi we’ll reach out to your email.
My wife applied for canada study permit and we got married before she apply but due to family issue we shown her marital status single and now some lawyers say it’s a major issue you don’t provide false information what can we do now?one option is we affidavit our marriage and upload by web form with marriage certificate or any other option.Her file not started review yet.
Hello,
I applied through PNP and federal, and I have been in a common in law relationship. I checked the box of Common in law relationship but he does not accompany me to Canada. Because my partner is Canadian. So I did not receive any point from my partner. But now, in my PR application, it asks for his background check. It is hard for me to get one, since he lived for four years in Ireland over the past ten years. Can I remove him as my partner? Should I remove him or keep him? Also, should I say he accompanies me to Canada while he is already a Canadian? I also have a work permit under review, with common in law partner noted.
Hello, I applied for citizenship. I have been single for my PR, and I was planning to marry just after I submitted my citizenship application. We were not living together, but we were engaged, but I mistakenly I mentioned my status as a common-in-low. There was any issue of sponsorship or anything. I just noticed it a year after. My application is still in process, but I m not sure how I can report about it. Or if report it what will be the consequences ?
Hi, its good to report any inaccuracies before the case gets flagged. If there is some concern that the case may have been looked at already, you may want to consult one of our lawyers.
I got married while pregnant with my now 2years old twins ****************. Filed my H&C application in ***************Soon after we got married things didn’t got well with us and we were not living together. My applicationwas approved and ap*************0 as single because of the situation I was finding myself in and not knowing thereabouts of my spouse. We thereafter sorted out our differences got back together with my husband. I applied to sponsor him but got a letter saying that my husband, does not under the spouse and common law class and they want some explanation. How i do this please
hi we’ll reach out toyou by email
Hi. I applied for a student visa permit. And i got my visa. But I didn’t declare my common law partner , But my boyfriend declared me as a common law partner on his working visa application that i should have done in the first place. But without me knowing on how it works and need to be done. The reason was because the immigration or the agency /agent did not explain how common law partnership works that resulted to my application remaining single. What should I do?
Hello this may not be an issue depending on how the officer viewed/assessed your study visa permit.
I am the sponsor. The person I sponsored was engaged to 2 people at once then 1 week before coming to canada she break off with him. Suspect prostitution here in canada and abroad I have documented. Have documented proof of them saying that they use me to come here. I need a lawyer to put everything together submit to CBS
hello you may want to email us the details to the email of clerk at chaudharylaw.com thanks.
My wife has forged documents such as a Letter of recommendation, and 2 experience certificates submitted these documents at York University, Canada. She got her 1 year student visa by deceiving the immigration. I got ahold of an email and found all her fake documents. According to one of her document she had shown herself as Unmarried. She did not declare her marital status as married in her visa. She concealed her marital status and I was kept in dark about her plans for Canada. She is currently in Canada. We are not on talking terms.
I have raised this concern with CBSA ( Canadian border service agency ) & IRCC. I have also filed an official complaint with our local police. I have also shared all her fake documents and our marriage certificate as proofs. I have also got a response from director of travellers branch emphasizing the commitment of CBSA & to acknowledge the importance of information that I have provided.
Her visa expires in August 2023. Will she able to extend her student visa or apply for an open work permit, when authorities are aware of her of this immigration fraud?
Hello with some luck the Canada Border Services Agency will investigate her status before the next permit or visa is filed or issued
Hello, I was divorced before applying for PR via express entry. I provided my divorce certificate and selected correct status on my EE PR application. My PR was approved but the COPR listed single. Now I need to apply for citizenship. Should I mention single or divorced in my application?
Hi assuming this is not a material misrepresentation then you can mention divorced. If you’re not sure if the misrepresentation is non-material or material feel free to consult with us. You can start that process through the link: https://chaudharylaw.com/book-an-appointment/ (selecting the ‘service’ of 170 or 500). If you have any questions about the above please let me know.
I have recently applied for divorce, as there was misunderstanding between us and were separately living for 5+ years. I came across the best person in my life recently and we decided to marry once the divorce is settled. In the meantime i’m applying for Canadian PR. Whom should i specify in the PR application? Pls advice.
You have to mention the details of both relationships, the level of detail would be dependent on the type of permanent resident category used.
I and my wife have been in relationship from 2022 February but we have been friends and cohabiting at the same address since she came here to canada in 2019. ….
We want to let the IRCC know in the form that we are living at the same address but we were not in a conjugal relationship. And started conjugal relationship after 2 years our affairs were not together at al. but we got married with each other this year and we knew each other from past.. can there be any issues for it?
This may create issues particuarly if one of you is seeking a visa or other Canadian immigration privilege based on your common law status
Hi, I have already apply for PR through Quebec Skilled Worker, but my partner and I will turn into common law status next month as we’ll have been living together for one year. We have a co-signed lease but we are sort of in a private relationship, so we don’t have photos with our friends. If I inform IRCC that I have a common law partner but the officer think we don’t have sufficient evidence, would it be a misrepresentation?
It would be unfair for them to ‘misrep’ you for rejecting your common law status, unless you filed evidence showing you were clearly lying.
This Is my husband issues now I need help please
I landed in Toronto on June 25 my status is PR my landing process could not be done because I get married after my visa was approved before I came to Canada, I got married and didn’t know I should declare my marriage to the Canadian government. the officer didn’t do my landing process and sent me to further examination department do not have SIN number which means I can not work and open a bank account, and so on I would appreciate if you could help me
Hello you may want to contact our office https://www.chaudharylaw.com – or https://chaudharylaw.com/book-an-appointment/
Good day! My ex husband is currently in Toronto now and he has filed divorce and the divorce was granted by the family court in Ontario. We have been separated for 11 years now. Divorce was granted on Oct 2020. I don’t know his real status in Canada, whether his PR was granted or what. He has applied PR for our 2 kids but early this year but till now, nothing has happened.
I am living and working in Qatar for 10 years and planning to apply for a tourist visa to Canada. I have travelled to some countries and really wanted to visit Canada. Question is, will the divorce and pending PR application of our kids affect the tourist visa application? I don’t have plan of living in Canada, my sole purpose is only as a tourist.
Would appreciate any advise regarding this.
Hello some further informaiton is at: https://chaudharylaw.com/services/permanent-residence/dependent-children/ and if this is insufficient please email us at clerk[at]chaudharylaw.com
Hi, I’m wondering how to best declare my marital status.
When I received my Copr and before landing, my girlfriend and I lived together for 10 months and signed a cohabitation agreement in Belgium.
In Belgium this does does not equate to marriage since siblings can also sign the same agreement. Also we did not live together for up to 1year which meets the requirement is common law in Canada.
My question is that what should I declare as my marital status? Is it single or common law partner?
That may not be a common law scenario