any suggestions?

[jkhaye]

hello everybody. im a newby in this forum. i am a TFW here in canada. i've been here since 2008. but now under skilled status. i am nominated by my employer under ainp program of alberta government. i just want to know your opinion regarding my plan of getting my girlfriend/common law partner in the philippines so she can join me here in canada. but let me tell you my marital status first. i am separated from my wife for 10 years now. she has her own family now and living in italy. but not annulled yet. with 2 kids. my girlfriend of 4 years now is 3months on the family way.

this year, i claimed her to be my common law partner when i filed my income tax. now i am planning to get her and our baby next year under spousal sponsorship. before i come here, i declared my marital status as married since my wife and i are still legally married. my work permit is expiring in november 2011. i am planning to change my marital status from married to common law when i renew my work permit this november. any suggestions on how will i be able to sponsor my common law partner and our baby so they can join me here? thank you very much..

 

[Leon]

You must contact immigration and tell them that you made a mistake when you applied for your work permit because your status is actually separated and in a common-law relationship. You need to tell them now because you need to add your common law wife to your PNP application and she also needs to be on your PR application after you get your nomination. This is important.

If you do not include your common law on your application, immigration will say that you have misrepresented yourself when applying without her. You would not be able to sponsor her and you could possibly lose your own PR.

 

[jkhaye]

hi leon. thanks for the suggestion. but i already submitted my ainp application to the alberta government and they have already sent me an email of my file number. if i am going to tell them that i made a mistake when i first applied/worked here about my marital status, and then change right away, do you think they will say that i am already misrepresenting myself the first time i applied/worked here?

what if, i change my marital status only when i renew my new work permit that will expire on november 2011 and then just sponsor them
if ever i get nominated nor my application for permanent residence get approved by immigration?

 

[Leon]

Actually, it is possible that they don't really see you as being in a common law relationship. If your girlfriend of 4 years is in the Philippines and you are in Canada for the last 3 years, did you actually live together for 12 months at any point? Immigration does not consider you to have a common law relationship unless you have lived together for 12 months. If that is the case, then you shouldn't change your marital status. You would however have a bit of a problem after you get your PR to find a way to sponsor your girlfriend because you would either have to find a way to live together for 12 months or get divorced and marry her.

If you did live together for 12 months or more before you went to Canada, then you did misrepresent yourself on your work permit but at least it was by mistake and not on purpose. If that is the case, you must try correct the mistake as soon as you know about it and then you should really tell AINP about it now and not wait until you renew your work permit.

The important part here is that if you get your PR without declaring your dependents, then you will NEVER be able to sponsor them for PR. With the common law, it is a question if you are actually common law or not depending on if you lived together and for how long. With your baby, if it is born at any time before you land as a PR, you MUST add it to your PR application. It does not matter if you already have the visa and only have to land, if the baby is born before you land, you have to tell them that you need to add the baby because if you don't, you can NEVER sponsor that baby for PR.

 

[jkhaye]

leon, let us say, i did not change my status now, and get approved in my application and eventually get my permanent residency card. can i file now for a divorce here in canada? and then marry my common law partner abroad? will i be able to sponsor her to come here in canada? thank you very much again.

 

[Leon]

I do not know if you can file for a divorce in Canada. I suppose since you have been separated for a long time, your wife will not contest the divorce. Maybe you can divorce in Italy where she lives. You should talk to your wife and a lawyer to figure out what your options are.

If you do get a divorce, you can marry your girlfriend and apply to sponsor her but keep in mind when you write up your relationship history that if you ever lived together for 12 months or more, you can not say that because that would make you guilty of misrepresentation for not listing her as your common law. Instead of that, make sure that you make a point of saying that you have had an ongoing relationship but you never lived together for 12 months and therefore you did not qualify to add her as your common law.

The baby however, if the baby is born before you land as a PR, you must add the baby to your application before you land. That is very important.

 

[jkhaye]

leon, i need your suggestion again. the AINP is asking me to submit the background declaration of my wife even if she is not accompanying me here in Canada. I have sent my wife an email but after weeks of waiting. there is still no reply from her. i dont think she is going to cooperate with me. anyway, what can you suggest for me to do? the AINP said that my application can move on even without the forms of my wife. but from their understanding, the CIC needs those documents (IMM 0008 schedule 1 and IMM 5406) to know the whereabout of my wife as long as we are legally married. thank you very much leon again for your suggestion.

 

[Leon]

Look for your wifes name online. Maybe she is on Facebook or maybe she is listed somewhere. If not, look for information on how you can find a person in Italy. Try Italian police or authorities. Maybe someone can point you in the right direction. If all else fails, hire a private detective in Italy to find her for you. Document your search so that you can show AINP that you have tried to find your wife and it is not for lack of effort on your part that you can not provide her information.

 

[jkhaye]

Re: divorce as the last option?

leon, here is the update on my pr application. the cic has returned my application and told me that i should submit either divorce certificate or my ex wife submit cic necessary documents. since my ex wife is not cooperating with me, divorce is the option that i will take, and the ainp will extend my nomination once i provide them a copy of divorce certificate. now my girlfriend gave birth last september, let us say i got divorced, should i include the name of my girlfriend and our baby in my application for pr? i did not include anybody in my first application that i sent to the ainp and cic. what effect will it have on my application this time? thank you..merry christmas and a happy new year..

 

[Leon]

You should have included your common law when you applied the first time so to avoid those questions, once you get your divorce, you should just marry your girlfriend and include her as your new wife. You must also include your baby in your application.