What proves my relationship is genuine for a sponsorship?
Short answer
There is no single list imposed by law: a relationship is established through a body of dated, consistent documents, and for a common-law partner what has to be shown is cohabitation for at least one year in a conjugal relationship (s. 1 of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Regulations).
In detail
The Regulations set the definition — at least one year of living together in a conjugal relationship for a common-law partner — but do not dictate which documents to produce. What is looked at is whether the whole picture holds together: do the dates line up, is the shared life documented continuously, do third parties recognize the relationship.
The official guide for the spouse, common-law partner and conjugal partner sponsorship program sets out in detail the documents requested with the form. That guide is what governs what the application must contain.
A file put together after the fact is harder to document than one kept as you go. Documents that are contemporaneous with the relationship — the ones carrying a date from the time — are not easily replaced.
What to document
A timeline of the relationship (how you met, when you started living together, moves), and for each period: address, proof of cohabitation, shared expenses, saved communications, trips, family events. Note the date of each document, not just what it says.
Put your facts in writing, free. Writing your version down early, keeping your documents dated and preparing your questions for a lawyer: the tool is there to document, never to advise.
Open the application Up to 3 files, no card · see the plans
Official sources
- Immigration and Refugee Protection Regulations, s. 1 (definitions)
- Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada — Guide 5289 (sponsor your spouse, common-law partner, conjugal partner or dependent child)
Related questions
- Can I apply for permanent residence on humanitarian and compassionate grounds?
- My permanent resident card has expired have I lost my status?
- Can I make a humanitarian application while my refugee claim is being processed?
- My work permit expires soon can I keep working?
- What is maintained status or implied status in Canada?
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What this page is not
This is general legal information about the law of Quebec and Canada, dated and sourced. It is not legal advice, not a strategy, and not a prediction about the outcome of a case. In Quebec, only lawyers and notaries may give legal advice (Act respecting the Barreau du Québec, ss. 128 and 133). Laws and amounts change: the official source always prevails over us.