Have a common law partner, and you are looking for ways to sponsor them to become permanent residents in Canada? Well, the good news is you can absolutely do it!
Just have to complete an IMM 5409 statutory declaration of common law status, and you will be all set to go for it!
In this article, you will get a complete idea about how to fill statutory declaration of common law union along with other relevant topics.
Before jumping right into the topic, let's develop a basic understanding of what is this IMM 5409 statutory declaration of common law:
What is the IMM 5409 statutory declaration of common law status?
IMM 5409 – a statutory declaration of the common law union.
It is an application form used by the individuals who want to include their common law partners in their immigration applications.
The Canadian government has several family class sponsorship programs using which individuals can sponsor any of their family members for migration to Canada as permanent inhabitants.
In other words, the IMM5409 is an Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) form which is used for immigration purposes for the common law partners.
Through this form, the common law partner can declare the legitimacy of their common law union. Here, the signers have to submit the completed IMM5409 form to the IRCC as a proof of their relationship.
What is meant by a common law relationship?
According to the Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada, common law partners are couples who are not legally married but are living in a conjugal relationship for at least a minimum period of 1 year.
This relationship countdown begins from the day on which both the parties can state the proof of their living together.
Cohabitation – this term simply refers to living together. And when partners who live together tend to share all their personal and financial affairs along with setting up the entire household under one roof.
While a conjugal relationship shows the permanence of a relationship between the couples living together.
Such as,
· Economically, socially, mentally, and physically – they are just interdependent on each other.
· Shares all the household and other related responsibilities.
· Are seriously committed to each other
Who must fill out the statutory declaration of common law union?
The IMM 5409 must be submitted whenever it is essential on the Document Checklist for your application form.
Even if not needed, submitting this form is still a very good idea. This may help you in the future, especially when you want to seek an immigration benefit depending on your relationship.
For instance, you must submit this form while sponsoring a common law partner for permanent residence or wanting to include them on an Express Entry or PNP application. Otherwise, it will not be acceptable.
Temporary residents can also get access to all the facilities available to married couples through this. It can also help qualified spouses to have open work permits, and international students want their common law partner to accompany them or extend their stay in the country.
For immigration purposes, 3 essential criteria must be fulfilled for creating the common law union:
· Lived together as a couple for a minimum time of 1 year continuously (inside or outside the country)
· Have combined all their personal and financial affairs
· Intention to live together permanently
Few things to know about:
Only after one year of cohabitation, you will be considered a common law couple. After that, you can separately live for temporarily due to work or any other purposes. Rest assured this will not affect your relationship if you meet that criteria once.
So, what things do you need to meet?
As part of the form, there are some requirements that common law partners must satisfy and prove that they are in a serious and committed relationship. Nothing is fake in between them.
Have a look at the requirements you have to ideally meet at all costs to prove you fall under these criteria:
· Have been living as a common law partner for at least a period of 1 year before filing the application
· Joint lease, mortgage or any sort of buying contract related to residence
· Jointly owned assets apart from the residence
· Any mutual bank, trust or credit card accounts
· Announced common-law union on their T1 following the Canadian Income Tax Act
· Life insurance documents
How to fill statutory declaration of common law union?
For filling IMM 5409, there are a series of steps that you need to follow accordingly.
Below are the steps to complete for IMM 5409:
1. At first, make sure that you meet all the requirements to be a common law partner.
2. After then, fill out the form, but no need to sign or date it until you are placed in front of the Commissioner of Oaths. As these can be typed or completed written by hand later on. And in case of any changes, you can fix it if not previously signed. But in case of singed, you will not be able to undo it.
3. Make sure to use your entire legal name as written on your passport.
4. The form needs the exact number of years you both are living together as a couple. Here, the countdown will begin from the date when you moved in together, not your dating date. In case you have more than one cohabitation period, put the most recent one where you have lived together for more than 1 year.
5. Once all the essential things are filled out, your next task is to click on the validate button to make sure you left no blanks. Validating will help you to find out any if any things are left incomplete or not. As a result, ensure no delays in getting the application processed. And once validated, you will find barcodes and a signature line appearing on the last page.
6. Finally, you have to print the form. Make sure to use a better printer and paper as it will be the final one you submit. After preparing all the necessary documents, keep the barcode page on the package top.
Note:
While signing, attend and be present together on time physically before the Commissioner of Oaths.
When do you need to take a professional's help?
Generally, you don't need an expert's help for doing this. But in case you fall under the below-mentioned criteria list, it is better to resort to a professional to avoid future hassles and stresses.
· You are not clear whether the relationship is eligible for being deemed as common law or not. For instance, you have been together for more than 1 year but haven't lived for a continuous period. It was more of an off-and-on thing.
· Not sure of the specific date when it started off.
· Didn't change your address despite moving in with your partner.
· Have stayed together for 1 year but were apart from each other for short times.
· You acknowledged as being single on your earlier immigration forms while, in reality, you were in a common law relationship.
· Though you meet all the criteria of common-law status, but you have no document to prove that.
· While filing in the taxes, you didn't declare yourself as being in a common-law relationship to Canada Revenue Agency.
· Don't know how to fill out the IMM 5409 form accurately.
To Conclude
The common law relationship is pretty straightforward. However, unlike marriage, they are a bit tough to prove in front of others, based on how the relationship has grown.
Therefore, if you want to avoid facing the hassles and instead want to enjoy the immigration benefits that a couple gets to enjoy, make sure to fill in the IMM 5409 accurately. The quicker you are, the fewer problems you will face in the future.
As you know how to fill statutory declaration of common law union, get yours done as soon as possible to avail all the benefits.
Comentarios