Common-Law Partnership vs Marriage in Canada: What’s the Difference?

As part of your temporary or permanent immigration process in Canada, you may have come across the expression “common-law partner”.

If you and your partner qualify as common-law partners under Canada’s definition, it can, in some cases, be advantageous if one of you obtains a work/study permit to Canada and the other one wants to follow.

This article will explain what a common-law partnership is, how to prove it, and how it differs from a marriage.

Contents

1. How does Canada define “common-law partner”?
2. Differences between common-law partners and married couples
3. Physical separations for common-law partners
4. Permits for an accompanying common-law partner
5. Proving that you are married or common-law

1. How does Canada define “common-law Partner”?

To be considered common-law partners, you and your partner must have been living under the same roof for at least 12 months, and you must have evidence of your life together. You must be in a conjugal relationship, meaning that two flatmates cannot declare themselves common-law partners.

Common-law partners can be of the same or different genders.

The minimum of 12 months of cohabitation must be completed when the accompanying partner, not the primary permit applicant/holder, applies for their work permit as the partner of a worker.

Example: you have been living together for 3 months when your partner obtains an IEC Working Holiday permit. You then decide to go to Canada 10 months later. By that point, you will have accumulated 13 months of living together, so you may qualify as common-law partners, even if your partner did not mention you in their Working Holiday application. For permanent residency, please check the rules, as they are different.

2. Differences between common-law partners and married couples

Married couples and common-law partners have the same privileges when it comes to obtaining permits to Canada. There are, however, of couple of procedural differences to be aware of.

Married couples don’t need to provide proof of living together

If you are married, you do not need to prove that you have been living together for at least 12 months; being married is sufficient.

Married couples don’t risk losing status in the event of physical separation

If you are married, you can be physically separated for more than 90 days without losing your status as a couple (couples sometimes need to travel to Canada at different times, or one of the two may need to return to their home country for a few months).

3. Physical separations for common-law partners: the 90-day rule

Unlike married couples, common-law partners lose their status if they are physically separated for 90 days or more. If two people find themselves in this situation, they must re-accumulate 12 months of living together before they are considered by Canada to be common-law partners again.

Exception: involuntary separation

There are, however, exceptions in cases of involuntary separation. If you think this applies to you, take the time to carefully read the information provided by the Government of Canada to make sure that you are indeed covered by this concept of involuntary separation.

4. Permits for an accompanying common-law partner

For certain procedures, you may have to prove your status by providing evidence that you have been living together.

Here are three examples:

1. If you go to Canada on an IEC work permit and your partner wishes to follow you and work in Canada. Read IEC Canada – Spouse or common-law partner open work permit.
2. If you go to Canada as a student for an eligible programme and your partner wishes to follow you and work in Canada.
3. If you apply for permanent residence in Canada under the same application, you will have to prove your status as common-law partners.

5. Proving that you are married or common-law

If you are married, you must provide your marriage certificate.

If you are common-law partners, you will have to provide evidence that you have been living together. For example:

• a tenancy agreement in both your names or joint rent receipts;
• a joint bank account;
• shared utility bills (electricity, gas, telephone, council tax, etc.);
• official documents showing your shared address (identity card, driving licence, home insurance).

These documents must demonstrate that you have been living together for at least 12 months.

Official link for more information.

Do you need to see a notary for “official” proof of common-law partnership?

To be safe, some people choose to see a notary to obtain an additional document for their application. This is not a mandatory step. If you have most of the evidence mentioned above, save yourself the cost of notary fees, as this is not essential.

Even if you do see a notary, we recommend that you have some evidence of your life together in addition to the notarial document.

Remember that it is always the Canadian immigration officer processing your application who decides, based on the evidence before them, whether or not you meet the criteria.