Sponsoring a Common-Law Partner From Ontario: The 12-Month Rule

You live in Ontario, you are in a committed relationship with someone who is not a Canadian citizen or permanent resident, and you are not married. You want to know whether your partner can come to Canada or stay here as your common-law partner, and what the one-year rule really requires.

The answer comes from federal immigration rules, not from Ontario family law. The same couple can be "common-law" for one purpose and not for another, so it helps to know which definition applies before you plan around a date.

What the 12-month rule says

Under the Immigration and Refugee Protection Regulations, a common-law partner is someone who is cohabiting with the person in a conjugal relationship and has done so for at least one year. IRCC's sponsorship guide puts it in everyday terms: you can sponsor a common-law partner if you live, or have lived, with them for at least 12 consecutive months in a marriage-like relationship.

Two ideas matter here: living together and being in a conjugal, or marriage-like, relationship. To show this, IRCC asks for proof that the couple shares the same home, supports each other financially and emotionally, has children together (if applicable) and presents themselves in public as a couple. The general rule is at least one year of living together in a conjugal relationship, but someone who has been in a conjugal relationship with the person for at least one year and cannot cohabit because of persecution or any form of penal control is still considered a common-law partner.

Why other definitions do not decide your application

Ontario and federal laws use different tests for common-law status. For spousal support in Ontario, unmarried partners are spouses after cohabiting continuously for not less than three years, or sooner if they are parents and had a relationship of some permanence. For federal income tax, the period is 12 months, or less if you share a child.

For immigration, the test is the one in the Immigration and Refugee Protection Regulations: one year of conjugal cohabitation. Meeting the Ontario support test does not change that, and the reverse is also true.

Exceptions and special cases

Some couples cannot live together for reasons outside their control. Someone who has been in a conjugal relationship with the person for at least one year but cannot cohabit because of persecution or any form of penal control is considered a common-law partner.

A couple who cannot meet the cohabitation requirement may be sponsored as conjugal partners. They must have been in a conjugal relationship with the sponsor for at least one year, and marriage or living together must not have been possible.

The rules also shut out relationships that are not real. A common-law partner is not recognized if the relationship was entered into primarily to gain status or a privilege under the Act, or is not genuine.

Who can be the sponsor

The sponsor must be at least 18 and be a Canadian citizen, a person registered under the Indian Act or a permanent resident. The sponsor must also live in Canada, or show they plan to live in Canada when the partner becomes a permanent resident.

Outside Quebec, the sponsor's undertaking lasts 3 years from the day the partner becomes a permanent resident. That is a real commitment, so make sure you both understand it before you apply.

What to do next

Start by counting back. Work out the date you began living together in a marriage-like relationship and confirm that a full year has passed without a break in the way you describe it. Requirements and forms change often, so check IRCC's current guide before you file.

• Write down the date you moved in together and every address since.
• Confirm the sponsor meets the age, status and residence requirements.
• Start gathering documents that show a shared home and a shared life.
• Check the current IRCC guide and forms before you prepare your application.
• Speak with a lawyer if there are gaps in cohabitation, a prior marriage or any doubt about whether the relationship fits.

Frequently asked questions