Evidence Of A Common-Law Union And Cohabitation: What IRCC Expects

On This Page, You Will Find:

• What IRCC means by a common-law partner
• What “continuous” cohabitation means, and what breaks it
• Common-law partner versus conjugal partner
• The documents IRCC accepts as proof of cohabitation
• How officers assess whether a relationship is genuine
• Fees and processing times
• Same-sex and any-gender partners
• Frequently asked questions

Couples who have lived together for years often assume their relationship speaks for itself. Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) does not work that way. A common-law relationship is what the department calls a de facto relationship: unlike a marriage, it is not established by a certificate, so it has to be proven on the facts of each individual case. The burden sits with the applicant and the sponsor.

That is why the evidence of a common-law union and cohabitation is the single most contested part of many partner sponsorship applications. This page sets out the current rules, the documents IRCC expects, and the mistakes that most often cost applicants a refusal.

What IRCC Means By A Common-Law Partner

Under IRCC’s published requirements, a common-law partner is someone who is not legally married to the sponsor, is at least 18 years old, can be any gender, is in a genuine relationship with the sponsor that was not entered into only for permanent resident status, is not inadmissible to Canada, and has lived with the sponsor for at least 12 consecutive months.

The 12 months must be continuous cohabitation in a conjugal relationship, without any long periods apart. A conjugal relationship exists where there is a significant degree of commitment between two people: sharing a home, supporting each other financially and emotionally, having children together where applicable, and presenting themselves in public as a couple.

Two further points matter. First, IRCC treats the relationship as over if either partner chooses to end it. Second, a person who is still legally married to someone else can still be a common-law partner, but only if the marriage has broken down and they have physically separated from the spouse. Cohabitation with a new partner cannot be counted as having begun until that physical separation has actually happened. For a broader view of the category, see our guide on how to sponsor a spouse, common-law or conjugal partner.

What “Continuous” Cohabitation Means, And What Breaks It

Cohabitation means living together: two people who have combined their affairs and set up a household together in one dwelling. IRCC’s family class processing manual is explicit that the standard means continuous cohabitation for one year, not intermittent cohabitation adding up to one year. Six months in one year and six months in another does not qualify.

Short absences do not break the clock. IRCC accepts that from time to time one partner may leave the home for work or business travel, family obligations and similar reasons. The department’s guidance for sponsors puts it plainly: any time spent away from each other during the 12-month period should have been short and temporary. What breaks continuity is a long separation, or a period apart that in substance ends the shared household.

Once the 12 months have been completed, the position changes. Case law reads the definition as a person who is ordinarily cohabiting, so partners may afterwards live apart for periods without legally breaking the cohabitation. A couple separated by armed conflict, the illness of a family member, or employment or study abroad can still be common-law partners, provided they cohabited continuously for at least one year in the past and intend to do so again as soon as possible. They should expect to show visits, correspondence and communication records proving the relationship is continuing. The longer the separation runs without any cohabitation, the harder it becomes to establish the relationship still exists.

Common-Law Partner Versus Conjugal Partner

This is where most readers go wrong. The conjugal partner category is not a fallback for couples who simply have not lived together yet.

A conjugal partner is a person living outside Canada who has been in an exclusive and mutually interdependent relationship with the sponsor for at least one year, and who cannot live with the sponsor or marry them because of a genuine barrier. IRCC gives examples: marital status, such as still being married to someone else in a country where divorce is not possible; sexual orientation, where same-sex relationships are not accepted or same-sex marriage is illegal where they live; or persecution, such as a relationship between different religious groups that could be punished legally or socially.

IRCC’s manual adds the test officers actually apply. The applicant should explain why continuous cohabitation for a year was impossible. In most cases there is an immigration impediment, such as an inability to obtain long-stay visas for one another’s country. Non-cohabitation for purely personal or economic reasons, such as not wanting to give up a job or studies, does not normally qualify. Couples who simply want to try living together before marrying are not conjugal partners. And a conjugal partner cannot be living in Canada.

Note also that Canada has no fiancé category. Couples planning to marry must marry and apply as spouses, unless they qualify as common-law or conjugal partners. Our family sponsorship overview sets out how the categories fit together.

The Documents IRCC Accepts As Proof Of Cohabitation

Every application generates a personalised document checklist, and the checklist governs. But the evidence IRCC identifies for cohabitation is consistent across its guidance and its manuals:

• Relationship Information and Sponsorship Evaluation Form (IMM 5532), completed by both the sponsor and the person being sponsored
• Statutory Declaration of Common-Law Union (IMM 5409), which must be completed and signed with handwritten signatures where the checklist requires it
• A joint residential lease, rental agreement, mortgage or purchase agreement for the home you both live in
• Shared ownership of residential property, or joint ownership of other property
• Joint bank, trust, credit union or charge card accounts, and evidence of joint management of household expenditures
• Joint utility accounts and bills, including gas, electricity and telephone
• Government identification and important documents for both of you showing the same address, such as driver’s licences and insurance policies
• Life insurance or benefit designations naming the other partner as beneficiary, and wills
• Correspondence addressed to either or both of you at the same address
• Declaration of the common-law union under the Income Tax Act on your T1 return
• Evidence of children of one or both partners living with the couple
• Photographs, and communication records such as messages, emails and call logs

Not all of these are necessary, and the list is not exhaustive. Officers may consider other evidence. Three practical cautions: proof of communication documents not already in English or French must be translated, and a maximum of 10 pages of communication evidence may be submitted; IRCC does not return photos, telephone bills or letters, and asks applicants not to send videos or CD-ROMs; and documents in another language generally require a certified copy, a translation and a translator’s affidavit.

How Officers Assess Whether A Relationship Is Genuine

Cohabitation evidence answers only half the question. IRCC must also be satisfied the relationship is genuine and was not entered into primarily to acquire status. Officers are trained to detect relationships of convenience, including false common-law and conjugal relationships, and they use document checks and interviews with both the sponsor and the applicant.

The consequences of a bad-faith finding are severe and reach beyond the refusal. Applicants are personally responsible for the content of their application. If false documents are submitted or facts are misrepresented, the application is refused, a record of the misrepresentation is kept, and the applicant and their dependants can be found inadmissible to Canada for five years under subsection 40(2) of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act. IRCC also warns that Canadians and permanent residents who enter a relationship of convenience for immigration reasons may be charged with a crime.

Two related obligations are easy to overlook. A sponsor’s undertaking for a spouse or partner runs three years from the day the partner becomes a permanent resident, and applies even if the relationship fails. And a person who was themselves sponsored as a spouse or partner cannot sponsor a new partner until five years after becoming a permanent resident, even if they have since become a citizen.

IRCC is equally clear on the other side of the ledger: a person in an abusive relationship with a Canadian citizen or permanent resident does not have to keep living with that person to keep their permanent resident status.

Fees And Processing Times

Permanent residence fees rose on April 30, 2026. For a spouse or common-law partner, the current amounts are a sponsorship fee of $90, a processing fee of $570 for the sponsored principal applicant, and a right of permanent residence fee of $600, for a total of $1,260. Filing without the right of permanent residence fee costs $660, though IRCC recommends paying it up front to avoid delays; it is refundable if the applicant does not become a permanent resident. A biometrics fee applies separately, and residents of Quebec pay an additional provincial processing fee directly to Quebec.

On processing times, IRCC told Parliament in March 2026 that as of January 31, 2026, spouse, partner and children permanent residence applications outside Quebec were taking approximately 12.6 months from overseas and 14 months in Canada. Quebec-destined spousal applications were running at roughly 33 months overseas and 25 months in Canada. IRCC has said times are expected to increase because demand exceeds available spaces, and the department’s live estimates have since moved higher. These are point-in-time figures, not a guarantee: check the department’s live processing times tool, and see our page on family sponsorship processing times and general Canada immigration processing times.

Applicants inside Canada under the Spouse or Common-Law Partner in Canada class may also be eligible for an open work permit while the permanent residence application is processed.

Same-Sex And Any-Gender Partners

IRCC applies the same test regardless of gender. Its published requirements state that a spouse, a common-law partner and a conjugal partner can each be any gender, and its definition of a common-law partner covers opposite-gender and same-gender couples alike. There is no separate standard of proof and no additional documentary requirement for same-sex couples.

Sexual orientation is relevant in one specific way only: it can supply the barrier that makes the conjugal partner category available, where a couple cannot live together or marry because same-sex relationships are not accepted, or same-sex marriage is illegal, where the foreign partner lives.

Frequently Asked Questions