OpenVisaWhat counts as 12 months of cohabitation? Does time abroad together count?
One roof, 12 months, one relationship. The country doesn't matter.
Common-law means 12 continuous months of living together in a conjugal relationship, and nothing in the definition says those months have to be in Canada. What has to continue is the shared home.
1. What is the definition?
common-law partner means, in relation to a person, an individual who is cohabiting with the person in a conjugal relationship, having so cohabited for a period of at least one year.
Three parts: cohabiting (sharing a home), conjugal (a committed relationship, not roommates), and at least 12 months of it. Nothing in the definition says the 12 months have to be in Canada.
2. Does time abroad together count?
Yes. Living together in Seoul, Manila or Lagos counts the same as living together in Canada. The proof is the same too: a lease or ownership document with both names or both addresses, joint accounts, mail to the same address, from that country.
3. Do trips apart break the 12 months?
The 12 months have to be continuous. IRCC doesn't publish a number of days; what the definition requires is that the shared home continued, so short trips apart don't break it. Moving into separate homes before the year is complete breaks it. Once the year is complete, a period apart doesn't undo it.
You can sponsor the person as your common-law partner (any gender) as long as you’ve been living or have lived with your partner for at least 12 consecutive months in a marriage-like relationship.
The common-law checklist (IMM 5589) has a path for partners who aren't living together now but cohabited for at least 12 months.
4. When do the 12 months start?
On the day you started living together under one roof, not the day you started dating and not the day you decided you were a couple. That date goes on the relationship form (IMM 5532), and it has to be supported by your documents. If the earliest document is dated after the move-in date, a short letter of explanation says why.
5. What if we reach 12 months after we apply?
A common-law application can only be filed once the year is complete. The relationship is assessed as it stands when you file. If you marry instead, the 12 months are no longer needed, and you apply as spouses with the registered marriage certificate.
OpenVisa is software, not a lawyer or RCIC. This page explains what the rules and forms say; it is not advice about your case. You submit your application yourself.