Writing Satement of our relationship

Did every one else do this? I personally think that there are many questions that I would ask when determining weather a relationship is genuine that were not covered on the application. I feel that adding a statement to my application outlining our relationship explaining how we met and how our relationship has evolved and what we have had to overcome in our relationship would help to cover any gaps in the questions presented in the Questionnaire.

Firstly if you did write a statement how many pages long was it? We have been together for 4 1/2 years now, obviously I wouldnt want to ramble on for say 10+ pages so that the Person processing my case would look at it and think "I dont have time to read that" and get board halfway through, but I also dont want to write too little!

Secondly...I was in Canada out of status...would you personally add that information? Or wait until CIC asked me as it would become obvious given the flight Itinerary's I am submitting and Visitors Record at the Time I became out of status! I was not given and order to leave Canada and did not work, commit a crime or try to study in Canada. I left of my own accord when we could afford my flight etc..

  

I would not mention it unless asked. You have to answer truthfully what you are asked, but that does not mean you have to incriminate yourself by giving any information other than what they request.
It is your job to prove you are in a genuine relationsip, anything else is up to them.
Suppose they were not to notice you had been here illegally but you mentioned it and this caused you problems, where as if you had not mentioned it they would have dealt with your application very quickly, its just not worth it.
If they ask, tell the truth, if they dont, then they dont need to know, your job is just to show that you have been together, how that came about is for CIC to decide if they want to know.

The hilarious thing is that most arguments are caused soley by someone who knows they are wrong just not admitting it.
Who was it that said 'there are 3 sides to every story, yours, mine and the truth'?

Re telling the "truth" -- yeah, sure, and the "truth" is . . . who knows.

Yes, one should be honest. Even forthright. Not necessarily forthcoming however. Ahhhh the nuances of language and communication generally. There are "gray" areas, and then there is "fudging." Sometimes one has to exercise "discretion." We live in that sort of world. By this, however, I do not mean to suggest that outright deception is a good idea. It usually is not. Understanding the parameters of various inquiries, and responding appropriately, with due consideration given to inferences and implications, and thus responding not just appropriately but carefully, that can save one a fair bit of trouble.

My advice: be honest, be aware of implications and inferences, and be careful.

In the meantime, re the marriage versus common-law scene: if the common-law relationship is well established, that is, the existence of it, I suspect it actually has more weight and effect, relative to the issue of the genuineness of the relationship, than a legal marriage. A legal marriage satisfies the fundamental requirement of a "qualifying relationship," the certificate of marriage being sufficient to do that. Yes, to prove the "existence" of a common-law marriage (relationship) requires proof of the full year of cohabitation in a conjugal relationship whereas a legally married couple establishes such a relationship even if they have not lived together a day, but once one has proven living together a full year that is, in itself, rather strong evidence that the relationship is also genuine. Indeed, I doubt that couples who prove living together for a full year encounter much, if any, question about the genuineness of the marriage. (I think of my wife . . . and her thinking "why in the . . . would I live with him [for that long] if we were not in a genuine relationship?)

Thank you for your feed back,

My problem is that I entered Canada in April 2006 on mt waiver I declaired that I was staying for 1 month in Canada. 2 Weeks later I discovered that I was pregnant, after a trip to the Dr I was refered to a Maternity Clinic that advised me not to travel until I had my 20 week scan due to pervious medical problems with a previous pregnancy that ended badly! There was no date on my stamp so I stayed the full 6 months. At my 20 week scan it was found that I had a medical issue with my pregnancy and was ordered not to fly back home and the drs refused to write me a letter to fly as it could be life threatening. So I extended my stay and CIC issued me with a Visitors Record in 2006. The expiry date was Jan 30 2007.

I should have applied to extend my Visitors record father, I realize that now and wish I had, it was the stupidest thing I could ever do! However I was a new mother that had no experience with babies and didn't have a clue what I was doing, I panicked! I did not have a good relationship with my father at the time so had nobody to help me back in the UK and nowhere to go, so I stayed...I didn't work, study or commit any crimes during that time. My husband took a huge pay cut and we were struggling to live day by day with an extra mouth to feed. So we were far from being able to afford to move to the UK or even buy me a flight home.

It also took us 6 months (through errors with her application) to obtain our daughters British Passport. I ended up staying for 16 months past the date I was supposed to leave. I was not issued any kind of deportation order etc and I left for 6 months of my own accord to try to right my silly mistake.

And this is the explanation I am going to give CIC if they ask. As I am submitting my flight documents in and out of Canada for the past 4 1/2 years and my Visitors Records thus making it plain to see that I overstayed. That is why I am unsure whether to admit in my application that I over stayed or just wait until they ask? Would it be considered with holding information and become frowned upon? Or would I really cause myself more problems admitting it?

Last time I entered Canada the Boarder Control officer asked me when I last entered Canada - in which I answered April 5 2006, he then asked when I last left Canada - I said June 6 2008. Am I wrong in thinking that they can see that I had over stayed? Surely there would be a note on my passport file that my stay expired in Jan 2007?