IMM 5409: How to Fill Out the Statutory Declaration of Common-Law Union (2026)
- Ansari Immigration
- 10 hours ago
- 6 min read
The IMM 5409 is the Statutory Declaration of Common-Law Union. It is the sworn form you and your partner sign in front of a notary or commissioner of oaths to declare that you have lived together in a conjugal relationship, and it is the document IRCC uses to prove a common-law relationship when there is no marriage certificate. You can download it from the official IMM 5409 form page on canada.ca.
Why this small form decides whether your application is even opened
The IMM 5409 is one page, which is exactly why people rush it. IRCC's own privacy notice on the form warns that failing to complete it in full may result in a delay or the application not being processed. That is the risk in plain terms: not a refusal on the merits, but a package handed back before an officer ever looks at your relationship. If a request for relationship proof is misread and the wrong document goes in, the file can be rejected as incomplete, and you start again months later having lost the one thing immigration never gives back, which is time.
Who must complete the IMM 5409
IRCC's official instructions for the form set out two situations in a family sponsorship application:
If the sponsor's common-law partner is a co-signer on the application to sponsor, the sponsor and their common-law partner both complete the form.
If the person being sponsored (the principal applicant) has a common-law partner, that person and their partner both complete the form.
The same form appears far outside sponsorship. Anywhere a common-law partner is coming with you or being declared, IRCC asks for it: a permanent residence application, a study or work permit extension. IRCC's IMM 5709 instructions for study permit extensions, for example, say that if you are in a common-law union you must complete the IMM 5409 and include it with the application. It travels with the relationship, not with one program.
To be common-law in IRCC's eyes at all, you must have lived together for at least 12 consecutive months in a conjugal relationship, with only short and temporary absences. That threshold is set out on IRCC's who you can sponsor page, and we cover the counting rules in our guide to how long common law is in Canada. The IMM 5409 declares that period. It does not create it.
Filling out the IMM 5409, question by question
The form asks for your country and province of residence (marked "if applicable"), both partners' full names exactly as they appear on your passport or travel document, the city, county, province and country where you are declaring, and the number of continuous years you have cohabited in a conjugal relationship with the exact from and to dates.
Then it asks a set of yes-or-no evidence questions:
Question 1a: a jointly signed residential lease, mortgage or purchase agreement for the home you both live in.
Question 1b: jointly owned property other than your residence.
Question 1c: joint bank, trust, credit union or charge card accounts.
Question 1d: your common-law union declared under the Canadian Income Tax Act on your T-1 return.
Questions 2 and 3: life insurance on each of you naming the other as beneficiary.
Question 4 is the one that matters most. If you answered no to questions 1 to 3, the form requires you to indicate what other documentary evidence shows your relationship. My advice: name those documents specifically rather than leaving the space blank or writing "see attached."
Section 5 is the solemn declaration. Both partners sign, and IRCC is explicit that the form must be completed and signed with handwritten signatures.
If one of those evidence rows made you hesitate about whether your relationship is documented well enough, that hesitation is worth an eligibility check with Ansari Immigration. Have your situation assessed before you swear the declaration.
Who can witness and sign the IMM 5409
The declaration must be administered by a public official, and the form itself gives you exactly three choices of title: Notary Public, Commissioner of Oaths, or Commissioner of Taking Affidavits. The person administering it signs and prints their name below yours. In practice, expect them to ask both partners for government photo ID before they witness the signatures.
One practical note that trips people up: the IMM 5409 does not produce a barcode when you validate it. That is normal. Fill it out on a computer, use the Validate button to catch missing fields, then print it for the handwritten signatures.
From Amir's desk: read who IRCC is asking about
When IRCC asks for a marriage certificate or a Statutory Declaration of Common-Law Union, read carefully whose relationship they want proven. In a Vancouver-heard parents and grandparents case, Somers-Edgar, 2026 FC 417, IRCC asked for that document to prove the relationship between the principal applicant and their accompanying spouse, and used the word "dependant." The family read "dependant" as their child, sent the child's birth certificate, and the application was rejected as incomplete. The Federal Court eventually found IRCC's wording misleading and sent the file back, but only after the applicants had spent a year and a court proceeding fixing a one-document misunderstanding.
The lesson I give students and clients is the same: IRCC's own forms treat the IMM 5409 as the common-law equivalent of a marriage certificate, and in my experience nothing else does that job. If you are not legally married and IRCC wants proof of your spousal relationship, that proof is the 5409, sworn, signed by hand, with the evidence questions actually answered.
Does the wording on your document request confuse you? Say so in the comments, keep it general, and for advice on your specific file use a consultation.
Frequently asked questions about the IMM 5409
What is a statutory declaration of common-law union?
It is a sworn statement, made on IRCC form IMM 5409, in which two partners declare before a notary or commissioner of oaths that they have cohabited in a conjugal relationship for a continuous period, with supporting evidence listed on the form.
How do I fill out the statutory declaration of common-law union?
Enter both partners' names exactly as shown on your passport or travel document, the place of declaration, and the exact start and end dates of your cohabitation. Answer every yes or no evidence question. If all are no, indicate your alternative evidence at Question 4. Sign by hand in front of the official.
Who can sign the statutory declaration of common-law union?
Both partners sign as declarants. The declaration is then administered by a Notary Public, a Commissioner of Oaths, or a Commissioner of Taking Affidavits, whose title, name and signature go on the form.
Does the IMM 5409 need to be notarized?
It must be sworn before one of the three officials named on the form. A Notary Public is one option; a Commissioner of Oaths or Commissioner of Taking Affidavits is equally acceptable, and is often less expensive, sometimes free, at a provincial registry or municipal office.
What is common-law union in Canada for immigration?
To sponsor a common-law partner, IRCC requires that the partner is not legally married to you, is at least 18, is in a genuine relationship with you, and has lived with you for at least 12 consecutive months in a conjugal relationship.
Is it IMM 5409 or IMM5409?
They are the same document. IRCC labels the current version IMM 5409 (01-2023) E. Always download it from canada.ca rather than a copy from a third-party site, since older PDFs and look-alike forms circulate widely.
Related Posts
How Long Is Common Law in Canada? The 12-Month Cohabitation Rule — How IRCC counts the 12 months of cohabitation that the IMM 5409 declares.
IMM 5645: How to Fill Out the Family Information Form — The companion family information form that must match the relationship you declare.
Spousal Sponsorship Interview Questions in Canada — What IRCC asks when it wants to test whether a relationship is genuine.
Get your relationship documents right the first time
Three signs your common-law file needs a professional read: you answered no to every evidence question on the IMM 5409, your 12 months of cohabitation include a long separation, or IRCC has already asked you for a document and you are not certain whose relationship they mean. Ansari Immigration is led by a licensed RCIC who trains other immigration consultants and handles every file personally, with sponsorship representation at a flat CAD $4,000 quoted upfront. Bring the confusing document to a 30-minute consultation ($80) and leave knowing exactly what to file, and tell us in the comments which part of the form gave you the most trouble so we can cover it next.
This article is for general information only. It is not legal advice. Program criteria, requirements, processing times, and selection approaches can change without notice. Always confirm details on official government websites or consult a licensed Regulated Canadian Immigration Consultant (RCIC) for advice specific to your situation.