IMM 5409: what the common-law declaration actually says

The Statutory Declaration of Common-Law Union, form IMM 5409, is one page long. The current English version is printed at the bottom left as IMM 5409 (01-2023) E. Two people make it together, it opens with the word "We", and it ends with a single block for the official who receives it. A lot of what is said about it online describes a longer form with separate sections for each partner. That form does not exist, and the differences matter when the page is filled in before the appointment.

Who IRCC's instructions say completes it

IRCC publishes step-by-step instructions next to the download link. For an application to sponsor a family member, they name two situations:

• the sponsor's common-law partner is a co-signer on the application, in which case the sponsor and that partner complete the form;
• the person being sponsored, the principal applicant, has a common-law partner, in which case those two complete it.

The same instructions open with a sentence that is easy to miss: the form "must be completed and signed with handwritten signatures". The fields can be typed in Acrobat Reader and checked with the Validate button at the top of the page, but the signatures cannot.

The whole page, part by part

Part of the form	What it asks	Kind of answer
Top box	Country and province, state or territory of current residence, if applicable	Text
Opening statement	Both full names as shown on the passport or travel document, the place where they live, the number of continuous years, and the from and to dates	Text, dates as YYYY-MM-DD
Question 1 a	A residential lease, mortgage or purchase agreement for the home both live in, signed jointly	Yes or No
Question 1 b	Property owned jointly other than the residence	Yes or No
Question 1 c	Joint bank, trust, credit union or charge card accounts	Yes or No
Question 1 d	The union declared under the Income Tax Act on the T1 return	Yes or No
Questions 2 and 3	Life insurance naming the partner as beneficiary, asked once in each direction	Yes or No, twice
Question 4	Other documentary evidence of the relationship, only if none of the above apply	Five lines of text
Question 5	The solemn declaration: names, two signatures, place, date, and the official's name, title and signature	Signed in front of the official

There is no field for a date of birth, a country of birth or an address history. Those details live on the other forms of the application.

Seven assumptions, checked against the form

"It is sworn on an oath"

It is not. Question 5 is headed SOLEMN DECLARATION, and its single printed sentence follows the form in section 41 of the Canada Evidence Act, rewritten for two people: it starts with "We" where the statute starts with "I". The sentence ends by saying the declaration has the same effect as one made under oath, which is why the form never needs an oath of its own.

No hand is raised and no religious text is held. The declarants adopt those words and sign. Why a declaration carries the same weight as an oath is set out in the article on oaths and affirmations.

"Any lawyer, paralegal or friend can sign as the witness"

The administrator block offers exactly three titles, and the official ticks one:

• Notary Public
• Commissioner of Oaths
• Commissioner of Taking Affidavits

A friend or relative holds none of them. In Ontario the statute that governs the second and third titles is the Commissioners for Taking Affidavits Act; who holds that power without applying for it, and who has to be appointed, is covered in the article on commissioners by virtue of office.

"Each partner can sign on a different day"

The form gives one place and one date for the declaration: "Declared before me at" a city, in a province and country, "this" day of a month and year. Both signatures sit above that one entry, and the official signs once. IRCC's instructions describe no second sitting. The page is built for both partners to declare in front of the same official at the same time.

"A typed name or an electronic signature is enough"

The instruction page says handwritten signatures, for both declarants. Typing the names in the name fields is expected; the signature boxes beside them are a separate thing.

"Every Yes or No has to be Yes"

The questions ask about documents, and the form itself plans for the answer No. Question 4 begins "If none of the above sections apply" and leaves five lines to describe other documentary evidence. The legal test sits elsewhere: the Immigration and Refugee Protection Regulations, section 1 (1), define a common-law partner as an individual who is cohabiting with the person in a conjugal relationship, having done so for a period of at least one year.

"The years and the dates are a formality"

The opening statement asks for both a number of continuous years and a from and to date. They describe the same period, so they have to agree with each other and with the rest of the application. Section 1 (2) of the same Regulations covers a narrow exception: a person in a conjugal relationship for at least one year who cannot live with the partner because of persecution or any form of penal control is treated as a common-law partner. The form's wording, "cohabited ... continuous year(s)", is written for the ordinary case.

"The official confirms that the relationship is real"

The official's signature records that the declaration was made before them, on the date and at the place shown. It does not confirm the contents. Under section 9 of the Commissioners for Taking Affidavits Act, an officer in Ontario has to be satisfied that the signatures are genuine and administer the declaration as the law requires before signing. Deciding whether the relationship meets the definition is IRCC's job, made on the whole application.

What a false declaration can lead to

Two federal statutes apply to the same page, one criminal and one about immigration status.

Provision	What it says
Criminal Code, s. 131 (1)	Perjury includes a false statement made with intent to mislead, knowing it is false, by solemn declaration before a person authorized by law to receive it
Criminal Code, s. 132	Perjury is an indictable offence carrying imprisonment for up to fourteen years
Immigration and Refugee Protection Act, s. 40 (1)(a)	Misrepresenting or withholding material facts that induce or could induce an error in administering the Act makes a person inadmissible
Immigration and Refugee Protection Act, s. 40 (2)(a)	That inadmissibility lasts five years, counted as the section sets out

The first two do not depend on the outcome of the application. The second two do not depend on a criminal charge.

Before the appointment

Everything below comes from the form and its instructions, so it can be checked against the page in hand:

1. The version printed at the bottom left reads IMM 5409 (01-2023) E, or the French IMM 5409 F.
2. Both names are written exactly as they appear on each passport or travel document.
3. The number of years and the two dates describe the same period, with dates as YYYY-MM-DD.
4. Every Yes or No box in questions 1 to 3 has one tick, and question 4 is filled only where none of them apply.
5. The two signature boxes in question 5 are empty, and so is the official's block.
6. Both partners attend, each with government photo identification.

Solemn declarations of this kind are administered at this office as described on the statutory declarations page. Document services that come up around an immigration file are listed on the immigration documents page, and a time for both partners can be arranged through the booking page. Whether a particular application needs the form, and what goes with it, is decided by IRCC's own checklists.