1. Agreement has been reached in the National Joint Council (NJC) to interpret the Declaration in Appendix A to recognize a conjugal relationship in certain situations where there has been a break in the qualifying period of cohabitation.
2. The NJC Committee on Foreign Service Directives will consider individual cases where cohabitation started prior to the posting or cross-posting, but the one-year qualifying period was disrupted when the person to be designated as the common-law partner was unable to accompany the employee to post.
3. The separation must be for reasons beyond the reasonable control of the employee or the individual to be designated as the common-law partner. Such reasons may relate to education, health, disposal of a principal residence, custody disputes and contractual obligations. The circumstances for which Special family separation assistance (FSD 18) may be authorized, will be used as a guide.
4. It will be the responsibility of the employee to demonstrate that a continuing conjugal spousal relationship has been established and that this relationship has been recognized for a period of at least one year, including the approved period of disruption, in the community or communities in which they have lived. The NJC FSD committee may request evidence or information to corroborate the statements provided by the employee.
5. In general, a person to be designated as a common-law partner shall be placed in neither a more nor a less favourable situation than a spouse.