Q: My brother married a woman overseas three years ago. They now have a child together. After he married about a year and half ago, he submitted a sponsorship application to CPC Mississauga. The immigration office asked him to provide his income and apparently he did not respond. He is self-employed and I am not sure of what his income is each year. He travels back and forth very often, to visit his wife and child, but he never mentions the sponsorship application. We would like to help him, but do not know where to start. Can we sponsor his wife and child on my brother’s behalf? Can they come as visitors to Canada or can we make an application for permanent residency on her behalf?

A: Your question raises a number of issues. First, you must speak to your brother and clarify whether he still has any interest in pursuing this matter, then establish whether his sponsorship application is still in process or the file has been closed. He does not have to meet a specific income requirement for a spousal sponsorship, meaning it is not a bar against sponsoring, but, at the same time, the income must be declared. We cannot be sure without your brother’s consent to access his file or speak with him if the sponsorship remains active.

Unfortunately, you cannot sponsor. Only your brother can sponsor his wife and child. The wife and child may apply, of course, for a temporary resident visa (visitor), but first of all any counsel would want to know what happened with the sponsorship application as they will be screened by the visa post and they will be asked questions about her case. We would also want to know why your brother was reluctant to respond. There is nothing in the legislation preventing her to apply for a visitor visa, but she has to demonstrate that she is willing to return home at the end of the validity of her visitor visa. We would recommend your brother consult immigration counsel.

Thank you for your questions.

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A:  To answer your question I will have to make at least three assumptions – one, that you are a Canadian citizen, two, that you and your boyfriend lived together for at least one year in the United States and three, he does not have a criminal record or other potential grounds of inadmissibility including for example, security, human or international rights violations, and or organized criminality.  If any of these assumptions are incorrect it will affect your application as follows:

One, if you are not a Canadian citizen you cannot sponsor your partner while living abroad.  You must resettle in Canada and ensure you remain a permanent resident, meaning meeting the residency requirements for one, before any sponsorship is filed.  Although meeting residency requirements in the United States and Canada may be possible it is not easy and ultimately you will have to remain in Canada for the processing of your sponsorship and permanent resident application.  If you are a Canadian citizen you will still have to demonstrate you intend to resettle in Canada by the time your partner/husband lands in Canada.

Two, if you did not live together for at least one year or do not get married before filing you would only be left with the option of a conjugal partner sponsorship which can be difficult to prove and in my opinion an application of last resort.  In part under conjugal partner sponsorships you must establish you have a view to marriage and you have been unable to live together which based upon you both living in the United States for over 12 months may be difficult to argue. It is important to highlight the intention to marry and not being able to live together is a position taken by visa offices as opposed to a requirement in the regulations.   You indicate though you intend to marry so this would eliminate the need to establish a minimum length of cohabitation and the need to resort to a conjugal partner application.

Three, if your boyfriend’s deportation from the U.S. was for criminality he would be inadmissible to Canada and depending upon when he completed his sentence he may need to apply for a certificate of rehabilitation and if not eligible for rehabilitation would have to seek special permission to enter Canada (which can be difficult to obtain).  If he was inadmissible for security, human or international rights violations, and or organized criminality other potential remedies would have to be explored but can be very difficult to overcome.  Assuming though my assumptions are correct you are a Canadian citizen, you will be married or common law partners and your future husband is not inadmissible to Canada, you will be able to sponsor him as a member of the family class.  Good luck!

For more information on Family-Class Sponsorship, please click here.

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Q. I have fallen in love and would like to sponsor my husband. The company I worked for closed at the end of 2015, and in 2016 I had no income except Employment Insurance. Now, I am considering obtaining Second Career Ontario funding from Ontario government, and go to college. I am not sure if Second Career is welfare or not and whether I can still sponsor him?  I have found love but not a job right now, please help!

A. We receive many questions regarding different provincial benefits a sponsor may be receiving and the uncertainty of whether they are eligible to sponsor because of those benefits. Generally speaking, Employment Insurance (EI) is not considered a social benefit in the sense of welfare /social benefit income. It is deducted from your total gross income on your Notice of Assessment / Option C printout and is not considered income for immigration purposes. The same applies to any training /education course sponsored by the province as it is a grant – it is not included in your income. Other exceptions include:

• Any financial assistance received by the sponsor from the Government of Canada under a resettlement assistance program;
• Any monthly guaranteed income supplement paid to the sponsor under the Old Age Security Act, and
• Any Canada child tax benefit paid to the sponsor under the Income Tax Act

To sponsor a husband there is no legal requirement to meet a certain income level just the ability to support the person you are planning to sponsor and his or her family members.  You must be at least eighteen years of age, residing in Canada (exception for a period of time for Canadian Citizens) and amongst other requirements/criteria sign a three year undertaking where you agree to reimburse the provincial or federal government for any social assistance benefit your husband receives.  So in this case lucky in love may also mean lucky in immigration, good luck!

For more information on Spousal Sponsorship, please click here.

The post Does Lucky in Love Mean Lucky in Immigration? I Fell in Love but have no Job Can I Still Sponsor My Husband for Immigration? first appeared on Bellissimo Law Group.

A. Very complicated question. There is more to this question than meets the eye and more information is required because the timing of these events and the types and lengths of these respective relationships are not clear and could be very important – beyond the issue of his ability to sponsor his girlfriend.  So, a number of questions would be asked by immigration counsel providing guidance on this matter.

First, was his wife in a relationship with another man in Canada while she sponsored him and at the time he landed in Canada?

Second, was he in a relationship perhaps even a common-law relationship (cohabitated together for more than one year for immigration purposes) with his current girlfriend in the Philippines before and/or during the sponsorship process as well as at the time of landing?

If they both were engaging in relationships, perhaps even living in common-law relationships, with other people at the time of sponsorship/landing, she in Canada and he in the Philippines, this could raise potential problems as to the genuineness of their relationship, ability to sponsor, and your friend qualifying as a spouse which includes the existence of a committed and exclusive spousal relationship by both individuals throughout the time of sponsorship and landing at a minimum.  This would lead to other questions.

Was the marriage only for immigration purposes? Had their marital relationship failed before or during the sponsorship process?  A finding in this regard could translate into deportation proceedings for your friend and the sponsorship of his current girlfriend would not be the primary concern.

On the other hand, if they both engaged in brief affairs this may not necessarily be definitive unless the timing and length were critical to the sponsorship and landing.  Any affair during the course of a spousal relationship would be relevant to assessing the genuineness of that relationship.

As it relates to your friend’s current circumstances assuming his sponsorship and landing from a few years ago do not raise issues and he has cohabitated with his current girlfriend for more than one year amongst other eligibility factors, generally a person who is separated from a spouse and living or has lived with somebody else in a common-law relationship may still sponsor the person as his common-law partner even if not divorced.  However, if your friend lived with her before becoming a permanent resident of Canada for over a year and did not declare her on his permanent residency application as a past common law partner before landing – this too could raise legal challenges as to potential misrepresentation and sponsorship issues.    In short, eligibility, timing and length of his relationship amongst other factors will be critical determining factors in a very complex factual and legal assessment.  He should seek out legal counsel immediately. Good luck!

For more information on Spousal Sponsorship, please click here.

To book a consultation to discuss your immigration matter, contact us today.

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The intention of the measure was to deter marriage fraud, based on non-genuine relationships; however, serious concerns were raised that this condition may disproportionally affect vulnerable spouses, particularly those in abusive relationships. After review and consultation, the Government confirmed that any benefit of the conditional permanent residence measure could not outweigh the risks to vulnerable spouses and partners.

With the removal of this condition, which came into effect on 18 April 2017, sponsored spouses are no longer required to live with their sponsors in order to maintain their permanent residence status. This upholds Canada’s commitment to gender equality and combating gender-based violence, while ensuring family reunification remains a cornerstone of Canada’s immigration objectives.

If I was sponsored by my spouse and subject to this condition, what does this mean for me?

You are no longer subject to this condition. Conditional permanent residence no longer applies to anyone, even if you were under investigation for not complying with this requirement. This includes if you have received a section A44 report for failure to comply with the requirement to live with your sponsor or been scheduled for an admissibility hearing at the Immigration Division (ID). If you have been issued a removal order based on non-compliance with the condition to live with your sponsor for a period of two years, and you have filed an appeal to the IAD, the repeal of this condition also applies to you.

Sponsored spouses or partners who are under investigation for marriage fraud, including non-genuine relationships, are not impacted by the repeal of the conditional permanent residence measure. These investigations will continue. Relationships of convenience – those entered into primarily to obtain permanent residence or non-genuine relationships – are taken seriously by the Government of Canada and alternative measures continue to be in place to deter entry to Canada on this basis.  If you have received an inadmissibility report under section 44(1) of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act (IRPA), you can obtain more information here.

For more information on Sponsorship, please click here.

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Q. I would like to seek your advice regarding our present situation. I have a boyfriend. He has a permanent resident status here in Canada. We’ve been living together while he was here. Right now, he’s currently working as a Physiotherapist in the USA. I’m a Registered Nurse back in the Philippines. He comes here as often as he & his work schedule allows him.  I have no status here, so I cannot go & visit him in the States. We plan to get married this year. My questions are: is it possible for him to sponsor me while he is working in the USA? Will it affect our application given the situation? How high are our chances of approval? Do i need to go back in the Philippines during the process? What are the requirements that we must have to meet & submit? Thank you for your kindness of reading my letter.

A. If I met with you I would ask three key questions to start. How long have you been living together in Canada? When is he returning to live in Canada? Has your boyfriend maintained his permanent resident status (must have 730 days of physical presence in Canada over a five year period)?  Here is why I ask.  One, a permanent resident cannot make an application to sponsor his common-law partner or spouse while he lives outside Canada.  Two, he must maintain his permanent resident status to be able to sponsor you.  Three, you must live together continuously for at least one year to qualify as a common law partner but if you marry this does not apply.  Last, we would have to investigate if you have a removal order and an outstanding warrant amongst other issues.  Marrying a permanent resident of Canada does not necessarily mean you will not have to leave Canada.  You should consult an immigration lawyer before taking any further steps.

Can My Wife Be Still Deported, Though I Sponsored Her?

Q:  I am a Canadian citizen who met and fell in love with a person from Argentina. She is in Canada, claimed refugee status and was refused. Meanwhile, we married and live together with my son from my first marriage. After marriage, eight months ago, I submitted an application to sponsor her in Canada. So far we have no response from Immigration Canada. Now, my wife faces deportation and the possibility of being separated from us. Is there any law to prevent her from being deported? We want to be together until the application is finalized. My wife is a healthy person and has no criminal record. This is crazy, can we stop the deportation?

 A: You are not alone in this as there are thousands of people in your situation. Yes, even though you are married, your spouse can still be deported, depending upon where in the process you find yourself.  Having a sponsorship application in the system does not preclude her from being deported. If Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) decides they cannot wait until a decision on the sponsorship is rendered, then your wife may have to leave Canada. In some cases it is better to leave voluntarily.What many people do is challenge CBSA’s decision to deport at the Federal Court of Canada.  In certain cases, deporting a spouse may lead to what is called irreparable harm especially when children are involved.  Consult a lawyer immediately to see if you would qualify for this remedy as timelines can be very tight.

For more information on Spousal Sponsorship, please click here.

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From noon Eastern Standard Time (EST) on January 3, 2017, to noon EST on February 2, 2017, Canadian citizens and permanent residents who wish to sponsor their parents or grandparents must first complete an online form advising of their interest in making a sponsorship application.

The form requires interested sponsor’s to submit basic personal information, such as name, address, date of birth, etc. Once the information has been submitted through the online form, the interested sponsor will receive a confirmation number.

After February 2, 2017, IRCC will be randomly inviting 10,000 interested sponsors to complete and submit full applications. Only those candidates who have been chosen will be invited to apply to the Parent and Grandparent sponsorship category.

The chosen interested sponsors will then have 90 days to submit their complete application to IRCC. Interested sponsors who are not selected in the 2017 lottery will have to re-submit their interest in the 2018 lottery.

For more information, please click here.

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