Contradictory Questions?? - Sponsor Questionnaire (IMM 5540)

[dakonej]

I'm trying to make sense out of these two questions on the Sponsor Questionnaire:

15. A. "Do you have any children?" I would answer YES, my wife has 1 kid from a previous relationship for whom she kept custody, and our other mutual child. So my logic goes: I have 1 biological son and a step-son; my wife obviously has two biological children. So I list them both, along with their relationship to me and their respective date of birth.

But 15. C. says "Has your spouse/common-law partner/conjugal partner met your children?" So, my answer is "well, duh!"

What's the point of the question? If my wife has a child from a previous relationship and a second child from our relationship, hasn't she "automatically" met them?

Am I missing something?

Enlighten please!   

[brin]

I would assume that the question refers to any children you may have had from a previous relationship, as usually when someone applies to spnsor their spouse it's soon after marriage and not many applicants have kids of their own at this time.

[CharlieD10]

No, it is not automatic.

I have 2 stepdaughters I have only "met" via FB and MSN video calls.  There are plenty of applicants with stepchildren in Canada they will never meet until they have PR because the applicants will not be given TRVs and the sponsor/parent does not have permission to take the children out of the country.  So, no, not everyone has met their sponsor's children.

The forms have to envision situations like the one I mention above, so that is why the questions are phrased that way.

[dakonej]

No, it is not automatic.

I have 2 stepdaughters I have only "met" via FB and MSN video calls.  There are plenty of applicants with stepchildren in Canada they will never meet until they have PR because the applicants will not be given TRVs and the sponsor/parent does not have permission to take the children out of the country.  So, no, not everyone has met their sponsor's children.

The forms have to envision situations like the one I mention above, so that is why the questions are phrased that way.

It makes sense if the sponsor has children from a previous relationship, in that case I agree with you that chances are the spouse being sponsored may not have met those children yet.

So, shouldn't question 15.A read instead "Do you have any children from a previous relationship? If yes, list them below". Then, question 15.C would make complete sense.

Is my logic flawed? so, how am I to answer Questions 15.A and 15.C?

[CharlieD10]

You answer 15A by listing your children as you said, detailing which is biological and which by marriage.

You answer 15C by explaining that the biological child is also your wife's child.  Nothing prevents you from answering when you met your stepchild and explaining how you have developed a relationship with him.