Getting a Divorce AFTER Landing in Canada as PR

[EC27]

I am a Canadian citizen who sponsored my husband.  We got married in the UK and have been married since 2007.  His was granted PR in April, 2011 then landed in May, 2011.  Unfortunately, we've grown apart over the past years but did not realise that until recently.
My question is, am I allowed to get a divorce?  I understand that due to the undertaking I signed, I am financially responsible for him for 3 years.  However, I read an article somewhere about how the immigration might pass a regulation on a certain length of time the couple must remain married?

I look forward to some responses and answers.  Thank you.   

[fprince]

I am a Canadian citizen who sponsored my husband.  We got married in the UK and have been married since 2007.  His was granted PR in April, 2011 then landed in May, 2011.  Unfortunately, we've grown apart over the past years but did not realise that until recently.
My question is, am I allowed to get a divorce?  I understand that due to the undertaking I signed, I am financially responsible for him for 3 years.  However, I read an article somewhere about how the immigration might pass a regulation on a certain length of time the couple must remain married?

I look forward to some responses and answers.  Thank you.   

As of today i think you can divorce him anytime and yes for 3 years you are still financially responsible for him so he does not go on welfare.
I do not think they passed any new laws for divorce timeframe.

[Kedeisha]

you can get a divorce just try n remain in contact so he doesnt go on assitance as u will be required to pay it back and the law was not about u "have" to stay married they were gonna put conditions on the PR so it would be i guess "beneficial" for ur husband to stay in the marriage if the law was to take place after u got married as if he was to sybsequently sponsor some1 else it would be a red flag in the system the law is not to say stay in a relationship that abusive or anything but it is trying to curb ppl coming to canada then suddenly they are no long compatible i am not saying this is ur situation but basically

[canadianwoman]

I am a Canadian citizen who sponsored my husband.  We got married in the UK and have been married since 2007.  His was granted PR in April, 2011 then landed in May, 2011.  Unfortunately, we've grown apart over the past years but did not realise that until recently.
My question is, am I allowed to get a divorce?  I understand that due to the undertaking I signed, I am financially responsible for him for 3 years.  However, I read an article somewhere about how the immigration might pass a regulation on a certain length of time the couple must remain married?

That law has not been passed yet. Even when it is passed, you could still get divorced right away, all it would mean is that your husband would lose his PR and have to leave. But as it is, you can get divorced and he still keeps his PR.
You are financially responsible, but all this means (usually) is that if he goes on welfare, you will have to pay the government back. He probably won't want to be going on welfare once he realizes how little he will be getting. In any case, he has to prove he is looking for a job while on welfare, so it is unlikely he could stay on it for 3 years. Being financially responsible does not mean you have to supply him with an apartment and give him money. (Unless he gets a court order for spousal support; keep the divorce as amicable as possible, so he doesn't look for ways to punish you.)

[Mel_R]

Hello

I was in the same situation. My Ex husband got his PR in Canada then things happened and we went our separate ways. I do however have a question maybe someone is in the same situation I am. I am not long financial responsible for my ex husband my sponsorship is over. I got married last year I'm Canadian and my new husband is American, I know they will most likely be far more skeptical of our relationship but what am I in for I have phone records, emails, bank statements, letters from my family to him and his family to me. Records of us visiting each other and more. Anyone have any advice?

Thanks for your time

Mel

[canadianwoman]

The visa officer will look at your first sponsorship, but if it does not look like a marriage of convenience, you should be OK. If it looked like the two of you just gradually grew apart and then divorced, well, that happens. If he ran off the first week he was here, the VO will suspect it was a MOC, but even then, if the VO thinks you were duped and didn't know it was a fake marriage, again, you'll be OK.
In a situation like yours, I would just increase the amount of evidence I submitted that the relationship is genuine.

[CMMMS]

Well i need help please my wife kicked me out the house because we were fighting alot over silly resons but i cant take it any more , she is always asking me to leave the house and after i do she blame me , and now i left after last time she packed my stuff herself
and she is asking for a divorce , sure thing the divorce is the best way for us , but she is telling me that she will deport me while we just stayed together for 6 months after i landed , and she is hiring some immegration lawyer to deport me so i need help !! can she deport me because we are divorced  ? i got my PR card and now she want to send me back because we are going thru a divorce ? and i dont know what to do really !!! thats not fair , its either i take her angar and say nothing or she deport me .

[fprince]

Well i need help please my wife kicked me out the house because we were fighting alot over silly resons but i cant take it any more , she is always asking me to leave the house and after i do she blame me , and now i left after last time she packed my stuff herself
and she is asking for a divorce , sure thing the divorce is the best way for us , but she is telling me that she will deport me while we just stayed together for 6 months after i landed , and she is hiring some immegration lawyer to deport me so i need help !! can she deport me because we are divorced  ? i got my PR card and now she want to send me back because we are going thru a divorce ? and i dont know what to do really !!! thats not fair , its either i take her angar and say nothing or she deport me .

You are a PR and no one can deport you unless you commit something big illegal.
you can screw her as a applicant as she is financially responsible for 3 years and she can't.

[canadianwoman]

She cannot get you deported. You have your PR card already. If you two break up 6 months after you landed in Canada, it does not look like a marriage of convenience anyway. At least it will not look like a marriage of convenience to the Canadian government enough for them to try to deport you. She can report you to Canada Border Services and CIC and state that you married her just to come to Canada, but if she cannot prove this, the government will do nothing. Most of the time, the gov't does nothing even when the sponsor can prove it was a marriage of convenience - for example, there have been cases where the applicant came to Canada and left the sponsor the first day, and the gov't did nothing.

You will need a lawyer to help you with the divorce. Get a job, find your own place, and try to get on with your life. If you can't find a job, you can apply for welfare, and your wife will have to pay the government this money back.

(However, if your wife does have any evidence that you lied on your PR application, she can tell CIC, and they will try to deport you. But as long as everything with the application was OK, you should be fine.)

[CMMMS]

So is that mean she cant ? is there any advice ? iam sorry guys but iam so confused and worried , while after all i still love her !!

[canadianwoman]

She cannot get you deported, unless she has proof you lied on your PR application about something serious.
You can go to the Legal Aid Commission in your province for help with the divorce. Legal Aid will not help with immigration problems, but may be able to refer you to someone who can. Legal Aid is free for people with a low income.
Try talking to her, or to a mutual friend. Maybe she will want to get back together with you.
Good luck.

[CMMMS]

Well she just contacted me and said her lawyer will contact my embassy and immegration and she will force me to leave i just dont know what els to do and iam affraid she will deport me !! just because i cant take her angar any more !! is it really legal she can do this ? or she is just scaring me ? any advice please folks !!!

[sheila la]

You can divorce anyone you want any time you want.  No one, not even the government can force you to stay married.

However, you will have to support this person for 3 years.  I found this quote on a google search as to the new proposed rules regarding spousal sponsorship.  If you've been in a relationship since 2007, they will not apply to you provided the law matches the propsal.

"People who have been in a relationship for two years or less and are sponsored to come to or remain in Canada as a spouse, common law or conjugal partner will have “conditional” permanent residency status for two years (or perhaps longer) after acceptance. If the new resident splits with their sponsor during the two years following acceptance, the new resident might face removal procedures where Immigration authorities determine that the relationship behind the sponsorship was not genuine."

[canadianwoman]

You can divorce anyone you want any time you want.  No one, not even the government can force you to stay married.

However, you will have to support this person for 3 years.  I found this quote on a google search as to the new proposed rules regarding spousal sponsorship.  If you've been in a relationship since 2007, they will not apply to you provided the law matches the propsal.

"People who have been in a relationship for two years or less and are sponsored to come to or remain in Canada as a spouse, common law or conjugal partner will have “conditional” permanent residency status for two years (or perhaps longer) after acceptance. If the new resident splits with their sponsor during the two years following acceptance, the new resident might face removal procedures where Immigration authorities determine that the relationship behind the sponsorship was not genuine."

This new rule has not been passed yet.
She cannot get her husband deported, as long as he did not lie on the application form. They've been married too long for Canada Border Services to believe it is a marriage of convenience; and in any case CBS usually does nothing even when they do have convincing proof of a marriage of convenience.

[PMM]

Hi

This new rule has not been passed yet.
She cannot get her husband deported, as long as he did not lie on the application form. They've been married too long for Canada Border Services to believe it is a marriage of convenience; and in any case CBS usually does nothing even when they do have convincing proof of a marriage of convenience.

Maybe in the past, but I suggest you query "permanent resident and misrepresentation and marriage" at http://www.canlii.org/en/ca/irb/index.html