Previous Sponsorship

[Will111]

I previously sponsored my spouse to come to Canada, but after they got the Permanent Residency Card they became afraid of the Economy and for what ever did not come here yet.  In meantime I met someone again a foreign national that I fell in love with and would now like to sponsor this person.  The guide says I do not qualify as sponsor because you can not sponsor someone if you had a previous sponsorship until the previous sponsor lives here for 3 years.  Can I not have an exception to this rule, and sponsor the new spouse after divorcing the previous spouse.  Please advise if there is any exception to this rule.  Thanks.

[mitamata]

Interesting. Hopefully PPM will know the answer to this.

In the mean time... when did you sponsor the first person? Have they landed or did they never come to Canada after the visa was issued? The visa has a limited validity, if it's already expired, then they can't land anymore.

[Will111]

Thanks for your reply.  I was married in March 07 and my spouse received the PR Card in Aug 08, but then became leary about the economy.  My spouse works as Architect in Vietnam and by Vietnam's standards make okay living, but wants to come to Canada, but is not sure when.  In meantime we drifted apart a bit, and I was lonely waiting for them to come when I met this other person, and became very connected to, and believe I fell in love with them.  So now I am hoping to divorce my spouse and sponsor this new love.  My spouse is okay with that.  I don't want to mess my spouse up for their residency, but hoping that I can sponsor the new love.  And again the guide indicates that the first spouse has to become resident for 3 years before I qualify as sponsor under the family class.  I just hope there is some exception.  My current love is on a 3 month visitor visa that could be extended to 9 months.  Please let me know any ideas anyone might have on this.  Thanks.

[mitamata]

Oh. No, in this case, you can't sponsor until at least 3 years have passed since your first spouse landed, sorry. There's no exceptions to it I'm afraid.

You can divorce your current spouse at any time, but that doesn't cancel the agreement you signed. You will have to wait until the 3 years run out.

Also, when you do sponsor your new partner, you should know the first sponsorship will not be a good sign for the IO processing your application. You had already sponsored someone and that relationship didn't last long, they can easily assume that it wasn't a genuine relationship and that you're trying to do the same thing all over again. I would guess your circumstances will mean they will look into your relationship closer.