Common Law Separation

[potential_resident]

Hi everyone,

PROBLEM: I recently got my Permanent residency under common law last month. My common law partner and myself are seeking to be separated. The condition of the PR is that I have to stay with him for 2 years.

QUESTION: Is there any way that I can keep my PR status if I decide to leave Canada for good on the basis of domestic abuse (verbal, not physical).

I am undoubtedly in the toughest position any women can be in.

Thank you everyone.

 

[scylla]

I think it's unlikely any of us will be able to answer your question. Conditional PR is so new that we really haven't seen any cases where the law has been challenged due to abuse.

If you want to try to challenge the rule, you will need to be able to provide proof/evidence the abuse took place.

Good luck.

 

[Panamai]

Hi everyone,

PROBLEM: I recently got my Permanent residency under common law last month. My common law partner and myself are seeking to be separated. The condition of the PR is that I have to stay with him for 2 years.

QUESTION: Is there any way that I can keep my PR status if I decide to leave Canada for good on the basis of domestic abuse (verbal, not physical).

I am undoubtedly in the toughest position any women can be in.

Thank you everyone.

If you are planning to leave Canada for good, why would you need to retain your PR? I know there are conditions factored into other parts of the process in cases of abuse, but I'm not sure about the Condition 51. Was there no info on the CIC site about it? I'm going to go see if I can find something. Sorry you are going through this.

 

[Panamai]

I found this: http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/resources/publications/family-sponsorship.asp

 

[SchnookoLoly]

The question is whether the OP was subject to Condition 51 or not. That's the real question here that OP needs to be able to answer.

If there was no Condition 51 on the COPR document, then the OP has full PR and it can't be revoked.

If there was Condition 51, then something may happen, but as scylla said, there haven't been enough appeals cases yet to really know how CIC is handling it.

 

[Panamai]

Yes, she said she has the condition and the link clearly explained that the condition would not apply in cases of abuse. In any case, there is a number for her to call to get answers in the link I provided.

 

[SchnookoLoly]

Whoops, I missed that, thanks!

 

[Panamai]

Whoops, I missed that, thanks!

No problem

 

[Rob_TO]

Yes, she said she has the condition and the link clearly explained that the condition would not apply in cases of abuse.

The problem is you need to convince CIC that the abuse was real, with supporting evidence.

I imagine many people in fraudulent marriages will be faking the abuse claim simply to try and get out of the condition 51.

So hopefully OP has been keeping detailed logs that track dates, times and instances of when the abuse happened, and even getting recordings of it if possible. As was mentioned, nobody really knows how CIC will or won't accept cases of abuse when it comes to Condition 51, as the line of what constitutes abuse can be open to interpretation.

 

[SchnookoLoly]

There's been one case that's showed up on CANLII so far - http://www.canlii.org/en/ca/irb/doc/2014/2014canlii70005/2014canlii70005.html

 

[potential_resident]

Thank you everyone for your replies. There is condition 51 listed on my PR application. I believe the whole idea of getting a family class PR means that the primary factor in granting that PR was to be with my common law partner/spouse. Since that is no longer a reason, I don't see why a PR could be maintained despite the fact that there was abuse in the relationship. I think CIC is unlikely to give me a PR even with compelling evidence of the abuse.

And all of this is so ironic considering I prepared my own common law application, and got my PR in 3 months from the day I handed the application !!!

Good luck to you all and thank you for always considering the immigrant on this forum. I am so grateful to everyone here. And I hope no one has to go through what I have been through.

Canada is still a great country with great people. Merci Canada !

 

[Regina]

I think CIC is unlikely to give me a PR even with compelling evidence of the abuse.

you are wrong. if you have evidence of abuse there is a chance you will be able to keep your Pr status. But of course it depends on what you want and how far you are ready to go for that in terms of evidence, witnesses, going to the court.

 

[Panamai]

you are wrong. if you have evidence of abuse there is a chance you will be able to keep your Pr status. But of course it depends on what you want and how far you are ready to go for that in terms of evidence, witnesses, going to the court.

I agree. You came here in good faith, but can't maintain a relationship that is abusive. You should not have to suffer that. If you no longer want to live in Canada at all, then there is no issue. But, the government isn't going to just kick you out because the relationship is ending by no fault of your own. You have every right to be here if that's what you want. You do, however, need to start reaching out for help. Call the number in the link I gave you, contact your local women's shelter, contact the authorities and get a no contact order if you need it. Do you have any friends who can help you here in Canada?

 

[Ponga]

Thank you everyone for your replies. There is condition 51 listed on my PR application. I believe the whole idea of getting a family class PR means that the primary factor in granting that PR was to be with my common law partner/spouse. Since that is no longer a reason, I don't see why a PR could be maintained despite the fact that there was abuse in the relationship. I think CIC is unlikely to give me a PR even with compelling evidence of the abuse.

And all of this is so ironic considering I prepared my own common law application, and got my PR in 3 months from the day I handed the application !!!

Good luck to you all and thank you for always considering the immigrant on this forum. I am so grateful to everyone here. And I hope no one has to go through what I have been through.

Canada is still a great country with great people. Merci Canada !

What compelling evidence do you have of verbal abuse?

I suspect that proving verbal abuse will be much more difficult than physical abuse, but if you do have compelling evidence you should certainly fight to keep your PR.

Good luck!

 

[SchnookoLoly]

+1, if you have evidence of abuse, then fight your case. Read the link I posted, where the sponsored person was able to successfully argue abuse. (Granted the sponsor in that case was entirely loonytoons, but still.)