Sponsoring my spouse whom i didn't mention when i became a permanent resident

[markinneed]

Hello All,

Can someone help me on this honest mistake that i committed when i became a permanent resident. I became a PR on Oct'2007 and forgot to mention about my marriage on the landing papers, was married on
Mar'2007. I have been out of Canada for a long time since my landing and getting my PR card and now when i have planned to relocate to Canada for good, i am in a position whereby unable to sponsor my spouse for the mistake I committed earlier i.e. not mentioning my marital status. Is their a way legally that i could correct this mistake and sponsor my spouse. Any advice is highly appreciated.

 

[rjessome]

There is really no recourse for you. CIC will not take kindly to you forgetting to mention someone you were married to for 6 months. In fact, they may see this as misrepresentation on your part. In any event, you have now excluded your spouse as a member of the family class and you cannot sponsor her. The only remedy that may allow you to be together in Canada is if she applies and is accepted on her own merits as a skilled worker. And it looks like you also have to settle in Canada very soon to meet the residency requirements to maintain your PR or you are in danger of losing it too.

 

[Leon]

Did you ever try to sponsor her in the past and were denied or you found out by other means that you are not allowed to sponsor her? If immigration doesn't already know that you got married, what you could do is get married again to the same woman and show those papers as the marriage papers. So it's dishonest and no good news if you get caught but it might possibly work.

If you already tried to sponsor her or you already told them you got married, you can try to find her a job and get her a temporary work permit which can later open the door to immigration but the problem is it may be hard for her to get any kind of temporary permit with a PR spouse who can't sponsor her. They may see her as a big risk of overstaying illegally. Failing that, she would have to apply for her immigration directly as a skilled worker so hopefully she qualifies.

 

[markinneed]

Rjessome,

Thanks for your reply, i will be returning to Canada very soon inorder to maintain my status...

Leon,

I havent tried to sponsor her in the past rather found out through various sources. Worried going on the wrong path may jeopardize my status. Thanks you reply as well.

 

[Alice100]

This wierd advise, but cant you marry her or him all over again to establish that you married after you landed!!! It is only a matter of 4 months, after all you have been living outside Canada.

 

[RobsLuv]

FORGOT to mention your marriage on landing - even when they asked whether your marital status had changed during processing?? Unless you can prove that you were not asked to declare any new family members, you're barred from sponsoring your husband now. He was supposed to be added to and assessed under your original application, and he would have landed with you. Unfortunately, most people who don't declare family members do so to "hide" the fact that their family member is inadmissible to Canada for some reason (usually criminal or medical) because they know that inadmissibility will make them inadmissible also. So Canada does not put up with that . . . the consequences of not declaring a spouse or dependent on landing are harsh. In fact, people who do that should not only not be able to sponsor their family member later, they should lose their own PR . . . because an inadmissible family member would have made them inadmissible in the first place.

Only option your husband has now for immigrating would be to apply on his own merit under the Skilled Worker/Business class, etc., options.

 

[Leon]

Unfortunately, most people who don't declare family members do so to "hide" the fact that their family member is inadmissible to Canada for some reason (usually criminal or medical) because they know that inadmissibility will make them inadmissible also.

From what I have seen on messageboards of people who this has happened to, it doesn't seem to me that most of them are trying to hide anything, rather they did it because they didn't think it would matter and they didn't want to delay their own PR and really thought it would not be a problem sponsoring their spouse later.

However, the CIC rules are clear. In the skilled worker application guide, it says:

You must list all family members, whether they wish to be considered in your application for permanent residence at this time or not. You will not be able to sponsor family members at a later date if they are not listed on your application.

In the operational manual for skilled workers, it says:

Family members can be added to the application at any time during the process, including after the visa is issued but prior to obtaining permanent resident status. Applicants should be counselled to inform the visa office immediately if their family composition has changed.

And in the operational manual for family class, it says:

Applicants must declare all family members when applying for a visa and must again declare all family members, whether accompanying or not, prior to obtaining permanent resident status. Permanent residents who did not declare all their family members on their application are reportable under A44(1) [see also “Sponsor who may be subject to an A44(1) report” (section 10.5 below) and “Misrepresentation” (section 5.22 below)].

And in 5.22 Misrepresentation on page 18, it says:

A foreign national is inadmissible for two years for withholding or misrepresenting information that is material to making a decision on an application [A40].

And in section 10.5 on page 43, it says:

Sponsors, who became permanent residents on the basis of never having been married, sometimes attempt to sponsor spouses they married before immigrating. Similarly, sponsors who became permanent residents as single children might sponsor a common-law partner with whom they lived in a conjugal relationship before immigrating. In such cases the sponsor may be reported under A44(1) for misrepresenting a material fact [A40(1)(a)]. In addition, the original sponsor of a family member who misrepresented their marital status may be reported under A44(1).

 

[greatlebguy]

Hello All,

I have a very special case and I would appreciate any assistance in this regard.

We are a married gay couple and I recently got my immigration visa to Canada. But during the process I did note mention that I am married to a same-sex partner because first I was not sure that I will get the Immigration as the whole process was effected through a lawyer to whom I was unable to declare that I am gay and married because being gay is legally forbidden in my country and I can go to jail because of any same-sex relationship.

Now we are both looking to immigrate to Canada and start a new life together... But in the final papers, I have received today (24/09/2010) the CIC mentioned that I am unable to sponsor in the future any family member I did not mention in my application so far.

I am short of time as I just got the Immigration Visa and the Instructions and Information in which they mention this clause and the visa is only valid till end of November 2010 .

I would appreciate receiving any information or assistance in this regards.

Thank you in advance.

 

[PMM]

Hi

Hello All,

I have a very special case and I would appreciate any assistance in this regard.

We are a married gay couple and I recently got my immigration visa to Canada. But during the process I did note mention that I am married to a same-sex partner because first I was not sure that I will get the Immigration as the whole process was effected through a lawyer to whom I was unable to declare that I am gay and married because being gay is legally forbidden in my country and I can go to jail because of any same-sex relationship.

Now we are both looking to immigrate to Canada and start a new life together... But in the final papers, I have received today (24/09/2010) the CIC mentioned that I am unable to sponsor in the future any family member I did not mention in my application so far.

I am short of time as I just got the Immigration Visa and the Instructions and Information in which they mention this clause and the visa is only valid till end of November 2010 .

I would appreciate receiving any information or assistance in this regards.

Thank you in advance.

1. Your visa is no longer valid. You should return the visa to the issuing office and request instructions on how to add your spouse. If you don't and "land" you will not be able to sponsor your spouse in the future.

 

[Leon]

I suggest you write them now and tell them your circumstances, why you did not tell them you were married because of the legal situation in your country and because of your lawyer but you do want to add your spouse to your application and remove this lawyer as your representative so he doesn't find out about it. I think that they would understand.

If you land as a single PR, you could try to sponsor your partner later but you would have to lie about being married and if you had lived together long enough to have been considered common law partners at the time you applied for PR, you would have to lie about that too and hope that they do not find out. If they did find out, they would not only prevent you from sponsoring your partner, they might even take your own PR away for misrepresentation.

 

[greatlebguy]

Dear PMM and Leon,

Thank you for your prompt replies.

as you mentioned, my visa is no longer valid, so in case I will return the visa and the Confirmation of Permanent Residence card and reveal my real marital status with a letter explaining the real reasons behind my decision to hide the marriage issue. Would the Immigration Visa Office cancel my application? or they would process it based on the new information I will provide? how much time would they take to asses my partner's application? and what will happen in case my application is accepted and his application is refused, knowing that he doesn't have any major reasons for refusing his application like criminal record or any medical problems.

Thank you.

 

[matthewc]

Wait a minute, how is it possible that you are legally married, when you said gay marriage is illegal in your country?

To your specific questions, if for some reason your spouse was found to be inadmissible to Canada, that would also mean your application would be refused. However, if you are legally married (and the marriage was legal in the country where it was issued) there's no reason why he would be refused if he doesn't have a criminal record or medical problems, and your marriage is genuine.

 

[greatlebguy]

Dear Matthewc

I am a Lebanese guy and my partner is Spanish. The wedding took place in Spain and it is genuine as in Spain the gay marriage is legal. That's why I kept hiding it because I was unable to provide any legal document from my country.

Besides I was not knowing about this clause till now when I got the final papers and it was clearly mentioned in it

Thanks