Spousal Sponsorship - Non-accompanying Dependent

[aloswhite]

Hi everybody,

I am a Canadian in the process of applying to sponsor my husband (inland) for PR. He has a non-accompanying dependent in another country with whom he has no contact or custody. According to the application instructions, it seems that we have to include this dependent on the application regardless of whether it is accompanying or not. There are a couple of problems with this.

First, we are apparently required to get a medical exam for the dependent as part of the application process. The mother has absolutely refused to do this. After months of trying, we finally convinced her to sign a notarized document stating that she understands failure to get the medical exam will result in her child being ineligible for future sponsorship, etc, but that she has full custody and will not do it. It has been several weeks and we still have not received it, but she told us that if we ever contacted her again we would not get even the letter. So we are still waiting.

Second, the application requests that we send recent photos and a birth certificate for the dependent. We do not have these, and since the mother has already told us firmly to never contact her or the dependent again it seems highly unlikely we can get them. We can try, once we receive the letter we are waiting for and don't risk jeopardizing that, but I would be very surprised if we had any more luck with this than the medical exam.

We have done our best to get everything in writing (eg, attempts to get the medical exam, letters detailing custody arrangement, etc). We also understand that IRCC may require us to sign a document stating that we understand the dependent will be ineligible for future sponsorship, if we cannot get the medical exam done. We understand these implications (and won't be bringing the dependent to Canada for any reason, ever) so we are more than willing to do this. We thought that this plus the notarized letter and custody documents might be enough to convince the customs officer(s) that we tried to fulfill these requests. However, we are worried that the letter will never come (there is no guarantee she will send it, even though she said she would, and we really can't do anything but ask for her cooperation) and I am concerned that not having the birth certificate will result in them rejecting our application as incomplete or something. A few people on other forums have said that they know people who had their applications rejected because they could not get medical exams done for dependents.

So I guess my question is, does anybody have experience with not being able to get a birth certificate or medical examination for a non-accompanying minor? It feels largely out of our hands at the moment and I don't know what to do. It seems like the ex-partner in this situation has a lot of power over the immigration process, and I'm worried that if she figures out just how much power she has we will never get the letter we asked for.

Any help/guidance/advice would be appreciated, I've had a hard time researching this because it is such a specific situation. Thank you!

 

[np08]

Unfortunately this is pretty common when it comes to divorced couples and their children. We see it often.

As long as you have proof of trying to contact her and get her to agree (your texts, emails, whatever you've been using to communicate), and as long as you give a notarized statement saying that you're aware you won't be able to sponsor the child, you should be fine. That's usually how it goes. This is the first time I'm seeing an attempt to get that statement from the other parent (usually if they don't want to let the child do the medical, they're not receptive to any statements or anything like that either).

You can search the forum here and find a ton of threads on this exact issue.

Basically, print out whatever communication you have with her showing that you tried to get her to agree and notarize a statement where you say you're aware you won't be able to sponsor the dependent in the future, and put those in your application package.

 

[aloswhite]

Unfortunately this is pretty common when it comes to divorced couples and their children. We see it often.

As long as you have proof of trying to contact her and get her to agree (your texts, emails, whatever you've been using to communicate), and as long as you give a notarized statement saying that you're aware you won't be able to sponsor the child, you should be fine. That's usually how it goes. This is the first time I'm seeing an attempt to get that statement from the other parent (usually if they don't want to let the child do the medical, they're not receptive to any statements or anything like that either).

You can search the forum here and find a ton of threads on this exact issue.

Basically, print out whatever communication you have with her showing that you tried to get her to agree and notarize a statement where you say you're aware you won't be able to sponsor the dependent in the future, and put those in your application package.

Thank you! That does make me feel a little better.

I hadn't heard of trying to get a letter from the other parent either, I just thought it might help in confirming that we can't get the medical. I think she agreed to sign the statement because it confirms we will be unable to sponsor the dependent in the future.I don't know if she thinks we secretly want to bring the child to Canada or what (despite us explaining repeatedly that we couldn't do that without her permission even if we did want to for some reason) but she seemed happy with the statement besides the fact it helps us out. I guess if we ever do receive it I will just add it to the package with the other correspondence.

Thanks again.

 

[canuck_in_uk]

We also understand that IRCC may require us to sign a document stating that we understand the dependent will be ineligible for future sponsorship, if we cannot get the medical exam done.

Don't wait for IRCC to request this. Your husband needs to submit a notarized declaration stating that he understands his child will be forever excluded from the Family Class and never be able to be sponsored. This is the most important document to submit in this situation.

 

[Western Mountain Man]

It's doubtful you will see the letter especially if there has been much animosity in their previous relationship.
Just playing games unfortunately Kids caught in the middle.

Don't stress!....Don't give them the power!
You have done everything right.

If you feel the letter is not going to come than move forward. Make sure CIC knows about it and don't waste too much time.
( Make you worried ). You can always send it to them later if necessary should you suddenly receive it.
The notarized statement plus proofs should be ok given everything else in your sponsorship application
is put together accordingly. "Be prepared to fill out the extra document regarding dependent ineligible for future sponsorship".
Think about it and Focus on your future together

 

[Jon74]

I am going through this same issue also. My ex partner in Australia has my two daughters, now 15 and 17. She has been engaged in parental alienation for the past five years. The split was amicable, but a few months later she literally flipped overnight and has made it her goal to destroy me ever since.

She has refused to communicate with me at all in regards to the medicals. A mutual friend told me she refused to answer my emails as she knows I can then use her response as proof I conversed with her on the matter.

I have printed off the mother’s rants on social media, where she writes nasty stuff about me, and I’ve included as much info as I can in terms of her animosity, including how she has convinced the children’s school to ignore my requests for information on my children’s education and how she has blackmailed my family to cut ties with me, or lose contact with my children. She cordially cut off the children’s contact with my family last year.

I was able to get the children’s birth certificates however. As long as your husband is named on the child’s birth certificate, you should be able to contact the local births registry office where the child was registered and get a copy of the child’s birth certificate.

Also, if the ex partner has sole custody, and you have a copy, this will show that your husband has no legal means to compel the child to have a medical.

Include absolutely everything you can, even if it’s a full statement of how the relationship broke down, her behaviour since and your attempts to communicate.

At the end of the day, the more you can show that you have tried everything you can, to fulfil the requirement to do the medical, the better picture the processing officer can get of the situation.

Good luck!

 

[aloswhite]

I am going through this same issue also. My ex partner in Australia has my two daughters, now 15 and 17. She has been engaged in parental alienation for the past five years. The split was amicable, but a few months later she literally flipped overnight and has made it her goal to destroy me ever since.

She has refused to communicate with me at all in regards to the medicals. A mutual friend told me she refused to answer my emails as she knows I can then use her response as proof I conversed with her on the matter.

I have printed off the mother’s rants on social media, where she writes nasty stuff about me, and I’ve included as much info as I can in terms of her animosity, including how she has convinced the children’s school to ignore my requests for information on my children’s education and how she has blackmailed my family to cut ties with me, or lose contact with my children. She cordially cut off the children’s contact with my family last year.

I was able to get the children’s birth certificates however. As long as your husband is named on the child’s birth certificate, you should be able to contact the local births registry office where the child was registered and get a copy of the child’s birth certificate.

Also, if the ex partner has sole custody, and you have a copy, this will show that your husband has no legal means to compel the child to have a medical.

Include absolutely everything you can, even if it’s a full statement of how the relationship broke down, her behaviour since and your attempts to communicate.

At the end of the day, the more you can show that you have tried everything you can, to fulfil the requirement to do the medical, the better picture the processing officer can get of the situation.

Good luck!

Thank you for the advice about the birth certificate, we will have to look into that. It would be easier to bypass her entirely on that matter if possible.

The mother does have sole custody and my husband has no contact with the child but the matter was settled informally between them, never in the courts. One of the documents we have asked her to sign along with the letter confirming her refusal to allow the medical is an outline of their agreement that she has full custody of the child and my husband has no contact/visitation. I believe she will actually sign/send that one, because it is something that she wants in writing as well. From what I could find online, this is a valid way of dealing with custody issues without involving lawyers (I have no experience in this arena, however, so I certainly hope that's true).

I'm sorry to hear you're having similar problems. We are also not really sure where the animosity is coming from in our situation, it was all very strange and sudden. She became very upset when she found out I was pregnant and seems to have made it her mission to make things difficult for us ever since. Thankfully I don't think she knows anything about the PR application process so she hasn't been avoiding written communication, but she seems to know we need her cooperation so has been trying to leverage this to her own advantage.

Best of luck to you as well, and thank you for the advice. Glad to hear that others have been through this and there are ways around it.

 

[Blancherafal]

Hi everybody,

I am a Canadian in the process of applying to sponsor my husband (inland) for PR. He has a non-accompanying dependent in another country with whom he has no contact or custody. According to the application instructions, it seems that we have to include this dependent on the application regardless of whether it is accompanying or not. There are a couple of problems with this.

First, we are apparently required to get a medical exam for the dependent as part of the application process. The mother has absolutely refused to do this. After months of trying, we finally convinced her to sign a notarized document stating that she understands failure to get the medical exam will result in her child being ineligible for future sponsorship, etc, but that she has full custody and will not do it. It has been several weeks and we still have not received it, but she told us that if we ever contacted her again we would not get even the letter. So we are still waiting.

Second, the application requests that we send recent photos and a birth certificate for the dependent. We do not have these, and since the mother has already told us firmly to never contact her or the dependent again it seems highly unlikely we can get them. We can try, once we receive the letter we are waiting for and don't risk jeopardizing that, but I would be very surprised if we had any more luck with this than the medical exam.

We have done our best to get everything in writing (eg, attempts to get the medical exam, letters detailing custody arrangement, etc). We also understand that IRCC may require us to sign a document stating that we understand the dependent will be ineligible for future sponsorship, if we cannot get the medical exam done. We understand these implications (and won't be bringing the dependent to Canada for any reason, ever) so we are more than willing to do this. We thought that this plus the notarized letter and custody documents might be enough to convince the customs officer(s) that we tried to fulfill these requests. However, we are worried that the letter will never come (there is no guarantee she will send it, even though she said she would, and we really can't do anything but ask for her cooperation) and I am concerned that not having the birth certificate will result in them rejecting our application as incomplete or something. A few people on other forums have said that they know people who had their applications rejected because they could not get medical exams done for dependents.

So I guess my question is, does anybody have experience with not being able to get a birth certificate or medical examination for a non-accompanying minor? It feels largely out of our hands at the moment and I don't know what to do. It seems like the ex-partner in this situation has a lot of power over the immigration process, and I'm worried that if she figures out just how much power she has we will never get the letter we asked for.

Any help/guidance/advice would be appreciated, I've had a hard time researching this because it is such a specific situation. Thank you!

Hello. May I ask if you already got your PR? We have the same situation. My partner’s ex doesn’t want to have the child undergo a medical exam. Please help us what to do. Thank you