The sponsor did not declare his common-law partner in his PR application

[Janix]

Hi everyone,

I am posting this question on my brother's behalf.
Here is his situation:

1. May 2021 to Nov 2023, he lived together with his girlfriend in the Philippines.
2. Dec 2022, my brother applied for PR as "Single"
3. Nov 2023, he flew to Canada as a temporary resident and got his PR status in 2024.
3. He married his girlfriend in 2025, and he sponsored his girlfriend (now his wife) to come and live with him here in Canada.
4. Now they got a letter from IRCC saying that his wife is not eligible for Spouse sponsorship. Because he did not declare his wife as common-law spouse in his 2022 PR application.

The immigration officer is asking for proof that the sponsor had declared his wife as a family member in his PR application.
My brother did a D.I.Y spouse sponsorship application and got confused about his marital status.
This is because in the Philippines, live-in partners are not considered spouses legally; Since they are not yet married during his PR application, he thinks he is still "Single".

What can he do about this?
Any advice is much appreciated.

Thank you in advance!

 

[anthonyjr]

They need to consult a lawyer.
As a person who is actively researching about this, I see if you guys were really living as common-law, then there is very tiny chance to get over this. Because that is the law. Even though talking to a lawyer is the only hope now, but still no one is able to change the law. The PR holder (sponsor) may also face a risk of his PR being revoked for misrepresentation purposes.

Me and my wife are having the same problem but we were in a different situation (we had a very complicated relationship with most of the time separated and the relationship broken down, only live under same roof to take care of the child, sometimes my wife lived in another house) and we had to base on those fact to against IRCC's view on our "conjugal living" period.

 

[Buletruck]

What can he do about this?

Lawyer up.
Despite what the laws in the Philippines states, IRCC sees him as being common law. Because he didn't declare her at the time of his application, he can never sponsor her in his current situation. She is not considered "family".

 

[canuck78]

What can he do about this?

Lawyer up.
Despite what the laws in the Philippines states, IRCC sees him as being common law. Because he didn't declare her at the time of his application, he can never sponsor her in his current situation. She is not considered "family".

Think you mean she has been considered his dependent family member since May2022 which is the problem.

 

[canuck78]

Hi everyone,

I am posting this question on my brother's behalf.
Here is his situation:

1. May 2021 to Nov 2023, he lived together with his girlfriend in the Philippines.
2. Dec 2022, my brother applied for PR as "Single"
3. Nov 2023, he flew to Canada as a temporary resident and got his PR status in 2024.
3. He married his girlfriend in 2025, and he sponsored his girlfriend (now his wife) to come and live with him here in Canada.
4. Now they got a letter from IRCC saying that his wife is not eligible for Spouse sponsorship. Because he did not declare his wife as common-law spouse in his 2022 PR application.

The immigration officer is asking for proof that the sponsor had declared his wife as a family member in his PR application.
My brother did a D.I.Y spouse sponsorship application and got confused about his marital status.
This is because in the Philippines, live-in partners are not considered spouses legally; Since they are not yet married during his PR application, he thinks he is still "Single".

What can he do about this?
Any advice is much appreciated.

Thank you in advance!

Likely the only option is either she qualifies for PR on her own or he relinquishes his PR status and tries to qualify again. He could then reapply with her as his spouse. There would still be a risk that IRCC could claim he misrepresented his marital status in the past. Typically hasn’t been an issue if people relinquished and applied again but IRCC enforcement is unpredictable these days and much more strict. It is also much harder to secure PR these days.

 

[armoured]

They need to consult a lawyer.
As a person who is actively researching about this, I see if you guys were really living as common-law, then there is very tiny chance to get over this. Because that is the law. Even though talking to a lawyer is the only hope now, but still no one is able to change the law. The PR holder (sponsor) may also face a risk of his PR being revoked for misrepresentation purposes.

Two comments:
-the main takeaway is that the chances are VERY low of OP being able to sponsor his spouse / respond to the PFL with information that will NOT result in IRCC deciding this is an undeclared common law spouse and therefore not eligible to be sponsored.

Will a lawyer be able to help? Maybe not (I'd even say probably not, in this specific case). But it's also probably the only chance. (An individual who did not bother to get informed enough to understand or simply misunderstood the requirements is NOT competent to deal with it, in my opinion).

Claiming "I didn't know" I'm sorry PH is different etc has low chances of working - IMO - but possibly non-zero. (Not responding to the PFL is definitely zero)

-I am not personally aware of any cases - at all - where the PR-sponsor has had the status revoked for misrepresentation. I may have missed some, perhaps those who have had this happen have not posted about their experiences, or there could be cases with other significant factors (eg other misrepresentation) that led to it.

But I think we can fairly say that in the vast majority of cases, IRCC seems to think that a lifetime ban on sponsoring one's spouse is sufficiently harsh. (They may even think it's excessive, but the regs don't leave them room to decide otherwise if the facts fit the definitions)

 

[Janix]

Thank you for all the comments. This seems to be a hopeless case.
We will consult a lawyer to manage the risk properly.