International student to Refugee spouse

[Rose Anjum]

I am an International student in Toronto and recently applied for my PGWP. My boyfriend also entered on a student visa but did not renew nor could restore over 90 days period after expiry of his study permit. He also overstayed for nearly 1 year. We've been dating since 1 year but we did not live together thus, we cannot yet apply for Common-Law sponsorship I'm assuming. We were supposed to get married by the end of 2022. Since, he's out of status he's willing to go to refugee route without much solid evidences nor does he want to move back to his country to re-apply. I'm skeptic of him claiming as Refugee but agreed thinking will it buy us some time for him to stay before we get married?? His passport is also gonna expire soon, should he renew his passport for the country he applied asylum for? Also his passport will be required when we switch to spousal sponsorship, no? Is there anyway we can make it to in-land Spousal sponsorship if we got married sooner? OR do I submit my PR application with him after living for 1 year as common law while I'm on my PGWP? PLEASE HELP! We can in no way tolerate the separation as our relationship is genuine & our families are involved.

 

[scylla]

I am an International student in Toronto and recently applied for my PGWP. My boyfriend also entered on a student visa but did not renew nor could restore over 90 days period after expiry of his study permit. He also overstayed for nearly 1 year. We've been dating since 1 year but we did not live together thus, we cannot yet apply for Common-Law sponsorship I'm assuming. We were supposed to get married by the end of 2022. Since, he's out of status he's willing to go to refugee route without much solid evidences nor does he want to move back to his country to re-apply. I'm skeptic of him claiming as Refugee but agreed thinking will it buy us some time for him to stay before we get married?? His passport is also gonna expire soon, should he renew his passport for the country he applied asylum for? Also his passport will be required when we switch to spousal sponsorship, no? Is there anyway we can make it to in-land Spousal sponsorship if we got married sooner? OR do I submit my PR application with him after living for 1 year as common law while I'm on my PGWP? PLEASE HELP! We can in no way tolerate the separation as our relationship is genuine & our families are involved.

I don't see how a false refugee claim is going to help him. It's going to create more problems than it solves. If he doesn't have a solid claim and is just applying for refugee status to remain in Canada, then eventually he is going to be refused and will have to leave Canada. Once he's outside of Canada, he will need an ARC to return which will make everything more difficult. A refused refugee claim will also cause any sponsorship by you to be reviewed much more closely to make sure it's a genuine relationship and no a marriage of convenience.

I'm not sure what you mean by inland spousal sponsorship. Inland spousal sponsorship is for situations where one person is already Canadian and is sponsoring the other person for PR. You don't have PR yet and it doesnt sound like you have applied for PR yet. Are you asking about inland spousal sponsorship after you have PR or are you asking about something else?

Yes, you need to live together for a full year continuously in order to be considered as common law.

BEST option if the two of you are serious is to get married in Feb 2022 and then for him to return home. When you apply for PR, you would then include him in your application as your spouse and you would both get PR together. Doing anything else is going to create problems and make things more complicated than they are today.

 

[Rose Anjum]

I don't see how a false refugee claim is going to help him. It's going to create more problems than it solves. If he doesn't have a solid claim and is just applying for refugee status to remain in Canada, then eventually he is going to be refused and will have to leave Canada. Once he's outside of Canada, he will need an ARC to return which will make everything more difficult. A refused refugee claim will also cause any sponsorship by you to be reviewed much more closely to make sure it's a genuine relationship and no a marriage of convenience.

I'm not sure what you mean by inland spousal sponsorship. Inland spousal sponsorship is for situations where one person is already Canadian and is sponsoring the other person for PR. You don't have PR yet and it doesnt sound like you have applied for PR yet. Are you asking about inland spousal sponsorship after you have PR or are you asking about something else?

Yes, you need to live together for a full year continuously in order to be considered as common law.

BEST option if the two of you are serious is to get married in Feb 2022 and then for him to return home. When you apply for PR, you would then include him in your application as your spouse and you would both get PR together. Doing anything else is going to create problems and make things more complicated than they are today.

Yes, I was asking about Inland Spousal sponsorship after I got PR within a year. Is there anyway he could remain here in Canada till then? Perhaps through common-law until we hit 1 year? Or if we get married around Feb 2022, can he still stay to begin processing & apply PR together?
And if he's a refugee claimant still awaiting decision, can I sponsor him once I am PR or even submit him as spouse in my PR application? Should he apply for Humanitarian & Compassionate grounds instead of claiming asylum? I am entirely clueless on how to make him stay & wait amid these. Any suggestion would help. THANK YOU.

 

[scylla]

Yes, I was asking about Inland Spousal sponsorship after I got PR within a year. Is there anyway he could remain here in Canada till then? Perhaps through common-law until we hit 1 year? Or if we get married around Feb 2022, can we begin any sort of processing & apply PR together? Should he apply for Humanitarian & Compassionate grounds instead of claiming asylum? I am entirely clueless on how to make him stay & wait amid these. Any suggestion would help. THANK YOU.

His options are pretty limited given he's out of status in Canada and it's too late to restore his status.

Yes, he can apply for H&C but will want to make sure he has a strong H&C case. I assume he has not worked since he stopped attending school.

If you get married or become common law before you land in Canada and become a PR, then you must add him to your own PR application and he must go through the medical and provide PCCs in order for your application to be approved. I'm not sure how the fact that he's out of status in Canada may impact your application. You may want to speak with a lawyer about that before he applies for anything or you apply for anything.

Good luck.

 

[Simba112]

Yes, I was asking about Inland Spousal sponsorship after I got PR within a year. Is there anyway he could remain here in Canada till then? Perhaps through common-law until we hit 1 year? Or if we get married around Feb 2022, can he still stay to begin processing & apply PR together?
And if he's a refugee claimant still awaiting decision, can I sponsor him once I am PR or even submit him as spouse in my PR application? Should he apply for Humanitarian & Compassionate grounds instead of claiming asylum? I am entirely clueless on how to make him stay & wait amid these. Any suggestion would help. THANK YOU.

In addition to what @scylla comments, please spare time to read careful below Public Policy. Objective of this policy is to facilitate family reunion for those with no Immigration status. Read word by word, cross reference all sections and consult Immigration lawyer. It is not something you want to do by yourself. I don't advice refugee route, he will expose himself and Minister will likely intervene

https://www.canada.ca/en/immigration-refugees-citizenship/corporate/mandate/policies-operational-instructions-agreements/immigration-refugee-protection-act-spousal-policy.html

 

[canuck78]

Yes, I was asking about Inland Spousal sponsorship after I got PR within a year. Is there anyway he could remain here in Canada till then? Perhaps through common-law until we hit 1 year? Or if we get married around Feb 2022, can he still stay to begin processing & apply PR together?
And if he's a refugee claimant still awaiting decision, can I sponsor him once I am PR or even submit him as spouse in my PR application? Should he apply for Humanitarian & Compassionate grounds instead of claiming asylum? I am entirely clueless on how to make him stay & wait amid these. Any suggestion would help. THANK YOU.

Filing an asylum claim without basis can potentially create a lot of problems for the future. Any family member potentially wanting to visit can be seen as a potential risk for asylum claim, he could also have issues getting visas to enter other countries although his overstay also create issues, etc. In general it is a very bad idea to apply for asylum just to try and buy some time.

 

[Rose Anjum]

Should I apply PR with him by adding him as spouse because we intend to marry anyway. Our relationship is genuine & I have tonnes of proof. Common law route, Inland or Outland spousal is better? I am applying for PR in the end of 2022. What is the only option left for him to stay or get PR?

 

[scylla]

Should I apply PR with him by adding him as spouse because we intend to marry anyway. Our relationship is genuine & I have tonnes of proof. Common law route, Inland or Outland spousal is better? I am applying for PR in the end of 2022. What is the only option left for him to stay or get PR?

If you are married or common law at the time you apply for PR or if you become married or common law before you land and become a PR, then it will be mandatory that you add him to your application and include him in your application. However the fact he is out of status could create issues for your application. Speak with a lawyer before you apply for PR so that you know your options.