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Legally Separated - IRCC keeps asking for Divorce Certificate

vijvipin

Newbie
Dec 12, 2022
3
0
Hi

I have applied for Express Entry on May 2021 under Canadian Experience Class. Its has been a long 1.7 years wait for my decision which is emotionally and mentally Draining.
My Spouse and Myself are separated with no scope for reconciliation for the last 3 years. She has obtained a Injunction order which prevents me from any sort of contact with her. The divorce proceedings are happening in a family court in India. Contrary to the divorce proceedings in Canada or US, the divorce proceedings are long and takes years to complete in India especially if its a contested divorce ( No mutual signoff between both the parties). For reference, Divorce case filed in 2018-2019 is currently being called for hearing and decision making in my court. So with a non cooperating partner and her contestation i also expect my Divorce formalities to be completed in ONLY atleast 2-3 years ( 2024-2025).

After going through a lot of forums, i applied my express entry application as LEGALLY SEPARATED , which as per Ircc is "Legally Separated: Separated means that two people are married but no longer living together, and they do not wish to live together again. They may be waiting for a divorce or have not yet decided to divorce." I have selected legally separated as my marital status and have not claimed any points of my spouse. I have submitted the following documents
  1. Affidavit of Separation.
  2. Affidavit to prove that i will not sponsor my spouse to Canada.
  3. Divorce Filing documents from Indian Court
  4. Case diaries which shows the dates and outcome of hearings/ to prove that the hearings are still happening in court.
  5. Letter of opinion from the attorney (Assigned lawyer)regarding divorce pending status at court.
  6. Notarized Court documents.
  7. Legal Opinion letter from an Legal Immigration Attorney, Canada.
Even after providing all these supporting documents, I have received multiple request letters and a at last a Procedure Fairness Letter to submit the Divorce certificate. I could understand that if i have filed my express entry as "divorced", then it makes sense for the immigration office to ask for divorce document. However, even after filing as separated, why is Divorce certificate mandatory?- even when IRCC itself states that "they may be waiting for a divorce or have not yet decided to divorce". Now, i have again submitted a letter of explanation, that my divorce proceedings are still happening and delayed because of non cooperation of my spouse and court delays. It is beyond my control and ability to provide timelines on court times of completion of my divorce case and obtain a DIVORCE CERTIFICATE.

After being in Canada since 2019, now i really fear that i will have to leave the country due to refusal of my express entry application as my BOWP will also be terminated along with it.

Is there anything i can do to avoid this? Will my permanent residence application be approved while waiting being at the Separated status? Any help or inputs will be highly appreciated.
 

Ultraxion

Hero Member
May 10, 2022
258
190
Try to finalize your divorce asap. Judging from the titles of the documents, they are either showing that you are in a process of getting a divorce, or self-serving (i.e. the affidavits, attorney's opinion etc.), not *legally* separated. Order GCMS notes if you wish to see how your processing officer thinks about your case.
IRCC is very serious on examining family members whether or not they are accompanying, or if you are going to sponsor them in the future.
 

dimplesimple

Star Member
Mar 22, 2023
141
38
Hi, do you have update on this? i have similar situation. could you let me know how you proceeded and did you get decision on your application yet?