Spouse sponsorship refusal

[Sanamkhan]

Hi everyone,
I would really appreciate some advice from anyone who has experience with similar cases.
I am a Canadian citizen sponsoring my husband through the Family Class (outland application). Our application was submitted on November 24, 2025.
Procedural Fairness Letter (PFL)
In March 2026, we received a Procedural Fairness Letter (PFL). The officer's main concerns were:

My husband and I had a religious Nikah in July 2019, while he was still legally married to his first wife.
His divorce was not legally finalized until September 2025.
We did not declare our marriage in previous immigration applications before 2024.

The officer believed our marriage might be excluded under IRPR sections 117(9)(c) and 5(b) because he was still legally married when our religious marriage took place.
We hired an immigration lawyer to prepare a detailed response. In our response, we explained that:
I did not understand Canadian immigration law regarding polygamy at the time of our Nikah.
Once I learned that Canada would not recognize our marriage while my husband was still legally married, I kept my marital status as "single" out of respect for Canadian law.
We were not trying to hide our relationship or misrepresent anything.
We have lived together in the UAE since December 2024.

Our relationship is genuine and ongoing.
We requested that our relationship also be considered from the perspective of our common-law cohabitation.
We also submitted humanitarian and compassionate (H&C) considerations.
After submitting the PFL response, IRCC continued processing the application. They requested medicals, additional forms, travel history, updated passports, and other documents. Medicals were passed, and we submitted everything requested.

Refusal
About four months after the PFL response, our application was refused.
The refusal letter states:

The officer accepted that our relationship is genuine.
However, they concluded that our marriage is excluded under IRPR 117(9)(c) and 5(b) because my husband was still legally married when our religious marriage took place.
They also did not accept our common-law argument because they believed it could not be ruled out that my husband was still in a common-law relationship with his first wife until the formal divorce.

They considered our humanitarian and compassionate submissions but decided there were insufficient grounds to grant an exemption.
I have been given the right to appeal to the Immigration Appeal Division (IAD).

My Question
I am now trying to decide between:
Filing an IAD appeal, understanding that it may take approximately 12–24 months, or
Submitting a new spousal sponsorship application now that my husband has been legally divorced.

Has anyone experienced a refusal under IRPR 117(9)(c) or 5(b)?
Would you recommend pursuing the IAD appeal, or would a new application have a better chance of success in this situation?

I would really appreciate hearing from anyone with similar experience or knowledge of these types of cases.


Also We have been living in Dubai since December 2024 and its been hard for me now with no job in Dubai. My husband is from Pakistan. He has 2 kids from his ex wife. The ex wife doesnt want to keep kids(2girls) so the custody is given to my husband. And i have no issues raising them. I have been having great time with them and love them like my own daughters. The reason we decided to live in Dubai because for me living in Pakistan wasnt easy and very hard to survive specially coming from Canada. So we decided to move to Dubai and have been living since December 2024. But since after getting refusal m totally broken and dont understand if i come back to Canada atleast i can start my job and divert my mind while apply for appeal or new application? Ur guidance is really appreciated. My friends, I have been struggling alot since i had 4 miscarriages. I want to settle my life with my husband and kids. I really need serious advice. Any help and guidance will be appreciated.

Thank you very much.

 

[Buletruck]

Hi everyone,
I would really appreciate some advice from anyone who has experience with similar cases.
I am a Canadian citizen sponsoring my husband through the Family Class (outland application). Our application was submitted on November 24, 2025.
Procedural Fairness Letter (PFL)
In March 2026, we received a Procedural Fairness Letter (PFL). The officer's main concerns were:

My husband and I had a religious Nikah in July 2019, while he was still legally married to his first wife.
His divorce was not legally finalized until September 2025.
We did not declare our marriage in previous immigration applications before 2024.

The officer believed our marriage might be excluded under IRPR sections 117(9)(c) and 5(b) because he was still legally married when our religious marriage took place.
We hired an immigration lawyer to prepare a detailed response. In our response, we explained that:
I did not understand Canadian immigration law regarding polygamy at the time of our Nikah.
Once I learned that Canada would not recognize our marriage while my husband was still legally married, I kept my marital status as "single" out of respect for Canadian law.
We were not trying to hide our relationship or misrepresent anything.
We have lived together in the UAE since December 2024.

Our relationship is genuine and ongoing.
We requested that our relationship also be considered from the perspective of our common-law cohabitation.
We also submitted humanitarian and compassionate (H&C) considerations.
After submitting the PFL response, IRCC continued processing the application. They requested medicals, additional forms, travel history, updated passports, and other documents. Medicals were passed, and we submitted everything requested.

Refusal
About four months after the PFL response, our application was refused.
The refusal letter states:

The officer accepted that our relationship is genuine.
However, they concluded that our marriage is excluded under IRPR 117(9)(c) and 5(b) because my husband was still legally married when our religious marriage took place.
They also did not accept our common-law argument because they believed it could not be ruled out that my husband was still in a common-law relationship with his first wife until the formal divorce.

They considered our humanitarian and compassionate submissions but decided there were insufficient grounds to grant an exemption.
I have been given the right to appeal to the Immigration Appeal Division (IAD).

My Question
I am now trying to decide between:
Filing an IAD appeal, understanding that it may take approximately 12–24 months, or
Submitting a new spousal sponsorship application now that my husband has been legally divorced.

Has anyone experienced a refusal under IRPR 117(9)(c) or 5(b)?
Would you recommend pursuing the IAD appeal, or would a new application have a better chance of success in this situation?

I would really appreciate hearing from anyone with similar experience or knowledge of these types of cases.


Also We have been living in Dubai since December 2024 and its been hard for me now with no job in Dubai. My husband is from Pakistan. He has 2 kids from his ex wife. The ex wife doesnt want to keep kids(2girls) so the custody is given to my husband. And i have no issues raising them. I have been having great time with them and love them like my own daughters. The reason we decided to live in Dubai because for me living in Pakistan wasnt easy and very hard to survive specially coming from Canada. So we decided to move to Dubai and have been living since December 2024. But since after getting refusal m totally broken and dont understand if i come back to Canada atleast i can start my job and divert my mind while apply for appeal or new application? Ur guidance is really appreciated. My friends, I have been struggling alot since i had 4 miscarriages. I want to settle my life with my husband and kids. I really need serious advice. Any help and guidance will be appreciated.

Thank you very much.

I'll start with : hire a really good immigration lawyer in Canada, because I believe you're going to have a lot of hoops to jump through at this point.
So, I think the issue you are going to encounter with a new application is that IRCC won't recognize the marriage, even though he has finalized the divorce. The divorce doesn't change the fact you were married prior to his divorce being completed, making him ineligible for spousal sponsorship. You would likely (and this is where a lawyer comes into the picture) need to divorce your husband and then remarry after it is finalized in order for IRCC to recognize the marriage. Not sure that reapplying as common law is possible at this point (again, lawyer stuff). Whether you appeal or resubmit, you're probably looking at similar timelines. The question for the lawyer is which direction gives you the best results in that timeframe.

 

[Sanamkhan]

I'll start with : hire a really good immigration lawyer in Canada, because I believe you're going to have a lot of hoops to jump through at this point.
So, I think the issue you are going to encounter with a new application is that IRCC won't recognize the marriage, even though he has finalized the divorce. The divorce doesn't change the fact you were married prior to his divorce being completed, making him ineligible for spousal sponsorship. You would likely (and this is where a lawyer comes into the picture) need to divorce your husband and then remarry after it is finalized in order for IRCC to recognize the marriage. Not sure that reapplying as common law is possible at this point (again, lawyer stuff). Whether you appeal or resubmit, you're probably looking at similar timelines. The question for the lawyer is which direction gives you the best results in that timeframe.

Thanku ok if i re marry with him again this will not change the divorce date. The divorce is finalized in september 2025. If i re marry and apply as a spouse will it be ok coz appeal i have heard takes longer than new application. And m in dubai since december 2024. I havent gone to canada i have left my job everything and now as i dont have a job in dubai its been financially very challenging for us living in a studio apartment along with 2 kids. I really want to settle my life and live a happy married life with my husband and kids.

 

[canuck78]

The other big issue is what have you or your now spouse (in the UAE/Pakistan) filled out that misrepresented your relationship status. Is there also a formal divorce and custody agreement that gives dole custody to the father without even visitation? Where is the now ex-spouse because there could be concern that you are the 2nd wife and that there is still a relationship with the first wife. It is not unheard of to divorce a first wife for immigration purposes and then try to get the 1st wife to Canada. Agree you need a lawyer to have your best chance at sponsorship. As already mentioned you will need your get divorced and then remarried if you want Canada to recognize your marriage.

 

[canuck78]

Thanku ok if i re marry with him again this will not change the divorce date. The divorce is finalized in september 2025. If i re marry and apply as a spouse will it be ok coz appeal i have heard takes longer than new application. And m in dubai since december 2024. I havent gone to canada i have left my job everything and now as i dont have a job in dubai its been financially very challenging for us living in a studio apartment along with 2 kids. I really want to settle my life and live a happy married life with my husband and kids.

You’d need to get divorced first and then remarry. That doesn’t solve your many other sponsorship issues like misrepresentation of your relationship status. Also whether there is a formal custody arrangement that gives father full custody of the children. You really need to go consult an immigration lawyer you your best chance of sponsorship. You will also need to show how you can support your family financially in Canada without government help. Not sure why you haven’t been able to find employment in the UAE. After the war it may have become more difficult but before then there should have been job opportunities.

 

[Buletruck]

Thanku ok if i re marry with him again this will not change the divorce date. The divorce is finalized in september 2025. If i re marry and apply as a spouse will it be ok coz appeal i have heard takes longer than new application. And m in dubai since december 2024. I havent gone to canada i have left my job everything and now as i dont have a job in dubai its been financially very challenging for us living in a studio apartment along with 2 kids. I really want to settle my life and live a happy married life with my husband and kids.

So what other immigration applications did you or your spouse apply for before prior to 2024 that you declared yourself as single? It looks like they may have overlooked any potential misrepresentation because they were refusing it for other grounds. That said, no gaurantee that won't come up in a new application)

Where and who did you live with between getting married in 2019 and moving to the ME in 2024?

How did you aquire Canadian citizenship and when?

As noted, child custody will be an issue (mutual agreements don't count).

I'd implore you even more now to get a good Canadian immigration lawyer due to some of the potential complexity you're facing with either an appeal or a new application. You're going to get a load of questions and advice from people (myself included) who only have cursory knowledge of how to address a scenario like this and some of that advice (other than obtaining the services of a good lawyer.....not a consultant.....a practicing lawyer) may only confuse, or worse case, further complicate your situation if heeded.

 

[armoured]

His divorce was not legally finalized until September 2025.
...
They also did not accept our common-law argument because they believed it could not be ruled out that my husband was still in a common-law relationship with his first wife until the formal divorce.
...
...
Also We have been living in Dubai since December 2024 and its been hard for me now with no job in Dubai.

I agree strongly with the recommendations from others that you need to consult a decent lawyer.

But one additional point: it seems to me that if you have been living together in Dubai since Dec 24 (AND the former spouse is not living there), you have /on paper/ a fairly strong case that you are now common law (even if the previous time in Pakistan is not considered, although I'm a bit confounded that they would make this statement about time until the divorce if your partner was not even living in the same country as his former spouse). At any rate, even on that basis, you could apply as common law in October 26. It's at any rate clear that the officer examining considered it was quite possible this was /in fact/ a polygamous marriage as allowed under local law, at least at the time your marriage was originally performed (and the six years it took to get an actual divorce doesn't make it look very good from that angle, either).

This doesn't resolve all of the other issues and esp the custody of children, so a lawyer still needed. But applying as common law at least avoids the issue of what the legal status of 're-marrying' means and if it's possible [without first getting divorced.]