undeclared dependent

[chay2512]

Hi.. I'd like to consult my child's situation regarding a sponsorship by his father. His dad is a permanent resident of Canada since 2011, he and his siblings were sponsored by his mother. During their application, me and his dad were living together (but not yet married til now) and we had a child which is 5 years old now. My son is using his father's last name, and we actually have a good relationship with him and he’s the one providing our needs as what most fathers do. But the thing is, when they were sponsored by his mother, they did not declare my son as his dependent child. It was processed as "single without qualifying dependent", so my child's name was not included on his application papers, as well as my name is not listed (as his common-law partner), this is because during that time, he is already over 22 but he is still studying and still a dependent of his mother, and they have this fear that if they would include our name, it !
might affect the process and might be declined and they were thinking that he may not be included as qualified dependent of his mom because he already have a child and a common-law partner, though his mom is still the one supporting him and even our child’s needs during that time. And now he was planning to sponsor our child and I, but it shows on the Canadian immigration website that my son is not qualified to be sponsored because he was not examined during his dad's application, and was not declared under family class. I'd like to seek for advice on what is the best thing we can do so that he could sponsor us both.

We are planning to get married here in the Philippines in the coming year. As soon as we get married and become his wife, will he be able to sponsor me? If yes, will I be able to sponsor our child in the future since he is my qualified dependent?

Also, in case he wanted to sponsor us even before our marriage, will it be possible for the application to be approved? We are actually trying to get the best way we can do for us to be reunited in Canada. Thank you and I'm looking forward to hearing from you soon. God bless..

 

[MilesAway]

I'm sure another expert will chime in soon, but the short answer is no. Neither you nor your son are eligible to be sponsored as you were not examined when he became a PR. As well, he may have put his own PR status in jeopardy by lying on the application.

Marriage will not change the misrepresentation. Unfortunately, you will have to look at ways to qualify on your own (FSW, Provincial nominee programs).

 

[scylla]

Based on what you've written, is sounds like both you and your son can never be sponsored.

Had you been living with your partner for one year or more at the time he came to Canada and became a PR? If so, then you were common-law and should have been included in his application.

You're now facing several problems: (1) Because you and your son weren't declared, neither of you can ever be sponsored; (2) Your partner lied about his status when he was being sponsored so that he could qualify as a dependent - this puts his own PR status at risk due to misrepresentation (lying in an application).

Getting married won't make a difference.

I don't think your husband can sponsor either of you. If he tries, there's a chance CIC will make a finding of misrepresentation and revoke his PR status (because he lied and said he was single to obtain PR status).

As MilesAway suggested, your best bet at this point is for you to qualify to immigrate to Canada independently (without your husband's sponsorship) through the skilled worker program or one of the provincial nominee programs and include your son as a dependent.

 

[canadianwoman]

We are planning to get married here in the Philippines in the coming year. As soon as we get married and become his wife, will he be able to sponsor me?

He could sponsor you if you did not live together for a year or more before he went to Canada. If you did live with him for a year or more, he will not be able to sponsor you, because he should have declared he was in a common-law relationship on his own application.

If yes, will I be able to sponsor our child in the future since he is my qualified dependent?

Your husband definitely will not be able to, ever. I doubt you will be able to, since they might ask for DNA tests, thus showing your son is your husband's son and so should have been declared on his application. If you got sponsored by your husband and were able to enter Canada, then tried to sponsor your son, the chain of relationships would probably become obvious, and so the sponsorship for your son would be refused.

Also, in case he wanted to sponsor us even before our marriage, will it be possible for the application to be approved?

No way. The only way would be to declare that you are common-law and have a son together - and if you declare this, your husband's own PR will be in jeopardy, since he will be admitting he lied to get it in the first place.

If you got married and claimed to not have been living together beforehand, maybe. But if you tried to claim the child was not your husband's biological child, the birth certificate would disprove that. At the least, the situation would probably make the visa officer ask for DNA tests.