Unique situation. Please help. I need sponsorship advice.

[kandareen]

Hello...

I need some help and cannot find any answers on any websites that relate to my unique situation.

I sponsored my husband from India. We were married in 2008. 3 years later after a lengthy immigration process, he arrived for the first time to Canada on Oct. 3, 2011. He has a PR card.

Our marriage has since broken down and my husband has permanently moved back to India on Dec. 31, 2013 (2 months ago). He had lived in Canada just past the 2 year marriage requirement. He told me last year in May, 2013 that he wanted to move back to Kashmir permanently and end the marriage. I purchased his ticket in October, 2013 to return home on Dec. 31, 2013.

I have some important questions:

1. I have until Oct. 3, 2014 (7 months) left as his sponsor. Am I still legally responsible for his well being if he is living in India?

2. Do I need to contact any government authorities in Canada to let them know my husband has left the country permanently and our marriage has broken down?

3. My husband is now recently talking about coming back to Canada and reconciling the marriage. He has no money and no job here or in India. I recently discovered he has emailed another woman in Canada to arrange a sexual encounter here at some point in the future. I believe he is obviously manipulating me to help him come back to Canada but has no intention of staying in the marriage. I am now questioning his intentions the whole time we have been together. Is this considered a marriage of convenience at this stage? Can anything be done about this?

3. We were married in India and received an Indian marriage license at the court house. When the time comes, can I file for divorce here in Canada or does it need to be filed in India? And if it needs to be filed in India, do I need to be in India in person in order to get a divorce or can it be done another way?

If any of you have an answer to any of these questions, I appreciate your time letting me know.

Thank you!

Kandareen

 

[desi_jatt]

Hello...

I need some help and cannot find any answers on any websites that relate to my unique situation.

I sponsored my husband from India. We were married in 2008. 3 years later after a lengthy immigration process, he arrived for the first time to Canada on Oct. 3, 2011. He has a PR card.

Our marriage has since broken down and my husband has permanently moved back to India on Dec. 31, 2013 (2 months ago). He had lived in Canada just past the 2 year marriage requirement. He told me last year in May, 2013 that he wanted to move back to Kashmir permanently and end the marriage. I purchased his ticket in October, 2013 to return home on Dec. 31, 2013.

I have some important questions:

1. I have until Oct. 3, 2014 (7 months) left as his sponsor. Am I still legally responsible for his well being if he is living in India?

2. Do I need to contact any government authorities in Canada to let them know my husband has left the country permanently and our marriage has broken down?

3. My husband is now recently talking about coming back to Canada and reconciling the marriage. He has no money and no job here or in India. I recently discovered he has emailed another woman in Canada to arrange a sexual encounter here at some point in the future. I believe he is obviously manipulating me to help him come back to Canada but has no intention of staying in the marriage. I am now questioning his intentions the whole time we have been together. Is this considered a marriage of convenience at this stage? Can anything be done about this?

3. We were married in India and received an Indian marriage license at the court house. When the time comes, can I file for divorce here in Canada or does it need to be filed in India? And if it needs to be filed in India, do I need to be in India in person in order to get a divorce or can it be done another way?

If any of you have an answer to any of these questions, I appreciate your time letting me know.

Thank you!

Kandareen

You have 7 months of Sponsorship support left for him, that means that you are responsible for supporting him for those 7 months and if he collects any welfare from Canadian Govt, you have to pay it back to the Govt. Even if you succeed in getting divorce, u r still on the hook for the time remaining on 3 year sponsorship support (only for support in Canada)

You don't need to inform Govt for that he left you permanently or not.

Your Husband can come back to Canada, any time before dec 31, 2016. He does not need your help to come back except may be Financial Help. He is legal Permanent Residence even fulfilling his residence obligations as he stayed in Canada for 2 years (residency obligation not the marriage requirement, marriage requirement started for sponsorship filed after oct 2012).

For you to get divorce, I think, u can file it here in Canada too, u have to contact a lawyer for that.

Proving this a Marriage of Convenience would be difficult as he stayed with you for more than 2 years, It didn't worked out, thats is a different story.

 

[Alurra71]

I am very sorry how things have turned out for you.

A couple of things.

Your husband wasn't under Condition 51 so it does not matter if he stayed 2 years or 2 months.

He is a full PR and doesn't need your permission to return to Canada, whether he wants to reconcile or not.

As long as he stays in India, no matter what he does you are not financially responsible for him. When/If he returns to Canada, you will be responsible for him until your Sponsorship period is over. 7 months is what you stated you have left, so if he returned tomorrow and obtained government assistance, you would be responsible for all he receives for the next 7 months.

You don't have to contact anyone about the marriage breaking down as there is nothing any can/will do.

No, I don't think it would qualify as a MOC and you would most likely be wasting your own time/energy/effort to try and prove something like that.

My suggestion at this point is to go ahead and file for your divorce here in Canada, which you are entitled to do so long as you legally reside here, and move on with your life.

 

[kandareen]

Thank you everyone for your comments.

Since posting my questions, I discovered a few days ago a secret email address that revealed my husband was cheating online for at least a year from January 1, 2013 until now (March, 2014) even from India these past 2 months, trying to solicit sex from women in sex sites and Craigslist. He was also trying to reconcile with me to come back, but of course since this recent discovery, he will never be welcome back. I do not know if he met people online in person, but there is strong indication of that. It was shocking to see what he wrote to these women. He was inviting to host them in our home when I was out of town! Some wanted babies and he offered to fertilize them! He lied to them and made them feel sorry for him in order to get sex. This is so devastating to discover.

This turn of events makes me wonder if I can prove this was a marriage of convenience. But if not, I have to let it go and chalk it up to experience. Buyer beware applies to marrying someone from another country.

I am being told mixed opinions about whether I am responsible to support him because he is now in India. He does not know these legalities, so it is probably not a worry because I only have 7 months left of responsibility. However, if he sneaks back into Canada during this time and doesn't let me know, then that worries me. My family and I have told him that we have printed and made email copies of ALL the hundreds of emails from him to these online women including his and their photos, etc. and that he should never come back otherwise we will show these to his family in Kashmir. I also forwarded all the emails to his other email address so he knows I do have copies of them. He was so shocked he got caught. He is now very cooperative about getting a divorce and whatever I need, he will cooperate with. He said his family would disown him if they knew. He has been disowned here, so he should behave and stay there.

Oh lord, how these situations unfold is so sad. I never expected him to change like this. He seemed so sweet and innocent when we met 5 years ago. It has shocked my family and friends and for me, it is an emotional nightmare.

Thanks again for your thoughts and if there's anything you'd like to add, I would appreciate it.

Warmly,

Lynn

 

[QuebecOkie]

Unfortunately, being married to a truly crappy person who cheats and lies, and being in a marriage of convenience are two different things. The fact that he stayed with you for two years, and THEN returned to his home country after your breakup, rather than staying in Canada as he was legally entitled to do pretty much rules out a marriage of convenience. There's really nothing to be done about him at this point except to be glad you found out more before trying to reconcile with him, to be glad he's out of your life now, to hope he doesn't return to Canada and draw on any Canadian social programs for the next 7 months, and to move on with your life.

 

[azarme09]

Girl, no.

a. You are not at all responsible for him at least while he is in India.
b. DO notify the authorities. You can do that by filing for a divorce. You can file a divorce in Canada and if your husband refuses to cooperate, the court will grant you the divorce. Following this, submit your paperwork from the court to the CIC. That way if he returns back to Canada and lies at the border that he is coming to see his wife (you), he will be held for further questioning.

Good luck and sorry to hear about all the mess you are going through <3

 

[Rob_TO]

b. DO notify the authorities. You can do that by filing for a divorce. You can file a divorce in Canada and if your husband refuses to cooperate, the court will grant you the divorce. Following this, submit your paperwork from the court to the CIC. That way if he returns back to Canada and lies at the border that he is coming to see his wife (you), he will be held for further questioning.

He has full PR, which is not dependent on him being married. He doesn't need to show marriage status if he ever decided to return to Canada, he just needs to show PR card. So there is no need to notify CIC about this breakdown in relationship.

Anyways it sounds like the husband is not so smart about Canadian PR rules, and the OP has all his emails as proof that she could send to his family (not that I condone blackmail lol) so most likely he won't even attempt to return. If he did though and claimed welfare, there is no way for her to get out of repaying it up until her commitment ends, though I think there's a very low chance he would attempt that.

 

[azarme09]

Even if you do show the PR card, the border officer will question you. Also, if there is a note attached to your PR number by CIC, it will show up at the border. He might still be able to get through but it will still be a pain in the butt for him.

 

[scylla]

b. DO notify the authorities. You can do that by filing for a divorce. You can file a divorce in Canada and if your husband refuses to cooperate, the court will grant you the divorce. Following this, submit your paperwork from the court to the CIC. That way if he returns back to Canada and lies at the border that he is coming to see his wife (you), he will be held for further questioning.

This is incorrect for many reasons. Immigration officials can't see if someone has been granted a divorce and frankly don't care. This has nothing to do with whether an existing PR is allowed into the country or not. The scenario you've described can't happen and he won't be held for questioning for this reason. Again, entirely incorrect information.

 

[scylla]

Even if you do show the PR card, the border officer will question you. Also, if there is a note attached to your PR number by CIC, it will show up at the border. He might still be able to get through but it will still be a pain in the butt for him.

Again, immigration officials can't see if someone is divorced and don't care if any existing PR is divorced. This information won't show up at the border and it won't create any issues when he tries to enter the country.

The only thing that could cause problems for him is failing to meet the residency obligation.

 

[kandareen]

Thanks again, everyone.

Since my last post, I contacted the Canada Border Services Agency who told me I can open a file to report him for marriage of convenience because he started this weird behaviour a short time after he arrived (not the cheating then that I know of, but other strange stuff). They said to send all the proof I have plus list all the problems I had with him, behaviours, even any little thing that I may not find significant but may be relevant. I even have chat correspondence a couple months ago with a family member that he married me to get money for his family. So all this is proof.

I then called Immigration to ask if I am responsible for him in India. Yes I am. If he goes on welfare elsewhere, then I am not responsible for him unless it's welfare in Canada, then I have to pay that all back for the months he used in the remaining months of sponsorship. I cannot prevent him from coming to Canada, but if he is found to have married me for convenience, they can revoke his PR and deport him. The one challenge is there are so many pending cases similar to mine, that investigations can take up to 2 years. Also, not that many cases have strong enough proof to get to the stage of deportation. In the end, I simply will hope and pray he does not return. I will endeavour to repair the devastation he created for my family and I. Life will go on and i am stronger as a result.

I sincerely appreciate everyone's input and am very grateful.

All the best to you all,

Kandareen