Urgent - Passport Expiring - Sponsorship

[erinjanel]

Hello everyone!

My husband and I recently got married, and he is awaiting the biometrics collections to reopen to continue with his PR application through express entry (CEC.) The issue is, he is a citizen of a country which requires mandatory military service, and they are refusing to renew his passport before completion of military duty.

We have consulted two different lawyers that state that if we apply for Family Sponsorship (I am a Canadian citizen) that it can still be processed, even if he is out of legal status. That Canada does not want to split up families, so they are quite lenient with this, unless the applicant has other underlying factors (criminal past etc.) We have done some research online, and we have found this to be true. However, we are very cautious in doing this, as we do not want him banned from Canada forever. We are also unsure if “out of status” also covers expired passports. He would be able to renew his work permit, which is good until next February, but is unable to do so because of the passport issue.

If anyone has any advice or guidance on this matter, it would be greatly appreciated. He has a flight booked for 5 days from now, and our family is devastated.

 

[scylla]

Hello everyone!

My husband and I recently got married, and he is awaiting the biometrics collections to reopen to continue with his PR application through express entry (CEC.) The issue is, he is a citizen of a country which requires mandatory military service, and they are refusing to renew his passport before completion of military duty.

We have consulted two different lawyers that state that if we apply for Family Sponsorship (I am a Canadian citizen) that it can still be processed, even if he is out of legal status. That Canada does not want to split up families, so they are quite lenient with this, unless the applicant has other underlying factors (criminal past etc.) We have done some research online, and we have found this to be true. However, we are very cautious in doing this, as we do not want him banned from Canada forever. We are also unsure if “out of status” also covers expired passports. He would be able to renew his work permit, which is good until next February, but is unable to do so because of the passport issue.

If anyone has any advice or guidance on this matter, it would be greatly appreciated. He has a flight booked for 5 days from now, and our family is devastated.

He can certainly be sponsored if he is out of status, lots of people here have done that successfully. However to the best of my knowledge he must be holding a valid passport to complete the process.

The question you need to be asking the lawyers is not whether he can be sponsored while out of status, but if the spousal sponsorship process can be completed without a valid passport.

No, "out of status" does not cover expired passports. "Out of status" covers people who are in Canada without a valid visa / without valid status. This has nothing to do with the validity of their passports.

 

[erinjanel]

Thank you so much for your reply!

He is able to apply for a military exemption when he reaches a certain age, which would be in a year’s time. Would him staying here for a year with no status, until he is able to renew his passport be too risky?

I guess what I’m asking is if there is a certain maximum time limit where applicants can be out of status?

 

[scylla]

Thank you so much for your reply!

He is able to apply for a military exemption when he reaches a certain age, which would be in a year’s time. Would him staying here for a year with no status, until he is able to renew his passport be too risky?

I guess what I’m asking is if there is a certain maximum time limit where applicants can be out of status?

There's no maximum and no minimum. Some people are able to stay quite a long time without status without CBSA catching up with them and removing them. Some run out of luck much faster and CBSA removes them.

Keep in mind that renewing his passport will not fix his status. He will still be out of status once his passport is renewed.