Spousal Sponsorship process changes may be on the way
Countries like Australia and England require that a sponsored person live with their spouse for three years before being given permanent resident status, which is what a Toronto-area MP said he’d like to see implemented in Canada to help prevent marriage fraud.
Bramalea-Gore-Malton Liberal MP Gurbax Singh Malhi said that within his riding alone, he hears of between two and three instances each month of spousal sponsorship where once the spouse comes to Canada, they disappear.
The case of Ashpreet Badwal, a resident of Toronto, has been published in several different media outlets over the past few days. Badwal met her husband online, flew to India to marry him and tried to sponsor him, but was rejected on the grounds that it was suspected to be fraudulent. She appealed and won, granting her husband permanent residence. But when she went to pick him up at the airport, he never showed and called her to tell her he wasn’t meeting her.
Because Badwal sponsored her husband, she is also legally responsible for him for three years.
The MP has sent a letter to Citizenship, Immigration and Multiculturalism Minister Jason Kenney asking for the husband to be deported immediately.
Immigration fraud through marriage, or marriages of convenience (MOC) , most importantly make it even more difficult for those who are trying to sponsor their loved ones to come to Canada after much time apart for legitimate reasons.
Whether these proposed changes do take place, the current reality is that Visa Officers stationed at Canadian Embassies take an increasingly strict approach to processing spousal sponsorship applications. For a successful application, it is essential to have a well documented application package and for the applicant to perform well at his or her interview overseas–otherwise you will likely find yourself in appeals court.
Have a question about Spousal Sponsorship? Contact Niren and Associates immigration law firm for more information.
Intake
President & CEO
Michael Niren
Mr. Niren is CEO of VisaPlace LLC and the President and Managing Partner of VisaPlace Legal Canada, an immigration law firm based in Toronto, and VisaPlace Legal US a law firm registered in The District of Columbia, USA. Mr. Niren is a graduate of Osgoode Hall Law School in Toronto, a member of the Law Society of Upper Canada, the Canadian Bar Association’s Citizenship and Immigration Section, American Lawyers Association, and an Associate Member of the American Bar Association.
