Spousal Sponsorships cover 3 basic categories. Legally married, common law relationships and conjugal sponsorship. Each one of these are a way of coming to Canada though a genuine relationship.
There are two types of applications for Spouse and Common-Law and Conjugal, Sponsorships
There are two types of applications for Spouse and Common-Law and Conjugal, Sponsorships
There are 3 categories of spousal sponsorships (fill in required form)
Spouse – If you were legally married abroad, so long as the marriage was legal where it took place, Citizenship and Immigration Canada will recognize this union.
Common law partner – You have lived together continuously for at least one year. Brief separations during the year are acceptable for family or business reasons.
Conjugal Partner – You have a mutually dependent relationship for at least one year, and you have the same level of commitment as a marriage or common-law union. There must be extenuating circumstances why you cannot live together- job location, studying abroad, inability to obtain visa to Canada are NOT good enough reasons)
Note:
Canada recognizes same-sex marriages and partners and are eligible to apply under these 3 categories.
You can qualify for a spousal sponsorship if
Basic needs are defined as:
You will not qualify if you are any of these.
Spouses with Criminal Records or Offences
If you are a Canadian Citizen or Permanent Resident looking to sponsor your spouse for PR in Canada, special measures must be taken if they have been charged or convicted of a criminal offence in the past. The main reason being is that IRCC needs to perform a complete background check, and review all necessary documents and facts to be convinced a foreign national is not inadmissible to Canada. Even if a spouse is inadmissible, there are ways to overcome the inadmissibility. The method that is utilized to overcome an inadmissibility depends on the nature of the offence, the time that has passed, and the number of offences.
Only charged with an offense, but never convicted
Despite all charges being dropped and not receiving a conviction, the charges still must be disclosed, with all facts presented, including the relevant court documents. Failure to present these documents upfront in the application upon submission can delay the application by 6 months. IRCC must receive all relevant information in order to perform a proper assessment. The fact that a charge is not appearing on a Police Background Check does not absolve an individuals from providing all the necessary information. All charges must be disclosed (even the dropped charges), otherwise there is risk of the application being refused for Misrepresentation, even if an individual is found to be not Criminally Inadmissible. Our firm knows this first hand as individuals in this specific situation retain our firm to help overcome the Misrepresentation ban of 5 years that was issued to individuals.
Have you been refused based on Misrepresentation?
Being found inadmissible to Canada due to Misrepresentation is becoming more common. This is a very serious issue as it results in being banned for five years from making an application to return to Canada. You will not be allowed to enter Canada for 5 years.
What is Misrepresentation and how does it happen?
Misrepresentation occurs when information is provided to Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) or to the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) that is inconsistent, inaccurate, or incomplete.
Examples of misrepresentations would be:
Misrepresented information can be provided (or omitted) by yourself, a family member, or your representative. In all cases, it is the principal applicant who is at fault – even if the principal applicant did not know the misrepresentation occurred.
What can you do if you are facing an allegation of Misrepresentation?
If you have made an application to enter Canada – before you would be found to have misrepresented yourself by IRCC, you will be given an opportunity to respond and address IRCC’s concerns. This process is known as “procedural fairness” and it is important to be aware of the timeline given for the response by IRCC and whether the response will be made at an interview or on paper.
Misrepresentation findings will have significant impact on your immigration status to Canada. If found to have Misrepresented, you and all dependent family members (spouse and children) will all be found inadmissible to Canada which will prevent anyone from obtaining another temporary or permanent resident visa. In addition, the person(s) that are found to have misrepresented will receive a 5 year ban from Canada. It is important to carefully address these allegations in a timely manner as delaying or not responding could have severe consequences.
A foreign national may be inadmissible to Canada on the grounds of criminality. This will either prevent entry to Canada as a visitor, student or worker or prevent an individual from obtaining permanent residence or maintaining their PR status.
Will be found Inadmissible:
For convictions outside Canada, if they have:
For convictions inside Canada, if they have:
Will not be found inadmissible under these scenarios:
Record Suspension (Pardon), Withdrawn or Dismissed Charges, Discharged
For charges withdrawn or dismissed:
For an absolute or conditional discharge:
Pardon granted:
If you may be inadmissible, you must provide an officer with complete details of all charges, convictions, court dispositions, pardons, photocopies of applicable sections of foreign law(s), and court proceedings to allow the officer to determine whether or not you are inadmissible to Canada. Even if you have a charge from outside Canada and it was dismissed or an offence that was pardoned, you must provide all the necessary documents or facts to ensure you are not found inadmissible to Canada
How to overcome Criminal Admissibility
Depending on the nature of the conviction, the place of conviction, the time that has passed since being convicted, end of parole and the time served individuals have several options to overcome their inadmissibility to Canada. These are:
Rehabilitation (Deemed and Individual Rehabilitation)– Outside Canada Offences
Record Suspension (Pardon) – In Canada Offences
Temporary Resident Permit (TRP)- Temporary waiver to enter Canada
A TRP grants an individual’s legal entry to Canada for a certain period of time, despite the fact that the individual is in fact inadmissible. It is essentially a “hall pass” that temporarily excuses the individual’s inadmissibility so that he or she may enter Canada. It can be valid for as short as a couple of days up to a maximum of three years.
A Temporary Resident Permit (TRP) will be issued at the discretion of Canadian Immigration Authorities to individuals who would otherwise be inadmissible to Canada because of health or criminality issues, permitting them to enter or stay in Canada, where justified by compelling circumstances. It is important to have a properly prepared application stating valid reasons and justification for gaining entry into Canada. We can help with this.
Find out how to get a Temporary Resident Permit (TRP)
Criminal Rehabilitation
A person can also overcome criminal inadmissibility through rehabilitation.
Attaining rehabilitation usually depends on:
A person’s individual rehabilitation application will be successful if:
There are two types rehabilitation:
Deemed Rehabilitation
A person can be deemed to be rehabilitated if enough time has passed since he or she has committed a crime. In order to be deemed rehabilitated, a person must have committed a crime that comes with a jail term of less than ten years or less than five years depending on the crime. Being deemed rehabilitated does not involve an application process. It merely involves showing a Canadian official that enough time has passed since you last committed a crime. For more on Deemed Rehabilitation, click here.
Criminal Rehabilitation
As opposed to deemed rehabilitation, which is concerned with how much time has passed since a crime was committed, individual rehabilitation involves an assessment of whether a person is likely to commit new crimes. Individual rehabilitation also involves a formal application process. In order to apply for individual rehabilitation, individuals must be able to show:
If you were convicted of a crime outside of Canada that, if committed in Canada, would be an indictable crime:
​Record Suspension (Pardon) for Convictions/offences in Canada
If you have a criminal conviction in Canada, you must seek a record suspension (formerly a pardon) from the Parole Board of Canada (PBC) before you will be admissible to Canada.