Sponsorship for adopted kids

[Ricky Patel]

Hello, I am a Canadian citizen and my wife is a PR. We adopted my niece 14 yr old , in Nov, 2023. All the formalities were completed and kid’s biological parents has no legal rights on kid. We have our names in kid’s passport and birth certificate. All her school records has our names as her legal parents.Since the adoption was completed in India , no process was done here in Canada. At present, kid lives with my mother in India , I pay all her expenses, we are in regular touch with her school.
We are in process of bringing kid here once she completes her schooling there as kid studies in Gujarati medium. She will graduate from high school next year. Please advise us regarding family class sponsorship for dependent kids. Please share your experience or knowledge related to such scenario.
Thank you.

 

[Buletruck]

Hello, I am a Canadian citizen and my wife is a PR. We adopted my niece 14 yr old , in Nov, 2023. All the formalities were completed and kid’s biological parents has no legal rights on kid. We have our names in kid’s passport and birth certificate. All her school records has our names as her legal parents.Since the adoption was completed in India , no process was done here in Canada. At present, kid lives with my mother in India , I pay all her expenses, we are in regular touch with her school.
We are in process of bringing kid here once she completes her schooling there as kid studies in Gujarati medium. She will graduate from high school next year. Please advise us regarding family class sponsorship for dependent kids. Please share your experience or knowledge related to such scenario.
Thank you.

I think you may find it will be far more difficult to sponsor her as her parents, despite your adoption, are still alive. It's quite possible it will be viewed as an adoption if conveinience. Best to consult with a reputable immigration lawyer in Canada and a lawyer familiar with foreign adoption.

 

[canuck78]

Hello, I am a Canadian citizen and my wife is a PR. We adopted my niece 14 yr old , in Nov, 2023. All the formalities were completed and kid’s biological parents has no legal rights on kid. We have our names in kid’s passport and birth certificate. All her school records has our names as her legal parents.Since the adoption was completed in India , no process was done here in Canada. At present, kid lives with my mother in India , I pay all her expenses, we are in regular touch with her school.
We are in process of bringing kid here once she completes her schooling there as kid studies in Gujarati medium. She will graduate from high school next year. Please advise us regarding family class sponsorship for dependent kids. Please share your experience or knowledge related to such scenario.
Thank you.

If parents are alive you will need to show that biological parents lost parental rights due to something like negligence from the state. Even then it still may be refused. Typically parents need to be deceased to be sponsored to come to Canada especially in the case of a relative. The fact that she is also living with family in India and has been for quite some time and is close to adulthood also will hurt your argument for sponsorship. Wish people would consult a lawyer before doing things like this because this poor child will likely end up with no legal parent present in their life. It would also likely make it more difficult to even become an international student versus applying as your niece.

 

[Ricky Patel]

We consulted an immigration lawyer, who advised us to submit a PR application under the family sponsorship class, as this would be in the child’s best interest. Although her biological parents are alive, she was not being raised equally to her brother due to gender-biased treatment from her parents. I was responsible for paying her school fees, clothes ,celebrating her birthdays etc as her parents showed little interest in her upbringing. Since we are taking her financial responsibility, We have no plans to have any of our own kid in the future .

 

[canuck78]

We consulted an immigration lawyer, who advised us to submit a PR application under the family sponsorship class, as this would be in the child’s best interest. Although her biological parents are alive, she was not being raised equally to her brother due to gender-biased treatment from her parents. I was responsible for paying her school fees, clothes ,celebrating her birthdays etc as her parents showed little interest in her upbringing. Since we are taking her financial responsibility, We have no plans to have any of our own kid in the future .

Still not an orphan. You will have to have significant proof that the child was being harmed like police reports of abuse, involvement of the state in removal of the child, etc. Treating children differently is not a crime. I don’t support this but having another family member without children adopting family member’s child is viewed as an adoption of convenience in Canada. Also the best interest of a child argument would be very difficult to justify. She has lived her whole life in India, is living with family, is about to finish secondary school, etc. The only big reason to come to Canada is potentially better economic opportunities. There is nothing stopping you from funding her lifestyle in India like you have been. Many support extended family abroad so you financing her living expenses isn’t a good reason to overcome the adoption of convenience. This is also not a young child and it doesn’t appear that you have ever lived together as parent and child for a long period of time. You are essentially asking to sponsor a teenager so they can attend Canadian post-secondary education at a domestic rate. Would consult another lawyer. Don’t think you realize that this will likely get denied or require years of fighting IRCC with an unknown outcome. Sadly you may have made it more difficult for her to come to Canada by applying for family sponsorship. You should have been advised to have her try and come to Canada as an international student.

 

[scylla]

Still not an orphan. You will have to have significant proof that the child was being harmed like police reports of abuse, involvement of the state in removal of the child, etc. Treating children differently is not a crime. I don’t support this but having another family member without children adopting family member’s child is viewed as an adoption of convenience in Canada. Also the best interest of a child argument would be very difficult to justify. She has lived her whole life in India, is living with family, is about to finish secondary school, etc. The only big reason to come to Canada is potentially better economic opportunities. There is nothing stopping you from funding her lifestyle in India like you have been. Many support extended family abroad so you financing her living expenses isn’t a good reason to overcome the adoption of convenience. This is also not a young child and it doesn’t appear that you have ever lived together as parent and child for a long period of time. You are essentially asking to sponsor a teenager so they can attend Canadian post-secondary education at a domestic rate. Would consult another lawyer. Don’t think you realize that this will likely get denied or require years of fighting IRCC with an unknown outcome. Sadly you may have made it more difficult for her to come to Canada by applying for family sponsorship. You should have been advised to have her try and come to Canada as an international student.

I don't quite agree with all of this but definitely with some of it. I don't think the evidence of harm is as important as the evidence to show that all contact / relationship with the birth parents has been fully severed and also severed for quite some time. This would ideally mean they the child has not lived with them for many years. It would also mean showing the parents have zero contact with the child of any kind. The sponsor (or in this case the sponsor's spouse) should ideally show that the child has lived with them for quite some time - in other words that the sponsor has fully taken over the role as the primary parent. You mentioned this as well. Ultimately this one could go either way depending on the strength of the evidence.

 

[canuck78]

I don't quite agree with all of this but definitely with some of it. I don't think the evidence of harm is as important as the evidence to show that all contact / relationship with the birth parents has been fully severed and also severed for quite some time. This would ideally mean they the child has not lived with them for many years. It would also mean showing the parents have zero contact with the child of any kind. The sponsor (or in this case the sponsor's spouse) should ideally show that the child has lived with them for quite some time - in other words that the sponsor has fully taken over the role as the primary parent. You mentioned this as well. Ultimately this one could go either way depending on the strength of the evidence.

There has been no comment about whether she has zero contact with her biological parents and siblings. Adopting a family member’s child doesn’t often mean there is no contact with the biological parents.

 

[armoured]

There has been no comment about whether she has zero contact with her biological parents and siblings. Adopting a family member’s child doesn’t often mean there is no contact with the biological parents.

So you're now arguing that YOUR hypothetical, entirely invented scenario is the right one?

I mean, maybe it is. But it would seem prudent to not get ahead of your skis by actually checking on the circumstances (i.e. facts) first.

 

[YVR123]

We consulted an immigration lawyer, who advised us to submit a PR application under the family sponsorship class, as this would be in the child’s best interest. Although her biological parents are alive, she was not being raised equally to her brother due to gender-biased treatment from her parents. I was responsible for paying her school fees, clothes ,celebrating her birthdays etc as her parents showed little interest in her upbringing. Since we are taking her financial responsibility, We have no plans to have any of our own kid in the future .

You can financially support her.
Being neglected by her parents is the welfare of a child and should be handled by her country's child services.

Has she been living with you for a period of time? Is she still under the minimal care from her parents?
My birthday was never really celebrated. It doesn't give someone else the right to take me from my parents.
On the other hand, many parents adopts orphans and still have their own kids. Adoption and having own kid has NO conflict.

 

[canuck78]

So you're now arguing that YOUR hypothetical, entirely invented scenario is the right one?

I mean, maybe it is. But it would seem prudent to not get ahead of your skis by actually checking on the circumstances (i.e. facts) first.

Still stand by my statements given OPs posted evidence. Whether they have contact with their biological parents and siblings may have minimal impact on this case but certainly won’t help. Point was we can’t assume they don’t see their bio parents based on OPs statements. In similar cases of adoption within a family contact with the bio family often continues. Bio parents are just referred to ask Aunt and Uncle. Hopefully OP will clarify.

 

[armoured]

Still stand by my statements given OPs posted evidence. Whether they have contact with their biological parents and siblings may have minimal impact on this case but certainly won’t help. Point was we can’t assume they don’t see their bio parents based on OPs statements. In similar cases of adoption within a family contact with the bio family often continues. Bio parents are just referred to ask Aunt and Uncle. Hopefully OP will clarify.

I think you've gotten well over your skis by stating "You will have to have significant proof that the child was being harmed like police reports of abuse, involvement of the state in removal of the child, etc."

I fully support the likely conclusion that this is not a straightforward adoption, should have been handled differently from the start, and - more likely than not - won't be accepted as a dependent child.

This really seems more like a legal guardian case for a 14 year old (with hope that others will cover education etc) than adoption.

None of which is to cast aspersions upon the (putative) adoptive parents; their motives can be sweetness and light and the "right thing to do". But that won't magically make their case fit with Canada's immigration law.

Hence I'd say: need a good lawyer. From what I see above, I'm not convinced the immigration lawyer has grasped the situation fully, but perhaps. (It may be that the lawyer is just expecting that it will be decided on an H&C request/appeal; don't know).