Help Needed with Spousal Sponsorship PFL

[SanaP123]

Hello! I am in a very weird situation right now. When applying for my PR I was engaged and I entered in Express Entry pool as married declaring my Fiance as my spouse just to see the score and in case I get ITA (that I was not expecting anytime soon) and thought it will be easier to apply for him when we will get married as he was already in the pool with me, I thought it will save me time incase I get ITA he will already be in the pool with me instead of adding him later after ITA.
Later on our engagement broke off and I deleted the profile and made a new one without him as single. Now years later I got married and applied for my spouse. IRCC extracted that withdrawn/deleted profile and asked for the proof of divorce and why I didnt disclose my marriage although there was no marriage that took place and it was purely a mistake on my side to just enter the pool as married with a profile that I deleted later on. Please help on how I can handle this situation as there was no marraige and hence no divorce and Ircc is considering my current and only marriage to be invalid and considering it misrepresentation. Although in my COPR that came on my original active profile clearly says single, I didnt know inactive profiles will also be used by ircc for scrutiny. Anyone in similar situation? Or has any advice that would be of great help.

 

[armoured]

Prepare a response laying out the truth, be factual and brief. You have never been married , you were engaged , and you made profile for ita to confirm impact of you got married before or during or process, bit relationship ended before you became a pr and before marriage.

 

[SanaP123]

Prepare a response laying out the truth, be factual and brief. You have never been married , you were engaged , and you made profile for ita to confirm impact of you got married before or during or process, bit relationship ended before you became a pr and before marriage.

Yes that is correct! The relationship ended even before receiving ITA and the profile in which i stated married was withdrawn and the new active profile had my status as single on which I got my ITA. Just worried if ircc is going to accept this truth and not be suspicious. Is there anything legally I can do to prove I was single before my marriage and this is my first marriage? They are asking for divorce certificate I dont know if they will accept my explanation without a proof. I am so worried. I have no idea how to prove it to them.

 

[armoured]

Yes that is correct! The relationship ended even before receiving ITA and the profile in which i stated married was withdrawn and the new active profile had my status as single on which I got my ITA. Just worried if ircc is going to accept this truth and not be suspicious. Is there anything legally I can do to prove I was single before my marriage and this is my first marriage? They are asking for divorce certificate I dont know if they will accept my explanation without a proof. I am so worried. I have no idea how to prove it to them.

Just write a draft letter, breathe, and give it a few days. First, you're probably over worrying.

Then - you can take some days to think if any way to prove this, like docs from home country or other that may support.

But again - I think you're worrying to much. The story is straightforward and consistent. Check your dates and timelines and get ready to submit.

Have somebody else check your letter. If paras above are any indication, your sentences get emotional, overlong and are less clear as a result. Short, factual, clear sentences.

 

[CanGoldDigger]

What is the exact wording of concerns in PFL ?

It might look absurd but don't take it lightly, your reply should be very exhaustive and clear.

 

[SanaP123]

Just write a draft letter, breathe, and give it a few days. First, you're probably over worrying.

Then - you can take some days to think if any way to prove this, like docs from home country or other that may support.

But again - I think you're worrying to much. The story is straightforward and consistent. Check your dates and timelines and get ready to submit.

Have somebody else check your letter. If paras above are any indication, your sentences get emotional, overlong and are less clear as a result. Short, factual, clear sentences.

Yes you are right, I am stressing way too much over it but this was so unexpected as they never asked me to provide any evidence for the marriage when I applied for my PR they went with my single status and never bothered about the deleted profile. So its making me nervous that how they are going to respond. The language used in PFL is very intimidating so just hoping they would accept this information and if they dont I will never be able to apply for my spouse as my marriage will always be invalid for them its just very heartbreaking. I will draft my response and be as clear as possible dont have any other option to just pray they are okay with it. Thank you for your help

 

[SanaP123]

What is the exact wording of concerns in PFL ?

It might look absurd but don't take it lightly, your reply should be very exhaustive and clear.

Yes it seems serious that is why I am super worried about it. I cant say if they will believe me since proving something that does not exist is very difficult. In the PFL they say:

“You have indicated this is your spouse only marriage but she indicated a man named xxxx as her accompanying dependent spouse at the time of her PR application.the spouse has not been declared on your application. This adds to my concern that your marriage is invalid. As a result appears you may no longer be a member of the family class. Please issue divorce certificate and explanation to why this marriage was not disclosed. I have concerns your failure to disclose your sponsor’s marriage could have led to an error in the administration..”
They also said if the ex is in Canada then submit the divorce letter from Canada. I guess they are thinking that my ex came with me to Canada which is strange because I never sponsored him nor included him in my express entry profile ever.

 

[armoured]

Yes you are right, I am stressing way too much over it but this was so unexpected as they never asked me to provide any evidence for the marriage when I applied for my PR they went with my single status and never bothered about the deleted profile. So its making me nervous that how they are going to respond. The language used in PFL is very intimidating so just hoping they would accept this information and if they dont I will never be able to apply for my spouse as my marriage will always be invalid for them its just very heartbreaking. I will draft my response and be as clear as possible dont have any other option to just pray they are okay with it. Thank you for your help

It is serious. But you can respond carefully and specifically. If you're really worried, hire a lawyer to assist you in writing or review your response.

Now two questions:
1) What country are you and the (former) fiancé from? Is it from a country that has a proper civil registry, or a form of identity document that shows one's civil status?
2) Did you get married in Canada? Can you do a marriage search for yourself from before that marriage? (In some provinces I think you can do a marriage search by name and period, search from first time you entered Canada to day before you got married).
See if it's possible to do a search in your province(s) of residence and abroad. At minimum you can offer to do so in your response letter.

Now, writing: your writing style above is breathless and non-stop and emotional. This will NOT be a good style to respond. Practice by writing in bullet points:

-Every bullet is a separate logical point.
-Do not make more than one logical point per bullet.
-Make your separate logical points in chronological order.
-When finished, write a SHORT summary as an intro.
-Then write a SHORT summary in conclusion.
-It is okay if the summaries repeat the same point.
-If you have proof you can show, separate points, after the bullet list, titled evidence or something, and attached.

EG:

This letter responds to the PFL by clarifying that my marriage to X is my first marriage. I have never been married before. The profile which I created showing me as married was not a mock profile in case my then-fiancé and I were to marry. A specific timeline is below:

-In [date], I considered first applying under EE to become a PR, and I created a profile to test my eligibility.
-I was in a close relationship with and engaged to [name] at the time; we subseequently severed the relationship in ]date].
-In the profile above, I showed [name] as my spouse to consider whether I (we) would qualify to immigrate to Canada. This was, effectively, only a 'mock' profile and was never submitted.
-Subsequent to this, we severed our relationship (see above).
-Later, in [year], I created a new profile to immigrate to Canada; as I had never married, I did not include my former fiance.
-This profile (under which I applied to immigrate to Canada) correctly showed me as single.
-I successfully immigrated to Canada in XXX, and my marital status had not changed prior to my landing.

[I think you get the idea. Facts first, evidence or offer to obtain it if you don't have it, then logical conclusion.]

 

[SanaP123]

It is serious. But you can respond carefully and specifically. If you're really worried, hire a lawyer to assist you in writing or review your response.

Now two questions:
1) What country are you and the (former) fiancé from? Is it from a country that has a proper civil registry, or a form of identity document that shows one's civil status?
2) Did you get married in Canada? Can you do a marriage search for yourself from before that marriage? (In some provinces I think you can do a marriage search by name and period, search from first time you entered Canada to day before you got married).
See if it's possible to do a search in your province(s) of residence and abroad. At minimum you can offer to do so in your response letter.

Now, writing: your writing style above is breathless and non-stop and emotional. This will NOT be a good style to respond. Practice by writing in bullet points:

-Every bullet is a separate logical point.
-Do not make more than one logical point per bullet.
-Make your separate logical points in chronological order.
-When finished, write a SHORT summary as an intro.
-Then write a SHORT summary in conclusion.
-It is okay if the summaries repeat the same point.
-If you have proof you can show, separate points, after the bullet list, titled evidence or something, and attached.

EG:

This letter responds to the PFL by clarifying that my marriage to X is my first marriage. I have never been married before. The profile which I created showing me as married was not a mock profile in case my then-fiancé and I were to marry. A specific timeline is below:

-In [date], I considered first applying under EE to become a PR, and I created a profile to test my eligibility.
-I was in a close relationship with and engaged to [name] at the time; we subseequently severed the relationship in ]date].
-In the profile above, I showed [name] as my spouse to consider whether I (we) would qualify to immigrate to Canada. This was, effectively, only a 'mock' profile and was never submitted.
-Subsequent to this, we severed our relationship (see above).
-Later, in [year], I created a new profile to immigrate to Canada; as I had never married, I did not include my former fiance.
-This profile (under which I applied to immigrate to Canada) correctly showed me as single.
-I successfully immigrated to Canada in XXX, and my marital status had not changed prior to my landing.

[I think you get the idea. Facts first, evidence or offer to obtain it if you don't have it, then logical conclusion.]

Thank you so much for such an elaborate reply, really appreciate it! This is very helpful! you are right that I need to draft a response that is clear and factual and not emotional. This gives me an idea of how I can prepare a response. Thank you!
I am from Pakistan and so was my ex. I will check if I can get an affidavit signed and attest by the civil authorities there mentioning that there is no previous marriage on my record.
Hoping and praying ircc would approve.

 

[armoured]

Thank you so much for such an elaborate reply, really appreciate it! This is very helpful! you are right that I need to draft a response that is clear and factual and not emotional. This gives me an idea of how I can prepare a response. Thank you!
I am from Pakistan and so was my ex. I will check if I can get an affidavit signed and attest by the civil authorities there mentioning that there is no previous marriage on my record.
Hoping and praying ircc would approve.

I am under impression that it is/was possible to get a not-married certificate from Pakistan, don't know if this can be done retrospectively (after your current marriage).

I also can't confirm but would think it's possible that a marriage certificate from Pakistan would confirm the marital status and possibly marital history of the partners, but I don't know.

Aside from that, while the PFL is serious and the tone threatening, it's possible that it was confusion on the part of the officer.

 

[SanaP123]

I am under impression that it is/was possible to get a not-married certificate from Pakistan, don't know if this can be done retrospectively (after your current marriage).

I also can't confirm but would think it's possible that a marriage certificate from Pakistan would confirm the marital status and possibly marital history of the partners, but I don't know.

Aside from that, while the PFL is serious and the tone threatening, it's possible that it was confusion on the part of the officer.

Yes I could have submitted a single status certificate but now I cannot get that since I am married. We have submitted our marriage certificate but they think that my so called previous marriage didn't end legally. They don't understand that a woman in Pakistan cannot get remarried if the previous marriage has not legally ended.
Maybe an affidavit stating that my current marriage is the only marriage in my record could solve this problem. Could be that the officer is trying to make sure that there is no misrepresentation and that if we explain this situation properly it will suffice.

 

[armoured]

Yes I could have submitted a single status certificate but now I cannot get that since I am married. We have submitted our marriage certificate but they think that my so called previous marriage didn't end legally. They don't understand that a woman in Pakistan cannot get remarried if the previous marriage has not legally ended.
Maybe an affidavit stating that my current marriage is the only marriage in my record could solve this problem. Could be that the officer is trying to make sure that there is no misrepresentation and that if we explain this situation properly it will suffice.

I think the argument that a woman in pakistan cannot remarry without ending the previous marriage is a good one - IF the central marriage registry does work that way. (If you can provide sources for IRCC - links, a letter from a lawyer, international/domestic court judgments - then that will help. Note, I'm not suggesting you need all of these, but providing simple sources is a good thing. Think, some junior officer explaining to his boss.) [Side note, my personal experience is with a country that, despite all the other bad things about it, has a VERY effective national civil registry. Mistakes happen, like anywhere, but altogether quite organized. They think Canada is insane for not having a central registry]

Affidavit: sure, if you want. But under Canadian version of common law, an affidavit is not much more than a letter that you signed, and then had a lawyer witness that you signed it. But with misrepresentation and all that - the lawyer's signature changes nothing (except that arguably you'd be subject to court punishment for lying i.e. a form of perjury, and they don't need the courts in order to punish you.) Or put more simply, in MOST Canadian contexts, an affidavit is not much more than proof that you signed something; IRCC already assumes the letter you provide wasn't forged, that's a separate criminal statute. Or in most simple terms possible: some countries make VERY heavy uses of affidavits, and in Canada, not so much.

 

[SanaP123]

I think the argument that a woman in pakistan cannot remarry without ending the previous marriage is a good one - IF the central marriage registry does work that way. (If you can provide sources for IRCC - links, a letter from a lawyer, international/domestic court judgments - then that will help. Note, I'm not suggesting you need all of these, but providing simple sources is a good thing. Think, some junior officer explaining to his boss.) [Side note, my personal experience is with a country that, despite all the other bad things about it, has a VERY effective national civil registry. Mistakes happen, like anywhere, but altogether quite organized. They think Canada is insane for not having a central registry]

Affidavit: sure, if you want. But under Canadian version of common law, an affidavit is not much more than a letter that you signed, and then had a lawyer witness that you signed it. But with misrepresentation and all that - the lawyer's signature changes nothing (except that arguably you'd be subject to court punishment for lying i.e. a form of perjury, and they don't need the courts in order to punish you.) Or put more simply, in MOST Canadian contexts, an affidavit is not much more than proof that you signed something; IRCC already assumes the letter you provide wasn't forged, that's a separate criminal statute. Or in most simple terms possible: some countries make VERY heavy uses of affidavits, and in Canada, not so much.

Unfortunately in Pakistan there is no such thing as a marriage record document or something of that sort. By affidavit, I meant something like a statutory declaration because thats the only document I can provide since I have no evidence to show that I have been married only once but i keep wondering what if they dont accept it so what other option am I left with :/ if this is rejected then it is impossible to solve this case

 

[armoured]

Unfortunately in Pakistan there is no such thing as a marriage record document or something of that sort. By affidavit, I meant something like a statutory declaration because thats the only document I can provide since I have no evidence to show that I have been married only once but i keep wondering what if they dont accept it so what other option am I left with :/ if this is rejected then it is impossible to solve this case

Okay, too bad there is no marriage record document.

That said: you should lean into the argument that you would NOT have been permitted to marry if you were not single/divorced, and the simple fact that you have never been married. See what legal support, either a letter from a lawyer there or articles in press, that support this point.

I don't know what you mean by statutory declaration. It's really just a letter sworn before someone - i.e., same as an affidavit. You can do this, but because it's from you, the only interested party (except your spouse, I guess), it's ... in most respects, it's the same as a letter from you, signed by you. But if it makes you feel better, sure. (It at least won't hurt)

What about your ex-fiancé? Any records that he was never married / a statement from him that you two were never married? (I wouldn't go crazy if you can't get this, it's only a thought). Come to think of it though - the profile you created, did it list your boyfriend then's name at all? If he was not named in that mock profile, don't bother with this.

Again: your main argument is that the ONLY source anywhere stating you two were married was a mock profile, never submitted. (A profile that might not even have his name!) It's NOT unusual to create a profile to check things / score when one is not sure - and that is NOT a statutory declaration of any sort if it was not submitted. And, you cannot have been married and not divorced since you were married in a country that doesn't permit that/has a registry. Etc.

If this seems too much for you: get a consultation with a lawyer or have a lawyer write the letter. It will cost money but may be worth it (at least for your mental health and stress). A lawyer might put in some more meaty language about burden of proof and lack of evidence beyond the (flimsy!) claim that a mock profile indicates something; I wouldn't try to make a legal sounding argument on my own.

 

[SanaP123]

yes that is what I am trying to mention that it is not possible to remarry for a woman unless her previous marriage has legally ended but I am sure IRCC has that knowledge already,what I hve researched is that they are very savvy about marriage laws in other countries esp India and Pak but I can give it a try.

As for the ex, its impossible because we are not on talking terms so no chance over there. It was an EE profile that is submitted to enter the pool (that applicants create for receiving ITA) so it has the name, education and passport details but nothing else . Since that profile was widrawn from the pool by me and I created a new one. Its weird that they never asked about my marital status at the time of my PR.

For Affidavit: i thought about your point, it makes sense its just a document signed by me not sure if that would make much of a difference so yeah cant say if that would work.

I am also exploring the option to hire a lawyer. Its important to draft this very carefully. I dont know if I can call it a mock profile since that profile was entered in the pool but that was just in case I receive ITA and was intending to marry anyway so thought it would save me the hassle and time to add a spouse after ITA. Had no idea this would turn out to be such a mess. People enter their profiles in the pool with a lot of info eg their ielts score, work experience etc and keep changing it till they get the ITA but they took this marital status thing very seriously, was not expecting that and that too they never questioned at the time of my PR. Well now I think my best bet is to just verbally explain it to them and pray that they accept my explanation. No legal document can prove something that does not exist.