Plan of Action for my Syrian Boyfriend

[Andrew90]

Hi, I'm a Canadian citizen (currently living in the US on TN status) and am in a same-sex relationship with my boyfriend who is Syrian. We met in South Africa while he was seeking asylum, but in the end he was refused residency and sent back to Syria. Because of this I can no longer see him as Canadians are not allowed to travel to Syria (nor would it be safe to). Both of us are also very concerned about his safety as a gay man in Syria and I'm desperate to find a solution to bring us together permanently. I'm currently researching how I could go about moving back to Canada and what would be the best process for me to pursue that would allow him to live there with me (and ideally be able to work and support himself). Because of his Syrian nationality and the danger he faces in his own country because of his sexual orientation, I'm wondering if there is anything available to us beyond the typical sponsorship process.

Does anyone have any advice for my situation? Any help is greatly appreciated.

 

[21Goose]

Your situation may qualify you to sponsor him as your conjugal partner.


If you’re in conjugal relationship
A conjugal partner is:

• a person who is living outside Canada,
• in a conjugal relationship with the sponsor for at least one year, and
• could not live with the sponsor as a couple because of reasons beyond their control (e.g. immigration barrier, religious reasons or sexual orientation).

This term applies to both opposite and same-sex couples.

You can sponsor a conjugal partner if:

• there is a significant degree of attachment between the two of you, implying not just a physical relationship but a mutually interdependent relationship, and
• you’ve been in a genuine (real) relationship for at least 12 months where marriage or cohabitation (living together) hasn’t been possible because of barriers such as sexual orientation, religious faith, etc.

https://www.canada.ca/en/immigration-refugees-citizenship/services/application/application-forms-guides/guide-5289-sponsor-your-spouse-common-law-partner-conjugal-partner-dependent-child-complete-guide.html

 

[21Goose]

And no, there's nothing beyond the typical sponsorship process. The only other option would be refugee, but that is really not a good way to go when you can sponsor him. He'd need to get a visa to Canada to apply for refugee status and that's going to be well-nigh impossible.

 

[Andrew90]

Your situation may qualify you to sponsor him as your conjugal partner.


If you’re in conjugal relationship
A conjugal partner is:

• a person who is living outside Canada,
• in a conjugal relationship with the sponsor for at least one year, and
• could not live with the sponsor as a couple because of reasons beyond their control (e.g. immigration barrier, religious reasons or sexual orientation).

This term applies to both opposite and same-sex couples.

You can sponsor a conjugal partner if:

• there is a significant degree of attachment between the two of you, implying not just a physical relationship but a mutually interdependent relationship, and
• you’ve been in a genuine (real) relationship for at least 12 months where marriage or cohabitation (living together) hasn’t been possible because of barriers such as sexual orientation, religious faith, etc.

https://www.canada.ca/en/immigration-refugees-citizenship/services/application/application-forms-guides/guide-5289-sponsor-your-spouse-common-law-partner-conjugal-partner-dependent-child-complete-guide.html

Thank you. So it seems from my research this is the same conclusion I came to. I feel like the conjugal partner requirements are pretty exact to my situation, although I'm unsure what they mean by a mutually interdependent relationship as we have had to be long distance for our entire relationship so any dependencies are purely emotional.

Do you think this route would be likely be successful, or have any idea how long a process like this would take?

 

[scylla]

Thank you. So it seems from my research this is the same conclusion I came to. I feel like the conjugal partner requirements are pretty exact to my situation, although I'm unsure what they mean by a mutually interdependent relationship as we have had to be long distance for our entire relationship so any dependencies are purely emotional.

Do you think this route would be likely be successful, or have any idea how long a process like this would take?

Ideally mutually interdependent means you have a marriage like or common law like relationship without being able to get married or live together. So shared assets would be ideal, listing him as your beneficiary on any insurance policies, stuff like that. Whether you are successfull will depend on the strength of your evidence.

Plan on the sponsorship process taking a year - possibly more since you are applying through the conjugal route.

 

[21Goose]

Thank you. So it seems from my research this is the same conclusion I came to. I feel like the conjugal partner requirements are pretty exact to my situation, although I'm unsure what they mean by a mutually interdependent relationship as we have had to be long distance for our entire relationship so any dependencies are purely emotional.

Do you think this route would be likely be successful, or have any idea how long a process like this would take?

Your situation is the canonical example used when people discuss conjugal partner rules, so yes, it can definitely be successful.

However, you will have to create a strong application since you have to convince IRCC that you are genuinely in a relationship and not just trying to get someone into Canada who otherwise can't make it.

You should talk to an immigration lawyer - don't try and do this yourself. Proving that you are in a conjugal relationship has tricky bits to it, you need someone who has experience submitting these applications.

 

[canuck78]

How many times have you met in person and how much time have you spent in person?

 

[Andrew90]

How many times have you met in person and how much time have you spent in person?

Because of our distance/situation we've only been able to meet 3 times, each for a week. This was while he was seeking asylum in South Africa. Since he's been rejected and sent back there's nowhere we can meet since most countries require Syrians to have a visa for them to ravel. The majority of our relationship is through video calls and text so I'm concerned it won't be seen as legitimate.

 

[mashulia_26]

Because of our distance/situation we've only been able to meet 3 times, each for a week. This was while he was seeking asylum in South Africa. Since he's been rejected and sent back there's nowhere we can meet since most countries require Syrians to have a visa for them to ravel. The majority of our relationship is through video calls and text so I'm concerned it won't be seen as legitimate.

As far as I know, same sex marriage is legal in south Africa. What stopped you from getting married there? Since you had a chance and as you say you met 3 times meaning you had 3 chances to get married but you didn't, you will not he qualified for conjugal sponsorship.

 

[canuck78]

As far as I know, same sex marriage is legal in south Africa. What stopped you from getting married there? Since you had a chance and as you say you met 3 times meaning you had 3 chances to get married but you didn't, you will not he qualified for conjugal sponsorship.

They couldn’t know that he would be refused asylum and get deported. Your only option would be conjugal since I assume he has limited travel options and not sure there would be an option if you wanted to get married. 3 visits are better than one or 2 but there will be of course some concerns about sponsorship after seeing each other for only 3 weeks.

 

[Andrew90]

They couldn’t know that he would be refused asylum and get deported. Your only option would be conjugal since I assume he has limited travel options and not sure there would be an option if you wanted to get married. 3 visits are better than one or 2 but there will be of course some concerns about sponsorship after seeing each other for only 3 weeks.

Do you think there would be any chance of him getting a tourism Visa to Canada and us being able to spend more time together that way/possibly get married in Canada to make it easier? I know I can send something called a Letter of Invitation to increase his chances. But as a Syrian citizen do you think it would be unlikely for him to be approved?

 

[canuck_in_uk]

Do you think there would be any chance of him getting a tourism Visa to Canada and us being able to spend more time together that way/possibly get married in Canada to make it easier? I know I can send something called a Letter of Invitation to increase his chances. But as a Syrian citizen do you think it would be unlikely for him to be approved?

As a Syrian with a failed refugee claim, he has zero chance of approval. However, he does need to apply for a TRV, as you cannot qualify for conjugal without showing a barrier for him to come to Canada.

Only 3 weeks together in person is quite minimal. How long has the relationship actually been going on?

 

[Andrew90]

As a Syrian with a failed refugee claim, he has zero chance of approval. However, he does need to apply for a TRV, as you cannot qualify for conjugal without showing a barrier for him to come to Canada.

Only 3 weeks together in person is quite minimal. How long has the relationship actually been going on?

We've spoken every day since February of last year, met initially through social media and when possible I've taken trips to South Africa (but due to finances, vacation time, etc. these trips had to be somewhat short/few/far between.)

 

[canuck78]

Are there any countries that Syrians can enter temporarily that are also somewhat LGBTQ friendly? Continued visits would be helpful.

 

[Andrew90]

Are there any countries that Syrians can enter temporarily that are also somewhat LGBTQ friendly? Continued visits would be helpful.

Not really, I think the best we can do is Lebanon (which he says he can only stay in for a short period of time, something like 48 hours). There aren't any countries with same sex marriage that allow Syrians to visit without a visa as far as I can find.