Sponsorship as Second Wife Following a Divorce

[Raghad Elghazi]

I have a complicated situation and need your advice and guidance. I am married to a Canadian PR holder who currently resides in Canada. I am a second wife; polygamy is allowed in our culture and religion. I have 3 kids from a previous marriage. I live outside Canada as I have no means to enter Canada (I applied for a visit visa once and it got rejected and no hope for express entry). My husband was coming to visit every 2 months or so.

His first wife was part of his application for immigration as a dependent. They landed in summer 2015. She was living with him and their 4 kids till lately when he divorced her the Islamic way (by word of mouth). Now he wants to document the divorce (probably in his home country) and then apply for a spouse sponsorship for me and for my 3 dependents.

My question is, can my husband submit the sponsorship request on grounds that I’m his wife and we’ve been married for one and a half years, and provide all the related evidence of the legitimacy of our marriage (wedding ceremony, honeymoon, his visits to my country of residence, money transfers, pictures, texts, etc.,) and justify that it’s allowed to have 2 wives in our culture and religion? Or will that be a black point for him? In case we shouldn’t disclose that our marriage coexisted with the previous marriage, what would be our options to be united together in Canada?

He currently holds a full-time job in Canada and has a good financial standing.

I really appreciate your advice and responses.

 

[k.h.p.]

No. It doesn't work. Even if the marriage is acceptable in your culture it's not a valid marriage in Canada. Even if he's divorcing his first wife.

 

[hasanemam]

No. It doesn't work. Even if the marriage is acceptable in your culture it's not a valid marriage in Canada. Even if he's divorcing his first wife.

How about he divorce his first wife and get remarried to his current wife? After that they apply for her and her dependent PR?

 

[k.h.p.]

I really don't know. A lawyer would probably be better to tell you.

 

[Krissh2179]

I have a complicated situation and need your advice and guidance. I am married to a Canadian PR holder who currently resides in Canada. I am a second wife; polygamy is allowed in our culture and religion. I have 3 kids from a previous marriage. I live outside Canada as I have no means to enter Canada (I applied for a visit visa once and it got rejected and no hope for express entry). My husband was coming to visit every 2 months or so.

His first wife was part of his application for immigration as a dependent. They landed in summer 2015. She was living with him and their 4 kids till lately when he divorced her the Islamic way (by word of mouth). Now he wants to document the divorce (probably in his home country) and then apply for a spouse sponsorship for me and for my 3 dependents.

My question is, can my husband submit the sponsorship request on grounds that I’m his wife and we’ve been married for one and a half years, and provide all the related evidence of the legitimacy of our marriage (wedding ceremony, honeymoon, his visits to my country of residence, money transfers, pictures, texts, etc.,) and justify that it’s allowed to have 2 wives in our culture and religion? Or will that be a black point for him? In case we shouldn’t disclose that our marriage coexisted with the previous marriage, what would be our options to be united together in Canada?

He currently holds a full-time job in Canada and has a good financial standing.

I really appreciate your advice and responses.

Your husband was married to two women at the same time and that is illegal in Canada (No Polygamy/Bigamy even if its allowed in your religion). Not only can he not sponsor you atm, he would be risking his own PR status as such an offence can result in revocation of his own permanent residency (even with the divorce, Immigration would not take too long to see your marriage date coincides with his marital status specifying married and you cannot lie either about such dates as you are bound to face misrepresentation).

 

[scylla]

I have a complicated situation and need your advice and guidance. I am married to a Canadian PR holder who currently resides in Canada. I am a second wife; polygamy is allowed in our culture and religion. I have 3 kids from a previous marriage. I live outside Canada as I have no means to enter Canada (I applied for a visit visa once and it got rejected and no hope for express entry). My husband was coming to visit every 2 months or so.

His first wife was part of his application for immigration as a dependent. They landed in summer 2015. She was living with him and their 4 kids till lately when he divorced her the Islamic way (by word of mouth). Now he wants to document the divorce (probably in his home country) and then apply for a spouse sponsorship for me and for my 3 dependents.

My question is, can my husband submit the sponsorship request on grounds that I’m his wife and we’ve been married for one and a half years, and provide all the related evidence of the legitimacy of our marriage (wedding ceremony, honeymoon, his visits to my country of residence, money transfers, pictures, texts, etc.,) and justify that it’s allowed to have 2 wives in our culture and religion? Or will that be a black point for him? In case we shouldn’t disclose that our marriage coexisted with the previous marriage, what would be our options to be united together in Canada?

He currently holds a full-time job in Canada and has a good financial standing.

I really appreciate your advice and responses.

He cannot spnsor you at this time.

Your husband needs to start by formally divorcing his first wife in Canada (Islamic way isn't sufficient). They will need to star this process by completing a one year separation period during which time they would obviously no longer be living together.

Once the one year separation is completed and the divorce is final, your husband will have to remarry you in order to be able to sponsor you for PR. Your marriage is not recognized by Canada since it occurred before he got divorced.

You must be 100% honest in your application and declare that your relationship preexisting. If you lie, expect to be refused and banned from Canada for 5 years.

 

[Raghad Elghazi]

He cannot sponsor you at this time.

Your husband needs to start by formally divorcing his first wife in Canada (Islamic way isn't sufficient). They will need to star this process by completing a one year separation period during which time they would obviously no longer be living together.

Once the one year separation is completed and the divorce is final, your husband will have to remarry you in order to be able to sponsor you for PR. Your marriage is not recognized by Canada since it occurred before he got divorced.

You must be 100% honest in your application and declare that your relationship preexisting. If you lie, expect to be refused and banned from Canada for 5 years.

So if he goes to his home country and completes the divorce there, the divorce won't be recognized? Does the divorce have to be done in Canada itself?
By 100% honest, do you mean we should tell them we were married before or not?

 

[scylla]

So if he goes to his home country and completes the divorce there, the divorce won't be recognized? Does the divorce have to be done in Canada itself?
By 100% honest, do you mean we should tell them we were married before or not?

I don't know if Canada will recognize this divorce if both of them are living in Canada. I would verify with a lawyer. Note that as part of the application to sponsor you, IRCC may want to see proof that he is no longer in a relationship of any kind with his first wife (i.e. they no longer live together, etc.). IRCC may want to see evidence the divorce was genuine and wasn't simply completed as a means of bringing you to Canada.

 

[canuck78]

Would also expect that people may also start looking into how he is financing will be financing these 2 families plus frequent travel.

It would be the 1st wife’s best interest to file for divorce in Canada to file for spousal and child support if they are actually getting divorced versus getting divorced on paper to try and sponsor a 2nd spouse. As @scylla indicated there will be lots of scrutiny regarding whether the divorce is real. This is not the first time a Canadian PR or citizen has tried to sponsor their 2nd wife.