PFL

[Themaful]

Hello everyone,
Got a PFL stating that the divorce statement provided by the mosque is not valid in Canada and without other evidence to confirm divorce from previous spouse, you were married to previous spouse hence current marriage is an excluded relationship! Any advice on how to go about this please. Thank you

 

[scylla]

Hello everyone,
Got a PFL stating that the divorce statement provided by the mosque is not valid in Canada and without other evidence to confirm divorce from previous spouse, you were married to previous spouse hence current marriage is an excluded relationship! Any advice on how to go about this please. Thank you

You need to provide the full details of the case including dates, etc.

 

[Themaful]

You need to provide the full details of the case including dates, etc.

So the divorce happened in 2009; and the couple went to a Mosque in Canada where they did divorce Islamically and have not gone to court thinking this Islamic Divorce is going to work. The lady was in a common law relationship with someone else after that divorce; she shares 2 children with the previous spouse and 2 with the Common law partner. She again reunited with the previous spouse who divorced her and stayed Common Law. Now she married a new person in 2019. IRCC approved her Spousal Application, the new spouse who is currently in Kenya did biometric, police check and everything else. He was scheduled for an Interview for Nov 19, 2021 but was asked to first send the divorce certificate. This is when he sent the Islamic Divorce Statement from the Mosque here in Canada where the wife lives. Then the officer cancelled the interview and sent a PFL stating that the Divorce Statement is not Valid in Canada and before a decision is made would like them to comment on the above concern. Thanks

 

[scylla]

So the divorce happened in 2009; and the couple went to a Mosque in Canada where they did divorce Islamically and have not gone to court thinking this Islamic Divorce is going to work. The lady was in a common law relationship with someone else after that divorce; she shares 2 children with the previous spouse and 2 with the Common law partner. She again reunited with the previous spouse who divorced her and stayed Common Law. Now she married a new person in 2019. IRCC approved her Spousal Application, the new spouse who is currently in Kenya did biometric, police check and everything else. He was scheduled for an Interview for Nov 19, 2021 but was asked to first send the divorce certificate. This is when he sent the Islamic Divorce Statement from the Mosque here in Canada where the wife lives. Then the officer cancelled the interview and sent a PFL stating that the Divorce Statement is not Valid in Canada and before a decision is made would like them to comment on the above concern. Thanks

This divorce is not valid under Canadian law. She is still married to her first spouse per Canadian law and this is why her new marriage is not recognized.

Has she lived with her new spouse continuously for at least one full year?

 

[Themaful]

This divorce is not valid under Canadian law. She is still married to her first spouse per Canadian law and this is why her new marriage is not recognized.

Has she lived with her new spouse continuously for at least one full year?

Unfortunately, they lived together few only 2 months!. I am wondering what could be a good way to comment back to the officer. Is it okay to ask for an extension of a bout 6 months while they finalize the divorce of the wife and the previous spouse; will it be advisable to tell the officer that this was an honest mistake as they thought the Islamic divorce may work. The officer is asking the couple to provide any observation or explanation of what happened. What would you suggest to comment back? Thanks

 

[scylla]

Unfortunately, they lived together few only 2 months!. I am wondering what could be a good way to comment back to the officer. Is it okay to ask for an extension of a bout 6 months while they finalize the divorce of the wife and the previous spouse; will it be advisable to tell the officer that this was an honest mistake as they thought the Islamic divorce may work. The officer is asking the couple to provide any observation or explanation of what happened. What would you suggest to comment back? Thanks

Yes, it's always best to be honest. You should say you thought the divorce was valid but now understand it is not.

I'm not sure what you mean by asking for an extension for 6 months. Do you mean asking IRCC to hold the spousal sponsorship application open? If so, then you can ask that, but I don't think there is any chance that will happen since you have to qualify at the time the application was submitted (which you did not). You should be expecting the application will be refused and you'll need to reapply from scratch once the divorce is finalized and you've gotten remarried.

Note that just getting legally divorced won't be sufficient. You'll also need to get married again (after the legal divorce is fianlized) to make the marriage legal in Canada's laws.

 

[Themaful]

Yes, it's always best to be honest. You should say you thought the divorce was valid but now understand it is not.

I'm not sure what you mean by asking for an extension for 6 months. Do you mean asking IRCC to hold the spousal sponsorship application open? If so, then you can ask that, but I don't think there is any chance that will happen since you have to qualify at the time the application was submitted (which you did not). You should be expecting the application will be refused and you'll need to reapply from scratch once the divorce is finalized and you've gotten remarried.

Note that just getting legally divorced won't be sufficient. You'll also need to get married again (after the legal divorce is fianlized) to make the marriage legal in Canada's laws.

I agree with you asking for an extension may not work. At this point we are stuck on what to write back to the officer; of course we will let officer now this was an honest mistake; but what else do you think we can include? The previous spouse is in the same city with the lady and when he heard he said he is willing to write a support letter stating that the two have legally divorced in Islamic way. Thanks

 

[scylla]

I agree with you asking for an extension may not work. At this point we are stuck on what to write back to the officer; of course we will let officer now this was an honest mistake; but what else do you think we can include? The previous spouse is in the same city with the lady and when he heard he said he is willing to write a support letter stating that the two have legally divorced in Islamic way. Thanks

The letter from the ex-spouse isn't going to help. They aren't legally divorced. What they did is not a legal divorce under Canadian law.

If you are struggling to know how to respond to the PFL, then your are probably best off hiring an immigration lawyer to help you.

Good luck.

 

[Themaful]

The letter from the ex-spouse isn't going to help. They aren't legally divorced. What they did is not a legal divorce under Canadian law.

If you are struggling to know how to respond to the PFL, then your are probably best off hiring an immigration lawyer to help you.

Good luck.

Thank you so much for your feedback.

 

[canuck78]

Would also add that you have probably been declaring yourself as divorced in many documents including things like your taxes. You should correct this.

 

[Rag911]

it needs to come from court or a civil institute