Conjugal Partner Sponsorship (Married-yet to divorce-then sponsor)

[glynfranz]

Hi there. I really thank this website which has answered some of my questions, but honestly looking for more clarification.

During the processing period of our PR visa under family class category, me and my husband were already struggling to stay together but unfortunately we didn't succeed. When we got approved, we were already separated but decided not to do anything with regards to application (not to make it more complicated). So we landed as married, on separate dates though, and have lived separately till present. We are to divorce this June (as required to stay one year in Canada), and mutually in the same boat to fight for our respective love affairs. He will sponsor his girlfriend under Conjugal Partnership, and so do i.

Now the bottom line is, I am not sure if it would be that easy for us to do so. Please advise if we are able to sponsor our respective partners?. Is there any complication aside from the fact that we might can prove that the relationship is genuine? My relationship with my boyfriend who I am planning to sponsor started before I landed as PR (and married), and he was previously married in the Philippines where there is no divorce which is exactly the reason why I will fall to sponsor him under Conjugal Partnership.

I am so confused, so lonely here in Ontario being so far away from a loved one, everyday is like a battle, but just hoping that the clock ticks faster so I can file a divorce and re-marry if capable. Thanks a lot to those who will reply to my post.

 

[canadianwoman]

During the processing period of our PR visa under family class category, me and my husband were already struggling to stay together but unfortunately we didn't succeed.

What class did you immigrate under? It sounds like both you and your husband immigrated to Canada with the same application? Was he a federal skilled worker? And you his accompanying dependent?

Please advise if we are able to sponsor our respective partners?.

You can both sponsor new spouses or partners. People have succeeded at this before. However, there will be some problems, especially when the visa officer sees that you separated as soon as you entered Canada, and that you are both trying to sponsor new partners as soon as the divorce is final. This makes the original relationship look like a marriage of convenience, so expect them to look at your new applications closely.

Is there any complication aside from the fact that we might can prove that the relationship is genuine? My relationship with my boyfriend who I am planning to sponsor started before I landed as PR (and married),...

This is a big problem. Since your relationship with your husband was already over when you came to Canada, you and he should have reported this to CIC and the embassy that processed your application. They would then have taken you off his application and you would not now be a PR in Canada. If you try to prove your new relationship is genuine, and you use evidence that it started before you landed in Canada (and thus that your marriage was over), then the visa officer will see you are guilty of misrepresentation, and you might lose your own PR.
So if you want to sponsor your new partners, you and your ex-husband should not mention that these relationships began before you landed as PRs.

 

[Leon]

How did you and your husband arrive together under family class? Family class is generally when a person who is already a PR or a citizen sponsors another, such as spouse, child or parents.

Do you mean to say that one of you applied under the skilled worker or other program and the other got a free ticket as the spouse? If that was the case, there are a couple of things to look into. You could be in trouble if immigration finds out that you kept a sham marriage in order not to "complicate" your application. This could be seen as misrepresentation. The one who got the free ticket at the spouse could lose their PR over this and the other one possibly too, especially if they were relying on points from the spouse in order to immigrate themselves.

Therefore, you do not want to tell immigration that you and your husband were both already in new relationships at the time you landed as PR's. This of course makes it harder for you to explain how and when you both met and fell in love with your new partners you would like to sponsor.

 

[glynfranz]

Thank you so much Canadianwoman and Leon. I've been looking up to your posts and replies and these make me more careful to know which step to take. Sorry for the confusion but YES, we processed our respective visas together, I am the principal applicant under FSW (I am a Pharmacist by profession)and he was my accompanying spouse and our child whose visa got expired and was not able to land in Canada due to emotional struggles that all of us had gone through. As of today, our child is with my mom and I will sponsor her later on when I am ready. I guess, having our child will prove that our marriage was not only for convenience purposes. That it was true but just didn't work out, and I have a very strong evidence of his adultery....he got another girl pregnant, and due to emotional and mental torture, I was not able to think clearly with regards to our pending application until we landed as PRs and still married.

So..I believe you both are suggesting that we will not declare our separation when we landed as PRs? If we apply for Conjugal Partner sponsorship to our respective partners, are you suggesting that we'll show that the relationships started after divorce?

Thank you so much for the help.

 

[belee1985]

You CANNOT sponsor someone if you have not lived with that person for at least a year or if you are not married. You cannot sponsor your foreign partner if you haven't lived with him for a year. You need evidence. And if you remarry right after divorcing, it will most probably be rejected cause they will know that you got married for papers....

 

[canadianwoman]

If, when you apply for your new partner, you say this new relationship started before you and your husband landed, then you will have problems. Because if that is so, you should have declared the marriage to be over to CIC, and then your husband would not have gotten a PR visa.
So yes, to sponsor your new partners, both of you are going to have to say the relationships started after your marriage fell apart, and that your marriage fell apart after you landed in Canada.
Did you need your husband's 'points' in order to immigrate? If no, then I think you should be safe even if CIC finds out you were separated when you landed.
Telling the truth in the new applications will mean that your husband will probably lose his PR, and will at least jeopardize both new applications.
Even though your marriage was genuine in the past, it was not genuine at the time you landed, which is the problem. CIC states you should have told them about any change in circumstances.

 

[Leon]

Agreed. Be careful. You should have disclosed that you were separating at the time you landed.

The criteria for conjugal partner is that the relationship has been going on for at least a year and is marriage like in every way, mutual finances as much as possible etc. but you are unable to co-habit with the person due to immigration barriers. Do you have such barriers? Could you go back and live with your new partner for a year? Then keep in mind that they could refuse your conjugal application based on that.

 

[AllisonVSC]

You CANNOT sponsor someone if you have not lived with that person for at least a year or if you are not married. You cannot sponsor your foreign partner if you haven't lived with him for a year. You need evidence.

This is not correct, belee1985.

 

[belee1985]

This is not correct, belee1985.

My bad, I thought s/he meant "common-law"

Conjugal partner

This category is for partners—either of the opposite sex or same sex—in exceptional circumstances beyond their control that prevent them from qualifying as common-law partners or spouses by living together.

A conjugal relationship is more than a physical relationship. It means you depend on each other, there is some permanence to the relationship and there is the same level of commitment as a marriage or a common-law relationship.

You may apply as a conjugal partner if:

you have maintained a conjugal relationship with your sponsor for at least one year and you have been prevented from living together or marrying because of:
an immigration barrier
your marital status (for example, you are married to someone else and living in a country where divorce is not possible) or
your sexual orientation (for example, you are in a same-sex relationship and same-sex marriage is not permitted where you live)
you can provide evidence there was a reason you could not live together (for example, you were refused long-term stays in each other’s country).

You should not apply as a conjugal partner if:

You could have lived together but chose not to. This shows that you did not have the level of commitment required for a conjugal relationship. (For example, one of you may not have wanted to give up a job or a course of study, or your relationship was not yet at the point where you were ready to live together.)
You cannot provide evidence there was a reason that kept you from living together.
You are engaged to be married. In this case, you should either apply as a spouse once the marriage has taken place or apply as a common-law partner if you have lived together continuously for at least 12 months.

 

[belee1985]

You cannot be sponsored as a spouse, a common-law partner or a conjugal partner if:

you are under 16 years of age
you (or your sponsor) were married to someone else at the time of your marriage
you have lived apart from your sponsor for at least one year and either you (or your sponsor) are the common-law or conjugal partner of another person
your sponsor immigrated to Canada and, at the time they applied for permanent residence, you were a family member who should have been examined to see if you met immigration requirements, but you were not examined or
your sponsor previously sponsored another spouse, common-law partner or conjugal partner, or was sponsored, and three years have not passed since that person became a permanent resident.

 

[glynfranz]

Thank you so much for all the help. Now I have a clearer vision to which step I should be taking. Leon and Canadianwoman, I'll keep following to all the topics you're into.
belee1985 and allisonVSC, thank you with all my heart.

I guess it's still the best time for me to focus on my divorce before hand, I'll do the next step once it's final. My husband agreed to conform with the conditions like we landed as genuine husband and wife, but separated after some time. But recently, me and partner just opened a joint bank account, we were able to do it even I'm not present in my home country. And once granted with divorce, I'm going home for a vacation with my partner, gather mutual proofs as much as possible. I guess it would be safe enough if we declare that the relationship started after my marriage failed.

Again, thanks a lot! More power!

 

[Leon]

You cannot be sponsored as a spouse, a common-law partner or a conjugal partner if:

you are under 16 years of age
you (or your sponsor) were married to someone else at the time of your marriage
you have lived apart from your sponsor for at least one year and either you (or your sponsor) are the common-law or conjugal partner of another person
your sponsor immigrated to Canada and, at the time they applied for permanent residence, you were a family member who should have been examined to see if you met immigration requirements, but you were not examined or
your sponsor previously sponsored another spouse, common-law partner or conjugal partner, or was sponsored, and three years have not passed since that person became a permanent resident.

That last part is irrelevant to their case because she did not sponsor her husband nor did he sponsor her. They came together under FSW.