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Conjugal sponsorship

k.h.p.

VIP Member
Mar 1, 2019
8,801
2,250
Canada
A conjugal visa will not be refused because the primary applicant has not received an annulment. It just won't. In that case there is a legal barrier (annulment) and if the PA has no visitor's visa to Canada, an immigration barrier. This aspect of Philippines law is well known to Canada and there are many, many PRs from the Philippines who went the conjugal route because of this.

A conjugal visa with no immigration barrier (ie, where the PA has a visitor's visa to Canada) will be refused.
 

Alcord

Newbie
Feb 14, 2020
8
0
Hi Everyone, I am bit confused about Conjugal Sponsorship like a few others. May someone please share knowledge or illuminate if i am eligible for this type of sponsorship.

I am on Indian Passport but live in South Africa holding permanent residence status.
I am currently, but not legally, separated and estranged from my spouse for 2 years.

Meanwhile, i met a boy and had relationship. We both applied Canadian PR through express entry.
He has got his PR 3 months ago and i am still waiting for an ITA.

We have been in relation for almost 1.5 years now.
We have enough proof to prove the relation. I.e. Pictures, Affidavit, friends as witness but dont have any financial statement such joint investments and all, however, we have been paying for each other's expenses through our credit cards.

A divorce case of my legal spouse and I is already in the court and i have certified copy of divorce petition as well.

I do not want to visit my boyfriend in Canada on visitor visa since i am still waiting for my ITA, however, he has visited me in South Africa before he received her PR.

I cant marry him since my divorce has not been finalised yet. I intend to marry him once i get my Canadian PR and Divorce Decree, but nowadays CRS score is too high and is unlikely to come down. Currently CRS is 472 and my score is 452.

Can he sponsor me as his Conjugal partner?

Is there any other condition for him and I to fulfill?


Please help
 

armoured

VIP Member
Feb 1, 2015
18,246
9,561
I am on Indian Passport but live in South Africa holding permanent residence status.
I am currently, but not legally, separated and estranged from my spouse for 2 years.

Meanwhile, i met a boy and had relationship. We both applied Canadian PR through express entry.
He has got his PR 3 months ago and i am still waiting for an ITA.
...
A divorce case of my legal spouse and I is already in the court and i have certified copy of divorce petition as well.

I do not want to visit my boyfriend in Canada on visitor visa since i am still waiting for my ITA, however, he has visited me in South Africa before he received her PR.

I cant marry him since my divorce has not been finalised yet. I intend to marry him once i get my Canadian PR and Divorce Decree,
I believe you would be denied under conjugal. There is no legal impediment to you being married in South Africa (apart from an unfinalised divorce), nor (technically) for you to visit Canada and marry him there.
 

Alcord

Newbie
Feb 14, 2020
8
0
I believe you would be denied under conjugal. There is no legal impediment to you being married in South Africa (apart from an unfinalised divorce), nor (technically) for you to visit Canada and marry him there.
Thanks for your reply, however, if my boy friend needs to come to South Africa, he can come on 2 types of visas:
a) visitor Visa: Which will not allow him to marry me until i get divorce decree.
b) Spouse visa: this needs a marriage certificate.
South Africa does not have Conjugal sponsorship.

If i need to go to Canada and marry him,

a) Visitor visa: i can apply for a visitor visa, but will it be legal to go and marry when my divorce is still in process?

May you please suggest something here?
 

scylla

VIP Member
Jun 8, 2010
96,884
22,857
Toronto
Category........
Visa Office......
Buffalo
Job Offer........
Pre-Assessed..
App. Filed.......
28-05-2010
AOR Received.
19-08-2010
File Transfer...
28-06-2010
Passport Req..
01-10-2010
VISA ISSUED...
05-10-2010
LANDED..........
05-10-2010
I believe you would be denied under conjugal. There is no legal impediment to you being married in South Africa (apart from an unfinalised divorce), nor (technically) for you to visit Canada and marry him there.
Divorce needs to be finalized before they can marry. Otherwise Canada won't recognize the marriage.
 

scylla

VIP Member
Jun 8, 2010
96,884
22,857
Toronto
Category........
Visa Office......
Buffalo
Job Offer........
Pre-Assessed..
App. Filed.......
28-05-2010
AOR Received.
19-08-2010
File Transfer...
28-06-2010
Passport Req..
01-10-2010
VISA ISSUED...
05-10-2010
LANDED..........
05-10-2010
Thanks for your reply, however, if my boy friend needs to come to South Africa, he can come on 2 types of visas:
a) visitor Visa: Which will not allow him to marry me until i get divorce decree.
b) Spouse visa: this needs a marriage certificate.
South Africa does not have Conjugal sponsorship.

If i need to go to Canada and marry him,

a) Visitor visa: i can apply for a visitor visa, but will it be legal to go and marry when my divorce is still in process?

May you please suggest something here?
You need to apply for a TRV. If you get a TRV approved, you can come to Canada for a year and live with him to become common law.

What nationality is he?
 

Alcord

Newbie
Feb 14, 2020
8
0
Divorce needs to be finalized before they can marry. Otherwise Canada won't recognize the marriage.
then i might have not understood the purpose of Conjugal sponsorship?

On CIC website, it says:

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)
Does this court obligation does not fall here as a reason beyond my control?
 

Alcord

Newbie
Feb 14, 2020
8
0
You need to apply for a TRV. If you get a TRV approved, you can come to Canada for a year and live with him to become common law.

What nationality is he?
he is an Indian. i doubt its possible If i go there on TRV and get married before my divorce finalised. isnt it?
 

scylla

VIP Member
Jun 8, 2010
96,884
22,857
Toronto
Category........
Visa Office......
Buffalo
Job Offer........
Pre-Assessed..
App. Filed.......
28-05-2010
AOR Received.
19-08-2010
File Transfer...
28-06-2010
Passport Req..
01-10-2010
VISA ISSUED...
05-10-2010
LANDED..........
05-10-2010
he is an Indian. i doubt its possible If i go there on TRV and get married before my divorce finalised. isnt it?
You can't get married until the divorce is finalized. However you can come here and live together for a full year to become common law.

You can also live together for a full year to become common law.
 
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Alcord

Newbie
Feb 14, 2020
8
0
You can't get married until the divorce is finalized. However you can come here and live together for a full year to become common law.

You can also live together for a full year to become common law.

That answer was really helpful. I just had the same question in my head.

may you please elaborate little bit more on my express entry side?

a) If i go on TRV, will i be able to work part-time/ful-time? so that i can count that as a Canadian work experience and continue my Express entry PR application?
b) I need to stay for one year to become the common law partner, may i work there during this time as well?
c) what will happen if i receive ITA during the 12 months when i am living with my boyfriend?
 
Last edited:

Faraz Khan

Star Member
Nov 7, 2019
139
25
Hi scylla, I’ve also applied under conjugal class probably you know that by my name. Seems like I’ll be a complete refusal as I never applied for TRV because I thought it would be misrepresentation if I come and marry her on a visitor visa. However I tried to marry her in the third country but never succeeded. Got refusal four times in four different countries except Canada.
What should I do now in this situation when my file started processing in NDVO November 22.

Thank you I need a working advice.
 

armoured

VIP Member
Feb 1, 2015
18,246
9,561
Thanks for your reply, however, if my boy friend needs to come to South Africa, he can come on 2 types of visas:
a) visitor Visa: Which will not allow him to marry me until i get divorce decree.
b) Spouse visa: this needs a marriage certificate.
South Africa does not have Conjugal sponsorship.

If i need to go to Canada and marry him,

a) Visitor visa: i can apply for a visitor visa, but will it be legal to go and marry when my divorce is still in process?

May you please suggest something here?
The key in here is that you say you have a divorce proceeding underway, and as I understand it, there is no significant barrier to getting a divorce in SA (apart from going through legal proceedings). Now I understand that for some countries (phillipines) divorce is not legal and annulment extremely difficult, but I don't think you're arguing that's the case here.

So (and I admit I do not know exactly how they treat this at IRCC), but I don't believe they would treat the fact that you haven't completed a divorce proceeding a 'barrier' to getting married - barring some exceptional justification. I do not know this for a fact though, you could consult a lawyer.

At any rate, rendered moot because as noted by others there does not appear to be a significant barrier to you living together and creating a common law union - at least until you've documented there is a barrier like being denied visas. (Note, of course, there are 'barriers' like it's inconvenient, but I believe they set the bar for this considerably higher).

Again, this is my understanding - please consult a lawyer or hear from others if you believe the legal barriers are more substantive and would meet the IRCC definitions.