family sponsorship of my wife's niece

[jrs91]

My wife (currently a PR and eligible to apply for citizenship this September) has an 8 year old niece in a bad spot in Colombia. Short version is that she's not being well cared for. Her sister is willing for her daughter to move to Canada with us, and if necessary will give her up for adoption to us. The father is out of the picture and the sister is currently in the process of removing the last of his legal rights over her (this began years ago; he provides no support and has no interest in seeing her), so his consent is not going to be needed for anything.

Has anyone had a PR spouse or as a PR themselves brought a niece or other minor relative into Canada on a PR? I assume we'd need to establish some form of legal guardianship or go through an adoption process.

Doing a traditional international adoption via a private agency seems unnecessarily expensive given the girl would be adopted from direct family.

Does anyone know if I could just have my wife do the adoption in her country and then apply for PR her niece/now daughter? Would I run into problems on the Canadian side during immigration? It seems like having the adoption done in Colombia, and then having my wife sponsor her new daughter would be the cheapest and most efficient way to go about it.

Thoughts?

 

[Rob_TO]

Her sister is willing for her daughter to move to Canada with us, and if necessary will give her up for adoption to us.

I don't think this will work. Adoption is not supposed to be used for family members that simply want their kids to have a better life in Canada. Adoption means the parents are giving up all rights to the child and have no more interest in their life. So if the mom will still want to know how her daughter is doing, have visits with her, be part of child's life etc etc, this could be seen as an Adoption of Convenience done only for immigration purposes, and IRCC could reject the app.

App could be stronger if your wife can show evidence of already having a strong parent-like relationship with the child.

Others can offer some more advice.

 

[scylla]

I agree with the above unfortunately - you should expect the application to be refused by CIC if you proceed as planned. It will be classified as an adoption of convenience which has been entered into specifically for the purpose of securing PR status for the niece.

You would have a case if the niece was an orphan. Or, for instance, if both her parents were completely out of the picture (and had been for some time) and the niece had been living with your wife for a while (i.e. your wife was her primary caregiver and responsible for things like her schooling, upbringing, clothing her, feeding her, etc.).

 

[jrs91]

Ok. So I'm curious under what circumstances they intend for option 2 to be used in for sponsoring relatives? Everyone moves to Canada for a better life. If things were better elsewhere the immigration would be in the other direction...

An orphan is the obvious (and easy) case, and that situation is specifically addressed, but it does seem like they allow for bringing in one other family member.

The following is straight from CIC site:

[size=10pt][size=10pt]Who you can sponsor[/size][/size]

Depending on your circumstances, there are two options for who you can sponsor.

Option 1 – Orphaned close relatives (parents alive so obviously i can't use option 1)

You can sponsor close relatives, related by blood or adoption, such as brothers, sisters, nephews, nieces, or grandchildren only if they meet all of the following conditions:

They are orphaned,
They are under 18, and
They do not have a spouse, common law partner, or conjugal partner.

[size=10pt]Option 2 – Other relative[/size]

You may sponsor one relative, related by blood or adoption, of any age if you meet all of the following conditions (my wife meets the conditions):

you do not have a spouse, common-law partner, or conjugal partner, or one of the following living relatives you could sponsor instead:

son or daughter,
parent,
grandparent,
brother or sister,
uncle, aunt,
nephew or niece.

you do not have any of the above-named relatives who is a:
Canadian citizen,
permanent resident, or
registered Indian under the Indian Act.

So this seems to be saying my wife could do Option 2 ONE time only. Her niece is 8 so I'd assumed it would have to be preceded by adoption. My wife has been living with me in Canada (I sponsored her) since 2013. When she did live in Colombia, her niece lived with her but since then they've been separated. My wife sends money every month but that's not exactly a caregiver relationship.

Can anyone suggest a strategy that may be worth looking at?

Thanks

 

[scylla]

Unfortunately you've misunderstood these requirement for Option 2 above. This is what's known as the "lonely Canadian" rule. In order to qualify to sponsor your niece, your wife would have to be single (which she obviously isn't because she has you), have no children, both of her parents need to be deceased and she must have no other family members in Canada (e.g. aunt, uncle).

 

[LucyTo77]

I don't think this will work. Adoption is not supposed to be used for family members that simply want their kids to have a better life in Canada. Adoption means the parents are giving up all rights to the child and have no more interest in their life. So if the mom will still want to know how her daughter is doing, have visits with her, be part of child's life etc etc, this could be seen as an Adoption of Convenience done only for immigration purposes, and IRCC could reject the app.

App could be stronger if your wife can show evidence of already having a strong parent-like relationship with the child.

Others can offer some more advice.

Hi Rob_To,

What if the niece was born with her mom didn't know who was the father and she used her lastname for the child. Then the mother died because of a terminal illness. Can the niece be adopted by her auntie?

Thanks,

Jimmy

 

[Rob_TO]

The following is straight from CIC site:

you do not have a spouse

As mentioned, because your wife has a spouse (you) that disqualifies her from anything to do with Option 2.

My wife has been living with me in Canada (I sponsored her) since 2013. When she did live in Colombia, her niece lived with her but since then they've been separated. My wife sends money every month but that's not exactly a caregiver relationship.

Can anyone suggest a strategy that may be worth looking at?

I'm not saying that the adoption path with fail for sure. It's the way you describe it, the primary goal of the niece's mom is to get her to Canada, and only "if necessary will give her up for adoption". The way you worded this shows that adoption is just a means to get her status here.

Adoption a niece in general is known as "Relative Adoption" in IRCC manuals. Each case is unique, and there are successful cases where people adopt relatives and successfully get them status in Canada. You also have to look at it from IRCC's point of view. Imagine if any new PR in Canada from a poorer country could just pick a niece/nephew/cousin etc to "adopt" and get them status in Canada. You have to put a strong case together that the reason for the adoption is really because the biological parents can't or don't want to care for their child anymore, and that the new parents would really be parents and not just temporary guardians, not just that it would be a better life in Canada.

If you really wanted to attempt this path, you should look for immigration lawyers that are experienced with relative adoption cases. Since you and your wife reside in Canada, any adoption must also comply with your Provincial adoption laws.

 

[noramillo]

Hello. My case is very similar to this case, I am a 49 years old single mother of two children (10-12) living from spousal and children support in Canada. I am citizen over 15 years ago, I would like to adopt my 10 year old niece, her two parents are alive, but her mom, the custodian parent suffers severe multiple sclerosis. Both of the parents agreed to give her up for adoption, her father (my brother) lived home for another woman 10 years ago. I send money montly for her needs. What options do I have? THank you so much for your help

 

[canuck78]

Hello. My case is very similar to this case, I am a 49 years old single mother of two children (10-12) living from spousal and children support in Canada. I am citizen over 15 years ago, I would like to adopt my 10 year old niece, her two parents are alive, but her mom, the custodian parent suffers severe multiple sclerosis. Both of the parents agreed to give her up for adoption, her father (my brother) lived home for another woman 10 years ago. I send money montly for her needs. What options do I have? THank you so much for your help

You don’t have any options. It would be considered an adoption of convenience and would be denied. Your best option would be to sponsor her education once she is older but without be employed you will struggle to do this.

 

[scylla]

Hello. My case is very similar to this case, I am a 49 years old single mother of two children (10-12) living from spousal and children support in Canada. I am citizen over 15 years ago, I would like to adopt my 10 year old niece, her two parents are alive, but her mom, the custodian parent suffers severe multiple sclerosis. Both of the parents agreed to give her up for adoption, her father (my brother) lived home for another woman 10 years ago. I send money montly for her needs. What options do I have? THank you so much for your help

Agreed with the above. There are no options for you to sponsor her for PR.

Only option is to bring her to Canada temporarily on a study permit. Tuition will be around $15,000 per year since she will be classified as an international student.

 

[noramillo]

Thank yo so much, what about as visitor, is there any option to bring my niece for a couple monts?

 

[canuck78]

Thank yo so much, what about as visitor, is there any option to bring my niece for a couple monts?

It is unlikely unless she has the finances (or her parents do) and she has extremely strong ties to her home country. You can definitely try but don’t buy tickets in advance.

 

[bdidol]

Thank yo so much, what about as visitor, is there any option to bring my niece for a couple monts?

She will be denied a TRV based on

- no family ties
- inadequate financial support