Help shed some light on PR Status and Marraige Breakdown Please!

[AAA570]

Hi, I'm new to this forum and upon reading some of the stories followed by the advice and information shared amongst the site I joined myself. I'm hoping that some of you will be able to help and advise my current situation as well. I am currently residing in Canada at the moment and applied for my Canadian Residency sponsored through my husband about 2 years ago, my confirmation of permanent residency papers were granted in April 2013 however, I was away with my spouse visiting my family at the time that they arrived and received the news through my in laws. From that time till recently those papers remained in the hands of my in-laws who insisted to hold on to them until I was ready to go through an entry port... To cut the story short , Recently months later I am finally in possession of my papers for the first time since they were issued and granted to me per request that CIC resend them. Now that I have them I am facing another issue , Over the last few months there has been a series of ongoing issues in the marriage that has led towards the decision of a separation with my spouse which after a year will result in divorce. I know that the paper that was included with my confirmation of permanent residency clearly states that if there is any changes in marital status I must inform CIC before I land in Canada. What would be the best way to address this issue and will it have any effect on my status ? I was with my spouse for a total of 6yrs of which 2.5 were of marriage before our relationship breakdown, would the new law that went in effect after October 2012 apply to my situation ? Any information or advise you guys have for me would be of great help to me right now .

 

[Ponga]

Hi,

I'm sorry to hear about your situation. There are many here that are much more experienced than I, but I'll offer my opinion:

The first question that comes to mind is...what are the terms that you have on your COPR papers? Was there a deadline that you had to meet to land?

Secondly, if your marriage is in fact in jeopardy, you may not be granted PR, as your husband (sponsor) must agree to follow through with his sponsorship of you...which sounds like it will be a problem for you.

Good luck.

 

[Step]

Hi, I'm new to this forum and upon reading some of the stories followed by the advice and information shared amongst the site I joined myself. I'm hoping that some of you will be able to help and advise my current situation as well. I am currently residing in Canada at the moment and applied for my Canadian Residency sponsored through my husband about 2 years ago, my confirmation of permanent residency papers were granted in April 2013 however, I was away with my spouse visiting my family at the time that they arrived and received the news through my in laws. From that time till recently those papers remained in the hands of my in-laws who insisted to hold on to them until I was ready to go through an entry port... To cut the story short , Recently months later I am finally in possession of my papers for the first time since they were issued and granted to me per request that CIC resend them. Now that I have them I am facing another issue , Over the last few months there has been a series of ongoing issues in the marriage that has led towards the decision of a separation with my spouse which after a year will result in divorce. I know that the paper that was included with my confirmation of permanent residency clearly states that if there is any changes in marital status I must inform CIC before I land in Canada. What would be the best way to address this issue and will it have any effect on my status ? I was with my spouse for a total of 6yrs of which 2.5 were of marriage before our relationship breakdown, would the new law that went in effect after October 2012 apply to my situation ? Any information or advise you guys have for me would be of great help to me right now .

Is a tough situation , I'm no lawyer but the way I read the new law. You have to be together for 2 years from the date of landing. You received COPR after new law was introduced?
You might want to check with someone that is knowledgable in Immigration laws.

Good Luck, Step

 

[AAA570]

Hi,

I'm sorry to hear about your situation. There are many here that are much more experienced than I, but I'll offer my opinion:

The first question that comes to mind is...what are the terms that you have on your COPR papers? Was there a deadline that you had to meet to land?

Secondly, if your marriage is in fact in jeopardy, you may not be granted PR, as your husband (sponsor) must agree to follow through with his sponsorship of you...which sounds like it will be a problem for you.

Good luck.

First and foremost thank you for your kind words and your time to reply to this post,

My application was done early 2012 and my papers were initially granted and sent last year in April 2013 but my in-laws held them from me. Last month I contacted CIC stating I never received my COPR papers and asked them to reissue them to me and I just recently received them in the mail.

My understanding of the sponsorship was that upon signing the "undertaking" he was in fact agreeing and responsible to follow through..
Undertaking (mos)36 is printed on my papers does that make sense?
In addition there is an expiry date on my COPR & an issued and valid to date on them as well ..

I've come across so much information online that I am a bit confused and unsure about where my status stands throughout this situation ???

 

[AAA570]

Is a tough situation , I'm no lawyer but the way I read the new law. You have to be together for 2 years from the date of landing. You received COPR after new law was introduced?
You might want to check with someone that is knowledgable in Immigration laws.

Good Luck, Step

It is a tough and rather frustrating situation indeed...

I found this information online :

Information on Conditional Permanent Residence

As of October 25, 2012, CIC introduced amendments to the Immigration and Refugee Protection Regulations. The amendments specify that spouses, common-law or conjugal partners who are in a relationship with their sponsor for two years or less and have no children in common with their sponsor at the time of the sponsorship application are subject to a period of conditional permanent residence. The condition requires the sponsored spouse or partner to cohabit in a conjugal relationship with their sponsor for a period of two years after the day on which they became a permanent resident. The conditional measure only applies to permanent residents whose applications are received on October 25, 2012, or after the day that the amendments come into force.

Examples

Condition applies if the couple:

is married for two years or less; or
dated for four years, but is married for two years or less; or
have been in a conjugal relationship for two years or less; or
has cohabited in a common-law relationship for two years or less; and
Do not have any children in common

Condition does not apply if the couple:

is married for more than two years; or
have been in a conjugal relationship for more than two years; or
has cohabited in a common-law relationship for more than two years; or
Have children in common.


I completed and sent my application before October 25, 2012 if I remember correctly ... have been married since September 2011, cohabited in a common- law relationship throughout the total 6 year period we were together and have no children in common . So does that mean that condition no longer applies to my situation ?

 

[Leon]

The two year condition does not apply to you if you sent your application in before the new rules took effect. If the two year condition applied to you, it would also say so on your COPR.

The 36 months undertaking is how long your spouse is financially responsible for you. If you apply for social assistance during these 36 months after you land, he will be asked to pay it back.

In my opinion, you should go ahead and land.

If you are legally separated and have filled out some documents to that effect, you should inform immigration about your change in marital status from married to separated in which case they may possibly cancel your PR visa.

If you are not legally separated, only living apart at the moment, there is no official change in marital status and no need to inform immigration of anything.

 

[Ponga]

I told you someone with real knowledge would answer your questions, and as you can see from Leon's profile...this member knows more than most!

Good luck!

 

[Step]

You have your answer, Thanks Leon.
Good luck, AAA570

 

[scylla]

The only potential issue is if the spouse has written / called CIC and canceled the application since this would invalidate the visa.

Otherwise I agree with Leon.

 

[Rob_TO]

The only potential issue is if the spouse has written / called CIC and canceled the application since this would invalidate the visa.

Otherwise I agree with Leon.

Yes, and also if OP lands but the sponsor doesn't want to be on the hook for the 3 years undertaking commitment, then they could always claim that the relationship had broken down before landing, so there was misrepresentation in landing as married. Not saying it would result in a revoked PR, but there could be an investigation.

 

[Leon]

Would the sponsor even know that she landed? He believes that he or his relatives have the COPR and does not know that she contacted immigration and got it re-issued. He could check eCAS but it's not updated instantly and besides, why would he check.

If he has cancelled her visa, that's tough luck but it's worth a try. I am inclined to think that he may not have cancelled the visa because he/relatives have her COPR.

If the question of misrepresentation ever comes up, as long as they were not legally separated with signed documents, he can say that the marriage had broken down and she can say they were only having temporary difficulties and that she was certain that they would get back together at the time she landed although in the end she turned out to be wrong. There's no way to prove that one of them is lying.

In any case, if they are now living apart and he believes he has the only copy of COPR and that she can not land without it. Odds are he will not even know that she landed unless she tells him. I don't actually think that she should.

The other issue I see is that the COPR might be close to expiry. If it was issued in April 2013 and there was no re-medical and they are usually valid for 12 months from the date of the medical, well, they might be very close to expiring.

AAA570, just go ahead and land. You have nothing to lose by trying.

 

[Rob_TO]

If the question of misrepresentation ever comes up, as long as they were not legally separated with signed documents, he can say that the marriage had broken down and she can say they were only having temporary difficulties and that she was certain that they would get back together at the time she landed although in the end she turned out to be wrong. There's no way to prove that one of them is lying.

I'm not sure about that. OP stated above:

ongoing issues in the marriage that has led towards the decision of a separation with my spouse which after a year will result in divorce.

If any of this was in writing or even via email, then the sponsor would have a strong case that the separation was confirmed before landing and divorce proceedings were already underway.

Also while technically the OP may be able to get their PR, I think there is a moral issue in there somewhere that one shouldn't become a PR under the family class when they know very well there is no more relationship.

You're right though that unless the sponsor follows up, they may never know the OP got PR status. As long as OP doesn't go on social assistance for the first 3 years, sponsor may never find out or bother to report anything.

 

[keesio]

I can't imagine that the sponsor would never bother to check the whereabouts of his SPOUSE. The sponsor will eventually find out.

My question to AAA570 is this: do you really want to continue with the application when you say that there will be a divorce in a year?

 

[screech339]

I agree with the posted messages everyone has been posting. If this was an inland application, she would have been in serious trouble as the sponsor is suppose to show up at landing appointment. If the sponsor doesn't show up, she cannot land as PR.

With this case of being outland, if OP has her COPR, she could in fact land in Canada without husband's knowledge as he is not required to be at airport for landing.

There has been quite a few cases whereby the applicant has landed without the sponsor's knowledge. One case, the applicant landed before the sponsor knew he was in Canada already. Mind you this was one of the main cases/examples that brought on the new 2 year conditional clause.

Screech339

 

[Leon]

Morally, his inlaws also shouldn't have been sitting on her COPR since April last year or she would have landed already.

However, if she wants to be morally in the right and avoid potential misrepresentation issues in the future, she will take the COPR to the border and try to land while fully admitting to the immigration officer that she and her husband are having marital issues and are separated. She can however not say for certain that they will get divorced in a year because she is not a fortune teller and separation doesn't always lead to divorce. Sometimes couples get back together, however unlikely that may seem to her now, she does not know the future.

The immigration officer may stop her from landing or they may feel that as the visa was already issued, that she should be allowed to land.

Even in marriage fraud cases, there have been cases where the sponsor had cancelled the visa at the last moment and the sponsored was stopped from landing but there have also been cases where the sponsor tried to cancel the visa before landing and was told that once the visa is issued, it can't be cancelled.

The ex may well check the whereabouts of his spouse and that she is still in Canada. He believes that she didn't get PR on this COPR but he wouldn't know if she has managed to get or extended some temporary visa she was on or managed to apply for PR herself under some other immigration class.