Humanitarian Sponsorship

[yamayama]

Hi everyone,

Just had a quick inquiry, my friend is a Canadian Citizen and she is going out with a non canadian citizen. He is on a visiting visa here for 1 year and she got pregnant with his child. The baby is now 10 months old and she has submitted a humanitarian sponsorship for him. She wants to sponsor him as her child's father and apparently he is going back home in September 2015, does anyone know how long this whole process can take? They are presently residing together and do not have plans to get married. Will not getting married and sponsoring him through the child only affect his application process? Is this case strong enough to be approved?

Thanks alot for any information.

 

[tink23]

Hi everyone,

Just had a quick inquiry, my friend is a Canadian Citizen and she is going out with a non canadian citizen. He is on a visiting visa here for 1 year and she got pregnant with his child. The baby is now 10 months old and she has submitted a humanitarian sponsorship for him. She wants to sponsor him as her child's father and apparently he is going back home in September 2015, does anyone know how long this whole process can take? They are presently residing together and do not have plans to get married. Will not getting married and sponsoring him through the child only affect his application process? Is this case strong enough to be approved?

Thanks alot for any information.

If they have lived together consecutively for at least 12 months, then they are common law, which is a perfectly ok status to sponsor him as her spouse. It won't have to be on humanitarian grounds.

How lo have they lived together so far?

 

[dominokitty]

If they're not married, she can not sponsor him as a spouse. However, if they have lived together for a year or more they can apply as common-law. They can apply inland if he is currently living in Canada, which will grant him implied status so he doesn't have to leave Canada while the application is processed. However, he is not allowed to work until he receives an open work permit and in order to be eligible for the open work permit he must have legal status in Canada.

So if he has maintained legal status in Canada during this time by extending his visitor visa and has not been working or residing here illegally, they should have no problems but have to go the common law route. They wouldn't be eligible for the conjugal partner application because they have been able to live together during this time.

You should let her know that even if they aren't married, the sponsorship responsibilities are the same. She is required by law to financially provide for him for 3 years after the PR app is accepted and they must live together in a real relationship. If he collects social assistance during this time (welfare etc) she will be required by law to pay the government back for all of it, whether they are in a relationship or not. Sponsorship is not something to be taken lightly and if she intends to make this commitment to him they are probably better off just getting married and going the spousal sponsorship route anyway. Most people only go the common law route if they don't have the option of getting married (for example, they are married to someone else and unable to get a divorce for whatever reason).

 

[scylla]

Based on the information you have provided, there are no grounds for a Humanitarian application and she should expect the application to be refused. As others have said, they need to either get married or live together for a year and then she can sponsor him as her partner/spouse through the Federal Family Class program.

 

[yamayama]

Thanks so much for quick replies, ok guys they have been living together for the past 11 months and they already send their application package and applied for sponsorship on September 2014 and in one month it will be a full 12 months, so my question is that are they already working on the file or they will start their application after full one year and also how long is the process gonna take.

Thanks so much.

 

[tink23]

Thanks so much for quick replies, ok guys they have been living together for the past 11 months and they already send their application package and applied for sponsorship on September 2014 and in one month it will be a full 12 months, so my question is that are they already working on the file or they will start their application after full one year and also how long is the process gonna take.

Thanks so much.

I think the date is locked in from when they sent it, so they were not common law at that point. Not sure how it is going to work for them, but they may have to send another application in.

Has your friend been approved as sponsor? Other more knowledgeable senior members may have better and more accurate info for you.

 

[rhcohen2014]

They can apply inland if he is currently living in Canada, which will grant him implied status so he doesn't have to leave Canada while the application is processed.

applying inland alone does NOT give someone implied status. the only way an inland applicant can get implied status is if they attached an application for an OWP with their PR application. Is it the OWP application that gives implied status until a decision is made on the OWP. If an OWP is not submitted with the application, an inland applicant needs to continue to extend their status as a visitor until they get a decision made on their pr application. not doing so will result in lost of status and bigger issues for the inland applicant.

 

[Rob_TO]

Thanks so much for quick replies, ok guys they have been living together for the past 11 months and they already send their application package and applied for sponsorship on September 2014 and in one month it will be a full 12 months, so my question is that are they already working on the file or they will start their application after full one year and also how long is the process gonna take.

Thanks so much.

I would get them to cancel the H&C app, and submit a brand new application when they become common-law.

The H&C app will most likely be rejected, but it may take quite a long time just to get that rejection. And since they weren't common-law at the time the app was submitted, CIC may not reconsider the H&C app as a common-law app even if they become common-law during the processing time. So you may end up wasting all this time waiting on the H&C app to eventually be rejected (if they applied inland it may take 16 months) while you could have started the process on a common-law app.

IMO it's better to take the sure thing, and apply as officially common-law which should lead to an easy PR approval.

Note also, that since they are living together and have a child in common they are already common-law for CRA tax purposes. In this case there is no need for 12 months cohabitation (this rule ONLY applies to CRA, not CIC). So make absolutely sure CRA taxes for 2014 are filed as common-law, and not single.

 

[dominokitty]

applying inland alone does NOT give someone implied status. the only way an inland applicant can get implied status is if they attached an application for an OWP with their PR application. Is it the OWP application that gives implied status until a decision is made on the OWP. If an OWP is not submitted with the application, an inland applicant needs to continue to extend their status as a visitor until they get a decision made on their pr application. not doing so will result in lost of status and bigger issues for the inland applicant.

Oops! Yes, you're right. I was operating under the assumption that they would send in the OWP application at the same time as it just seems like common sense - why stay in Canada while waiting for PR without working if you have the option to get a working permit anyway? The more money coming in the better

 

[rhcohen2014]

why stay in Canada while waiting for PR without working if you have the option to get a working permit anyway?

you're kidding right? because for most people, it's better to be approved in 6-8 months (or less for some visa offices) as a PR than waiting 18+ months just for the ability to work legally. for most people, it's a no brainer to apply outland. there is no rule against someone staying in canada as a worker, visitor or student while waiting for an outland application to process. some people apply inland and don't know about applying for an OWP, and end up having to wait until they get aip, which again is 18 months. as for the new pilot program, it's still way too early to know whether CIC will actually issue work permits in 4 months as stated in the announcement.

 

[dominokitty]

you're kidding right? because for most people, it's better to be approved in 6-8 months (or less for some visa offices) as a PR than waiting 18+ months just for the ability to work legally. for most people, it's a no brainer to apply outland. there is no rule against someone staying in canada as a worker, visitor or student while waiting for an outland application to process. some people apply inland and don't know about applying for an OWP, and end up having to wait until they get aip, which again is 18 months. as for the new pilot program, it's still way too early to know whether CIC will actually issue work permits in 4 months as stated in the announcement.

Yes, true, but with the new pilot program for inland apps they are saying 4 months for an OWP, at the very least the OWP will come before AIP. I hadn't thought about those who apply outland and stay within Canada, granted, but those people are in clear violation of immigration law if they have moved to Canada to live without PR approval.

A visitor/work/study permit is just that - only for working, studying, or visiting. I would argue that someone who continues to extend their visitor visa while living in Canada is lying to immigration officials about the reason for their stay in Canada. If you've moved here and plan on staying indefinitely, you are no longer a visitor. Study/work permits are a different case because permission is granted for the person to legally reside in Canada for the duration of their visa, and if they extend their study time or work permit I see no issue with that person continuing to live in Canada, because it is written right on their visa that that is the purpose of their stay.

 

[rhcohen2014]

Yes, true, but with the new pilot program for inland apps they are saying 4 months for an OWP, at the very least the OWP will come before AIP. I hadn't thought about those who apply outland and stay within Canada, granted, but those people are in clear violation of immigration law if they have moved to Canada to live without PR approval.

A visitor/work/study permit is just that - only for working, studying, or visiting. I would argue that someone who continues to extend their visitor visa while living in Canada is lying to immigration officials about the reason for their stay in Canada. If you've moved here and plan on staying indefinitely, you are no longer a visitor. Study/work permits are a different case because permission is granted for the person to legally reside in Canada for the duration of their visa, and if they extend their study time or work permit I see no issue with that person continuing to live in Canada, because it is written right on their visa that that is the purpose of their stay.

um, no this is simply NOT true at all. First, not everyone needs a visa to enter canada, and those who are visa exempt can stay for 6 months with out any problem. CBSA has no issue letting people in, and trust me, i'm sure people are NOT lying in order to get in for 6 mo. In fact, for those who are visa exempt, when CBSA sees there is a PR application in process, they are friendlier, and have NO problem at all letting people in for that long. people are allowed to visit Canada for large amounts of time AND apply to extend their stay. there is absolutely NOTHING illegal about applying to extend your stay as a visitor for 6, 12 or 18 months. The fact that people HAVE to apply for permission to do this, specifically write in the extension application they are waiting for PR approval AND ARE APPROVED BY CIC to extend their stay for large amounts of time means that CIC is quite alright with this. NOT applying to extend your stay and letting your status expire is Illegal, and THAT'S where the issue comes in. Visitors KNOW they are not "moving" to canada nor do they "live" in canada. they maintain status in their own home country, even some working remotely for non-canadian companies and still paying rent in their home country!!!!! you are certainly misguided in your beliefs!!!!!!

do you honestly think every single person who wants to be in canada with their spouse should be applying inland then? because, CIC certainly doesn't, and they even SUGGEST to apply outland in the inland application. Like I said, no one knows how quickly these new OWP are going to be approved. has ANYONE gotten an OWP in 4 months yet? no, why? because the pilot program started on Dec 22, and it's going to be AT LEAST mid-march until the first batch of applicants may possibly get approved work permits. there is no reason to promote this new program until we actually seeing it work in the real world!

to say that all outland applicants who are staying in canada and extending their stay are LYING and decieving immigration is purely ignorant and NOT based on fact. try telling this to the thousands of applicants who are currently doing this, and who have successfully AND LEGALLY done this while waiting for the PR application to process. Do you really think EVERY SINGLE PERSON who applied to extend their stay as a visitor and got approved LIED in their application? PLEASE!!!!! if it was Illegal, then why does CIC accept applicaitons for status extensions AND approve people for 12+ months extensions so they can wait out their pr application? unless you understand the process, please refrain from sharing opinion that is based on nothing but your own "feelings". it does absolutely NOTHING to help people needing accurate advice!

 

[dominokitty]

Oh definitely, they are allowed to stay in Canada for as long as they have valid status, I don't disagree with that. It's more that you can not formally move to Canada until your PR is approved, so moving belongings over, applying for a visitor visa without the intention of leaving if the visa expires, etc...

I've been watching this show recently, Border Services: Canada's Frontline (it's a reality show where they follow CBSA agents around on the job - it's quite interesting I highly recommend it!), and the episode I watched last night had a woman from the US who was awaiting approval for her outland spousal PR application. She was bringing their belongings up from the states across the land border with her son. Because she hadn't received approval yet and was bringing her belongings over, they gave her a hard time. She also lied to the border agents and didn't say that she was planning on waiting out their PR application within Canada. They searched her laptop and cell phone and found more proof that she had the intention to move to Canada before her PR approval came which didn't help her case. They took down her information and let her in to Canada with a temporary visitor permit under the understanding that if she did not leave by a specific date they would come to her house and physically remove her from Canada. They told her she was not eligible for an extension on her visitor status and put a note on her file because she made it clear that she was not coming to Canada with the intention of just visiting.

 

[rhcohen2014]

Oh definitely, they are allowed to stay in Canada for as long as they have valid status, I don't disagree with that. It's more that you can not formally move to Canada until your PR is approved, so moving belongings over, applying for a visitor visa without the intention of leaving if the visa expires, etc...

I've been watching this show recently, Border Services: Canada's Frontline (it's a reality show where they follow CBSA agents around on the job - it's quite interesting I highly recommend it!), and the episode I watched last night had a woman from the US who was awaiting approval for her outland spousal PR application. She was bringing their belongings up from the states across the land border with her son. Because she hadn't received approval yet and was bringing her belongings over, they gave her a hard time. She also lied to the border agents and didn't say that she was planning on waiting out their PR application within Canada. They searched her laptop and cell phone and found more proof that she had the intention to move to Canada before her PR approval came which didn't help her case. They took down her information and let her in to Canada with a temporary visitor permit under the understanding that if she did not leave by a specific date they would come to her house and physically remove her from Canada. They told her she was not eligible for an extension on her visitor status and put a note on her file because she made it clear that she was not coming to Canada with the intention of just visiting.

yes, border security is a great resource to understand the rules. i'm not sure they actually told her she was not eligble for an extension (i've seen this episode many times and never heard that). i don't think they can even tell her that since technically CBSA is NOT the agency who approves extensions - the application is sent and approved by CIC. she could certainly apply for one, and PR applicants are rarely denied. even if there is a note in her file, or she has been issued a "visitor's record" that tracks her stay, it doesn't mean her extension would be denied - CIC has a different threshold than CBSA does. again, there's no knowing how that story played out.

situations such as that is precisely WHY PR applicants must be careful about the language they use when talking to CBSA and should never travel with all of their belongings when entering. many people know this and we on this forum educate those who don't realize this. we are always advising people to NOT travel like that, as they are not eligible to "move" or "live" in canada until PR is established. Knowing this information about the proper way to enter as a visitordoesn't mean applicants are purposely trying to be sneaky or deceive CBSA. It just means, they are following the rules and doing what they need to do to be with their spouse until approval!

 

[Rob_TO]

I would argue that someone who continues to extend their visitor visa while living in Canada is lying to immigration officials about the reason for their stay in Canada.

That would be wrong. Applicants get visitor status extensions all the time by simply saying they have a PR app in progress, and would like to wait out the process in Canada. Its perfectly acceptable by both CIC and CBSA.

That person was given trouble by CBSA because they lied about an important material fact, that they had a PR app in progress. Had they simply explained the situation and even shown proof of the PR application, they would have been admitted with zero problems.

Also of course bringing all your belongings is a big no-no. CIC and CBSA give lots of leeway to "visit" Canada for many years if needed, but they do need to draw the line somewhere to distinguish visiting vs moving.