I have a quick question about something...

[bscinto92]

Here in this article, which i know most of you have already seen but i'm just wondering if i'm reading it correctly...:

cic.gc.ca/english/department/media/releases/2012/2012-10-26.asp


Are they saying that you have to be in a legitimate 2 year relationship before you can even apply for spousal sponsorship/permanent residency? or am i just overthinking it and what it really means is that you have to live with your spouse in a relationship for 2 years after gaining permanent residency?

 

[kissa]

Effective October 25, 2012, sponsored spouses or partners must now live together in a legitimate relationship with their sponsor for two years from the day they receive permanent residence status in Canada.

If you are a spouse or partner being sponsored to come to Canada, this applies to you if:

You are being sponsored by a permanent resident or Canadian citizen
You have been in a relationship for two years or less with your sponsor
You have no children in common
Your application was received on or after October 25, 2012

 

[gsize]

Here in this article, which i know most of you have already seen but i'm just wondering if i'm reading it correctly...:

cic.gc.ca/english/department/media/releases/2012/2012-10-26.asp




Are they saying that you have to be in a legitimate 2 year relationship before you can even apply for spousal sponsorship/permanent residency? or am i just overthinking it and what it really means is that you have to live with your spouse in a relationship for 2 years after gaining permanent residency?

My understanding is that the PR is conditional for a 2 year period. It has nothing to do with before applying. Unless, I have missed something.....common law says 1 year together is required

 

[maplegal86]

Here in this article, which i know most of you have already seen but i'm just wondering if i'm reading it correctly...:

cic.gc.ca/english/department/media/releases/2012/2012-10-26.asp


Are they saying that you have to be in a legitimate 2 year relationship before you can even apply for spousal sponsorship/permanent residency? or am i just overthinking it and what it really means is that you have to live with your spouse in a relationship for 2 years after gaining permanent residency?

The second one.

If you are in a relationship for less than 2 years and have no children in common, then the law applies to you. The law in question is that you have to be in a relationship with the sponsored person for 2 years from the date that the sponsored person gets a PR. If you break the relationship within 2 years, they may revoke the PR of the sponsored person if they determine it to be a marriage of convenience. I think they may not do so if it's a case of domestic violence.

So if you are in a relationship for 1 year and no kids, law applies.

If you are in a relationship for 3 years, it does not.

If you have kids together, law does not apply.

 

[gsize]

the 2 year period is interesting. It looks good on paper but how will it ever be enforced -especially with cutbacks- Time will tell ! 8)

 

[bscinto92]

Thank you, sometimes the way they word things it sounds a little scary lol. I was nervous because my husband and I got married before we were officially together for 1 year. We had already known and been talking for a year at the time that we got married, but we weren't considered an "official couple" until July 2011. So really we got married after only 10 months of being an actual couple. I always worry that immigration is going to question that, since it's such a short time, but then again there's been so much stuff that has happened within those 10 months that have brought us so much closer together that it feels like a relationship of 10 years lol. I guess the worst case scenario would be a required interview, I'd have no problem showing them how much I love my husband in person but I just hope that since my application is in Los Angeles that I dont have to fly all the way out there for it. That's an expensive trip, especially if I wanted to have my husband come with me.

 

[Rob_TO]

the 2 year period is interesting. It looks good on paper but how will it ever be enforced -especially with cutbacks- Time will tell ! 8)

I imagine they will only be enforcing the cases that are specifically reported to them. In vast majority of cases when a relationship with PR ends, it's in the best interest of the sponsor to report the separation to CIC so they will no longer be on the hook for costs of the PR. Perhaps when the 2 years are up, in order to go from conditional to full status, the PR will need to check a box on an application saying they are still together with sponsor.

It will be a great law in that it should dramatically cut down on the number of cases where a foreigner dupes a Canadian into marrying them, and then takes off the second they land in Canada. The fraudster would now have to live with the sponsor for 2 years... over which time the sponsor can hopefully detect if their spouse is a fraud or not and report them. This is a common-sense rule that should have been in place years ago.