Legal Obligation of Sponsor

[canuck_in_uk]

Dear all,
I need your kind advise. I sponsored my parents and sibling (who has disability) after more than a decade of hard work and dedication. They are in Canada now and in my home. However, I am going through a lot of emotional, and mental abuse from them. They are extremely difficult people. Our home environment from my childhood was always abusive, yet, out of care of my parents, I sponsored them. For all that I've done, I am getting verbal and mental abuse and curses in return. I have my own family and my relationship with my husband is getting effected by this. We are providing for 3 people (accommodation, food, necessities). They have no money or assets neither in Canada nor back home. Yet, they are very ungrateful. I've also explained to them that as a sponsor I was required to sign an agreement that you will not seek govt help or welfare for 20 years. But they hide everything from me and at my back inquire about govt help and welfare. I am afraid they will secretly look for things which they are not suppose to under that agreement. They also want to get their citizenship as only a few months left in eligibility to apply for citizenship.

Now my question is, what is my legal obligation as a sponsor and that I've signed 20 years agreement. They threaten me that they will go to govt officials and say they don't have a place to live and they are helpless and are seeking govt help. With this emotional and mental abuse, should I continue to provide for them or do I have any legal recourse? If I discontinue providing for them, will there be any govt help and will I be obliged to the govt, given my true situation that I am facing stress, and abuse. I feel I will get health issues with every day problems. Is there a way to undo this agreement? I sponsored them with very good and sincere intention but I think that it was the worst decision of my life. Now, they live in my home as they are the owners and I am suffering. Please please help!

Also a note to everyone who wants to sponsor family members. Please think 100 times before you sponsor someone. Your good deeds can become your curse. I've learned my lesson very hard way!

I have never seen a situation where a sponsor was able to get out of the undertaking, even in cases of fraud marriages. Your legal obligation remains. If you don't want them in your home, find them their own place to live and move them there. As per the undertaking, you must continue to provide financial support to cover food, clothing, utilities, personal requirements, shelter, fuel, household supplies and other health care not provided by public health, such as eye and dental care.

If you thoroughly document that you are providing them with full support to cover expenses as required by the undertaking but they lie and fraudulently claim welfare, you will have a legal argument for the province to take action against them to recover the money instead of coming after you.

 

[canuck78]

Have you sat down with the and gone through your budget so they see what things cost in Canada. Perhaps showing them what they can expect to live like if they rely on welfare. Perhaps showing them what their quality of life may look like may change their mind.

 

[Ibaadat]

Yes unfortunately people don’t take into account that it could end up being multiple thousand per month. I also wish the government was more clear about potential expenses. There was a somewhat recent case where the husband of the sponsoring sibling was being pressured when he wanted the parent to return home when he found out he would be paying $1200/month for longterm care plus other expenses. The parent could receive full-time care in their home country for a fraction of the cost and better care. The family members who were not paying were objecting to the move. They had not realized the longterm care is not free and didn’t not have the extra money in their budget for such a large monthly expense.

It's a sad that since you have signed obligation of sponsoring your parents and your adult sibling (in his/her 30s), you will be on hook to pay for any social assistant that they applied for and get.

As stated above, welfare, housing assitant, longterm care bed if your parents or your brother now request it and got in the system.

Since they only landed recently, you still have many years to support them. (even if they do not apply for social assistant, it's not easy to provide for 3 adults)
You can try to seek help with immigration lawyer but I don't know if you can get out from it because they "mentally abuse" you.
If your husband cosign your application, he is responsible for half of the social assistant bill (even if your relationship doesn't work out at the end).

This shows there is a lot more than the LICO to consider before PRs/citizens apply to sponsor their parents. 20 years is a long time and a big commitment.

I

I have never seen a situation where a sponsor was able to get out of the undertaking, even in cases of fraud marriages. Your legal obligation remains. If you don't want them in your home, find them their own place to live and move them there. As per the undertaking, you must continue to provide financial support to cover food, clothing, utilities, personal requirements, shelter, fuel, household supplies and other health care not provided by public health, such as eye and dental care.

If you thoroughly document that you are providing them with full support to cover expenses as required by the undertaking but they lie and fraudulently claim welfare, you will have a legal argument for the province to take action against them to recover the money instead of coming after you.

I am providing all of this while they are in my home. How do I evidence all of that. They have shelter, food, and all necessities here.

 

[Ibaadat]

I was under the impression that if they apply for social assistance or housing, their application will not get approved. 1) In Ontario, there is years of wait, 2) Govt can see from their application and SIN that they were sponsored, hence, not eligible. If sponsor is providing all of it, how can the govt. expect the sponsor to monitor activities of adults to ensure they are not seeking govt help even if sponsor is fulfilling their duties.

On the other hand, everyone else tells my parents, oh there are great benefits in Canada, you should seek all govt help, including free money. So my parents go against me thinking I am depriving them. My life is in so much stress for what I thought was a good deed.

 

[canuck78]

I was under the impression that if they apply for social assistance or housing, their application will not get approved. 1) In Ontario, there is years of wait, 2) Govt can see from their application and SIN that they were sponsored, hence, not eligible. If sponsor is providing all of it, how can the govt. expect the sponsor to monitor activities of adults to ensure they are not seeking govt help even if sponsor is fulfilling their duties.

On the other hand, everyone else tells my parents, oh there are great benefits in Canada, you should seek all govt help, including free money. So my parents go against me thinking I am depriving them. My life is in so much stress for what I thought was a good deed.

Have you actually sat down and showed them what they would qualify for and explain if they take that money that you will not be able to have them in your home because you will have to downsize to afford to repay all the money they are applying for? They won’t qualify for things like CPP and OAS, GIS. Would show them the wait list for subsidized housing is 20 years and that the market rent would likely use almost all the money they receive.

 

[YVR123]

I was under the impression that if they apply for social assistance or housing, their application will not get approved. 1) In Ontario, there is years of wait, 2) Govt can see from their application and SIN that they were sponsored, hence, not eligible. If sponsor is providing all of it, how can the govt. expect the sponsor to monitor activities of adults to ensure they are not seeking govt help even if sponsor is fulfilling their duties.

On the other hand, everyone else tells my parents, oh there are great benefits in Canada, you should seek all govt help, including free money. So my parents go against me thinking I am depriving them. My life is in so much stress for what I thought was a good deed.

I think what canuck78 suggested is a good way to appoach this issue.
I don't think Ontario social service will check their SIN and not approve their application because they were sponsored.
But they do have free housing now, may be you can contact Ontario social service to let them know the real living condition so their housing won't be approved.
You only have so much money that you can provide them. So letting them know that government money will need to be repaid by you. And at the end that will affect how much you can afford to take care of them. This may help them to re-think about applying for "free money".

They need to know that nothing really is "free" here. Contacting their case worker may help. I think if they apply, their case will be assigned to a case worker, right? Finding a 3rd person who speaks their language and they can trust to explain the situation may help as well.

 

[canuck78]

I think what canuck78 suggested is a good way to appoach this issue.
I don't think Ontario social service will check their SIN and not approve their application because they were sponsored.
But they do have free housing now, may be you can contact Ontario social service to let them know the real living condition so their housing won't be approved.
You only have so much money that you can provide them. So letting them know that government money will need to be repaid by you. And at the end that will affect how much you can afford to take care of them. This may help them to re-think about applying for "free money".

They need to know that nothing really is "free" here. Contacting their case worker may help. I think if they apply, their case will be assigned to a case worker, right? Finding a 3rd person who speaks their language and they can trust to explain the situation may help as well.

Do you attend a religious organization or community group? Perhaps there is someone there who can mediate the issue and explain that they are actually entitled to very little and will likely struggle if they leave your household.

 

[canuck_in_uk]

I was under the impression that if they apply for social assistance or housing, their application will not get approved. 1) In Ontario, there is years of wait, 2) Govt can see from their application and SIN that they were sponsored, hence, not eligible. If sponsor is providing all of it, how can the govt. expect the sponsor to monitor activities of adults to ensure they are not seeking govt help even if sponsor is fulfilling their duties.

On the other hand, everyone else tells my parents, oh there are great benefits in Canada, you should seek all govt help, including free money. So my parents go against me thinking I am depriving them. My life is in so much stress for what I thought was a good deed.

Welfare certainly does not have a wait period of years. The government cannot see from their application or SIN that they were sponsored and even if they could, that does NOT make a person ineligible for welfare.

It isn't about monitoring them. As I said, you need to document YOUR support efforts yourself so that if they claim welfare, you can show it was done fraudulently.

 

[k.h.p.]

I was under the impression that if they apply for social assistance or housing, their application will not get approved. 1) In Ontario, there is years of wait, 2) Govt can see from their application and SIN that they were sponsored, hence, not eligible. If sponsor is providing all of it, how can the govt. expect the sponsor to monitor activities of adults to ensure they are not seeking govt help even if sponsor is fulfilling their duties.

On the other hand, everyone else tells my parents, oh there are great benefits in Canada, you should seek all govt help, including free money. So my parents go against me thinking I am depriving them. My life is in so much stress for what I thought was a good deed.

1. There is not "years of wait" for welfare. For subsidized housing, maybe. Welfare? Absolutely not.
2. SIN means sponsored means not eligible? No. Not true. Sponsored people are eligible for welfare. The sponsor must repay it.
3. How can government expect sponsor to monitor activities of adult? They don't. You have to prove to IRCC that you were willing, able, and provided the necessities; and that only happens after they send you the bill.

As explained elsewhere, sponsors have no right to approve or be notified of when a sponsored person seeks out government assistance. This is an explicit public policy choice to protect sponsored people from abuse at the hands of their sponsors.

While your case is abuse by the sponsored people, it doesn't mean you get a veto on whether or not they get government support. Government is more concerned that people are supported than verifying whether or not a sponsor met their obligations. Additionally, government support is nearly always provincial in nature, and IRCC is federal.

 

[canuck78]

I was under the impression that if they apply for social assistance or housing, their application will not get approved. 1) In Ontario, there is years of wait, 2) Govt can see from their application and SIN that they were sponsored, hence, not eligible. If sponsor is providing all of it, how can the govt. expect the sponsor to monitor activities of adults to ensure they are not seeking govt help even if sponsor is fulfilling their duties.

On the other hand, everyone else tells my parents, oh there are great benefits in Canada, you should seek all govt help, including free money. So my parents go against me thinking I am depriving them. My life is in so much stress for what I thought was a good deed.

The government expects people to have a conversation about their budget and finances when sponsoring their parents. Sponsored parents need to be aware of what benefits they are entitled to and the fact that you will need to repay if they receive welfare in the next 20 years. Expectations need to be clear from the beginning so that parents have a realistic expectations of what is affordable for the family and what they will be expected to help with in the household or financially.

 

[scylla]

I was under the impression that if they apply for social assistance or housing, their application will not get approved. 1) In Ontario, there is years of wait, 2) Govt can see from their application and SIN that they were sponsored, hence, not eligible. If sponsor is providing all of it, how can the govt. expect the sponsor to monitor activities of adults to ensure they are not seeking govt help even if sponsor is fulfilling their duties.

On the other hand, everyone else tells my parents, oh there are great benefits in Canada, you should seek all govt help, including free money. So my parents go against me thinking I am depriving them. My life is in so much stress for what I thought was a good deed.

There is a wait for assisted housing that is many years. There is no wait for social assistance payments - they can get these pretty immediately. They are in fact fully eligible for social assistance. The fact they were sponsored doesn't disqualify them from receiving social assistance. The only one under an obligation due to sponsorship is you. You are required to financially support them for 20 years - which extends to paying back any social assistance they take. This is the legal responsibility you accepted in exchange for being approved to sponsor them.