Likelihood of a Spousal Interview

[leahpearson92]

Hi there, my partner and I have just submitted our application for his permanent residency via common law. We have been together for nearly 3 years and living together for 1 year. He entered Canada on a student visa 7 years ago and has remained undocumented ever since (it is listed that being undocumented should not impact the PR decision). However, my partner also previously lived in the United States (undocumented), where he was incarcerated and deported. We provided FBI clearance that he was never criminally charged, however, we are curious if his time in the United States may impact the reviewer's judgment on our relationship and call for an interview. We are in a committed relationship and provided a mountain of documentation and are also working with an immigration lawyer. Neither of us has ever been married or have sponsored or been sponsored before. Please let me know your thoughts!

Many thanks!

 

[scylla]

Chances are on the higher side you will have an interview to confirm the validity of the relationship given your partner's immigration history. While being out of status doesn't prevent an application from being approved, it can cause IRCC to look more closely at an application to ensure the relationship is genuine and the applicant hasn't entered into a relationship of convenience to find a means of staying in Canada. The fact that he has a similar history of being undocumented in the US and was deported and incarcerated really doesn't help matters (I'm assuming he was incarcerated for being in the country without status rather than for another reason). So I would say be prepared for the processing of your application to take longer than posted processing time and be prepared for the possibility an interview will in fact be required. Doesn't mean that will happen - but definitely a much higher chance than the average application.

 

[canuck78]

Shocked that he got study permit after the US deportation. That is usually not the case. Unfortunately he didn't take advantage of the 2nd chance to redeem himself.