My sponsor (husband) cheated on me. They are engaged. I'm still on conditional

[lubojart]

TL;DR I'm on conditional PR. Husband cheated on me and got engaged. Now I'm afraid to get sent back to my country. Please help.

Hi, that's my first time posting here (I think... might be second. long time ago).

I got my conditional PR in April 2015. My husband, Canadian, sponsored me. We met while I was in Montreal studying French. We might have married a bit to soon, but the relationship was legit and we loved eachother dearly (or so I used to think).
As time passed I found out he was hiding things from me. There was always something new he was hiding, I don't think he ever got to the point of full on cheating, but I couldnt trust him anymore. Every time I confronted him, crying etc, he would just stare at me like it was nothing. Didn't even care about how I was feeling. Last time while we were together was September of last year, while my mom was visiting. I waited until she was gone back to our country before talking to him.
Also he had given me a dog for my birthday in 2015. I love her dearly, I have always been very attached to my pets and it wasnt any different with her. But she had that habit of opening the front door and going at the building's corridor and pooping/peeing around, etc. After that happened a couple times, the building decided she had to go. So I left with her. I wasnt about to abandon my dog, no way, no how.
So I talked to my husband, I'll go with her, then after you're done with the lease here you come with us.
We would talk a lot, he would visit sometimes, things like that. I was still hurt and he wasnt trying to make things better anyway, so I let things be.
Then he started getting more distant and said that work and friends have been keeping him busy.
In July or so I noticed a girl liked my photography page. I checked her picture and noticed he was on the pic with her. Of course. He got a girl and hid that from me too. As always.
Eventually he started emailing me, pen-pal style, shortly after I questioned him about her. And he said that didnt tell me earlier because wasnt sure it was serious or not. Bullshit.
In one of the emails he said that she would be likely to send me an angry message on FB (and she did, cuz he was shit talking me to her, of course). She got to the point of threatening me. I never did anything to any of them.
Afterwards she said she was sorry, etc. I started being friendly to her cuz theres no need for conflict right now, right?
Ex tells me that she really wants to get married, that she is jealous of me cuz we got married pretty early on the relationship (which I regret doing).
She said she wants to marry him and give him babies since she gave babies to her abusive ex so it's only fair (he thinks the same). Oh, she is 23 y.o., never married, had a 7 years long abusive relationship, two kids with that guy. My ex is 31 and he never cared about having kids, but he thinks that if you did something for an ex, you HAVE to do the same for your new relationship. Or "better". I dont have to say much, you can tell they arent very bright.
Also, she asked me for my version of the story a couple times but I never told him. Cuz I'm afraid that if I do, he will rat me out to CIC or something.
Anyway, me and my ex talked a few weeks ago and he said he isnt doing the same mistake again, that he is dating for one year or two before getting engaged this time.
But guess what happened! They just got engaged! After 2-3 months together. And with him still being married to me. Fun times! Fun times indeed!

So, I dont trust those ppl and I dont trust him. Im scared of what might happen. I'm scared of being kicked out of Canada. Im just afraid of losing what I built here, my friends, my business, my dog. I dont know what to do. My 2 years end on April 2016 but im afraid of him wanting the divorce before that. And even if he wants it after that, it would still mean that we havent been together for a year before that so im sent back anyway, right? It's a pretty sticky situation so I would appreciate whatever help you can.

 

[Rob_TO]

Unfortunately you were in violation of your Conditional residency the moment you moved to a new address so were no longer cohabiting. Whether he is dating or engaged to someone else or whether or not a divorce comes into the picture, is all irrelevant. The only thing that really matters is if you live together and are still in a relationship.

Sounds like your conditional status is over in April 2017, so basically 1 of 2 things will happen:
1. If your sponsor does nothing and doesn't report the breakup to CIC, odds are in April your conditional PR status will simply turn into full/regular status, and you will then be safe to stay in Canada as PR forever.

2. If your sponsor reports the breakup to CIC, they will investigate you for violating condition 51 (cohabiting with sponsor for 2 years). Since your relationship broke down naturally, it doesn't seem like there is any claim for abuse. So in this case, there's a good chance CIC would end up revoking your PR status. Of course every case is different so who knows what will actually happen here.

 

[lubojart]

Well, how fair is that? :/ I'm thinking about seeing a lawyer to see what's the best course of action

 

[scylla]

Well, how fair is that? :/ I'm thinking about seeing a lawyer to see what's the best course of action

This rule was put in place to prevent marriages of convenience (i.e. to prevent people from using Canadians to get PR status in Canada and then leave them). It's not about fair - these are the rules you agreed to when you were sponsored.

A lawyer can't change the rules around Condition 51. As Rob_TO explained, you're in violation of this condition since you are no longer living with your sponsor. If you want to keep your PR status, your best bet is to lay low and hope he doesn't report you to CIC.

 

[Rob_TO]

Well, how fair is that? :/ I'm thinking about seeing a lawyer to see what's the best course of action

Here is a complete description of the rules around conditional PR: http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/resources/manuals/bulletins/2012/ob480.asp

It may not be fair to those that were sponsored under perfectly valid reasons but then had their relationship naturally break down, but those are the rules in place.

 

[Leon]

Well, how fair is that? :/ I'm thinking about seeing a lawyer to see what's the best course of action

The conditional status doesn't take into account what is fair. It's a simple yes/no scenario. Did you live with your sponsor for 2 years after getting PR, yes or no? The answer would be no. The second question is did your husband neglect or abuse you, yes or no? It doesn't seem like it so the answer would be no. And that means that the marriage did not survive two years, regardless of whether he left you or you left him and that means you did not fulfill the condition of your PR.

Rob_TO says that if CIC doesn't get a tip about you not meeting the condition, they will likely lift the condition. This may be true but according to this bulletin: http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/resources/manuals/bulletins/2012/ob480.asp they may go on tips or on random assessments. Because condition 51 is relatively new, there are not that many cases yet with people who have been removed because of it and so far, people under this condition have not yet reached PR card expiry or applying for citizenship so we have really no idea what will happen at that point. So I am basically saying if you do stay in Canada and if nobody tips off immigration about you not meeting your condition, you might still not be off the hook. It could come back to haunt you later. Maybe you should speak with a lawyer about this.

I found 3 cases on CANLII that where the 2 year condition was not met due to relationship breakdown. In one of them, the sponsored wife moved out of the home and filed for divorce after some months of marital difficulties. She tried to claim neglect and abuse but she could not prove any and lost her PR. In two other cases, sponsored husbands were asked to leave by their spouses and they both claimed abuse from their wives One of them did not manage to prove abuse and lost his PR and the other did manage to prove abuse and was allowed to keep his PR.

In your case, it doesn't sound like your husband was abusing you. You left him because of your dog and expected him to move back in with you at your new place. The relationship broke down so he didn't and now isn't. Hence you did not live with your sponsor for two years and therefore don't meet your condition.

 

[lubojart]

I get that. I dont think condition 51 would actually stop people from faking relationships, tho, and at the same time, it hurts people who were in real relationships but separated from their husbands/wives because they proved to be untrustworthy or even because they were cheated on, on other cases, since condition 51 protects people in case of abuse but not cheating. It's a pretty bad deal imho, but yes, I took it because I wasnt gonna predict that my husband was going to do a move like that one.

In any case, I think I'm safe for now, but I'll still going to see a lawyer to talk about what's my next step. Maybe I'll drop my PR after the two years are up and find another way to come back (legally, of course). I have a company here in Canada, a partnership, but I don't think that can keep me here, can it?

 

[Rob_TO]

In any case, I think I'm safe for now, but I'll still going to see a lawyer to talk about what's my next step. Maybe I'll drop my PR after the two years are up and find another way to come back (legally, of course). I have a company here in Canada, a partnership, but I don't think that can keep me here, can it?

No I think you're misunderstanding the situation. If you and your sponsor simply do nothing, so most importantly your sponsor does NOT contact CIC to inform them about the breakup, then after the 2 conditional years are up your PR will automatically turn into full PR status. At this point, you are safe to keep your PR status forever.

Usually it's the sponsor that wants to report the breakup to CIC since they are the ones responsible financially for the PR for 3 years.

 

[Leon]

No I think you're misunderstanding the situation. If you and your sponsor simply do nothing, so most importantly your sponsor does NOT contact CIC to inform them about the breakup, then after the 2 conditional years are up your PR will automatically turn into full PR status. At this point, you are safe to keep your PR status forever.

Usually it's the sponsor that wants to report the breakup to CIC since they are the ones responsible financially for the PR for 3 years.

Do you have a link that it will automatically turn into full PR status after 2 years? They can not re-visit it later? This would be important info for people in this situation.

I remember a case on CANLII before condition 51 where a woman got PR via marriage of convenience and got away with it. Years later she had divorced and wanted to sponsor a new husband and CIC looked at her case, decided that her first was a MOC and revoked her PR and sent her packing. Therefore I was assuming that immigration might not actually check on these people until later at the point they want to renew PR or apply for citizenship.

The sponsor usually reports the breakup, at least if he or she is holding a grudge but in some cases the sponsored report it themselves. In the CANLII case I stated above where the husband was kicked out by an abusive wife, he reported to immigration himself that they had broken up. He still managed to prove the abuse and kept his PR.

 

[Rob_TO]

Do you have a link that it will automatically turn into full PR status after 2 years? They can not re-visit it later? This would be important info for people in this situation.

Of course it's automatic as there is no process a PR must go through at the 2-year mark. CIC mentions this here:
http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/resources/manuals/bulletins/2012/ob480.asp#sec02.5
The condition ends two years after the day on which the sponsored person becomes a permanent resident. GCMS will automatically remove the tracking of the condition once the conditional period ends, except for cases under investigation.


Yes I'm sure CIC could hypothetically go back later and retroactively revoke PR due to not meeting Condition 51 during the 2 years, but really why would they? As mentioned this would usually only happen if the sponsor reports the breakup at some point.

Also the majority of CIC man-hours in enforcing condition 51 is spent on cases where the sponsor has reported the breakup. Plus in addition to this the Liberal government has made it a mandate to eventually remove Condition 51 altogether. So it's my strong opinion that once a Conditional PR reaches the 2 year mark and sponsor has not nor intends to report them, they are pretty much safe.

I remember a case on CANLII before condition 51 where a woman got PR via marriage of convenience and got away with it. Years later she had divorced and wanted to sponsor a new husband and CIC looked at her case, decided that her first was a MOC and revoked her PR and sent her packing. Therefore I was assuming that immigration might not actually check on these people until later at the point they want to renew PR or apply for citizenship.

When applying for PR renewal or Citizenship, one just needs to list residence history and NOT residency history cohabiting with their sponsor. So really there would be no need for CIC to investigate this any further. While the small chance may always exist, for the reasons mentioned above and that the tracking of it has already been automatically removed, I don't think it's very likely.

Really though this all depends on if the sponsor intends to report the breakup now or at any time later.

 

[Leon]

Of course it's automatic as there is no process a PR must go through at the 2-year mark. CIC mentions this here:
http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/resources/manuals/bulletins/2012/ob480.asp#sec02.5
The condition ends two years after the day on which the sponsored person becomes a permanent resident. GCMS will automatically remove the tracking of the condition once the conditional period ends, except for cases under investigation.

This is important info for anybody who finds themselves in a similar situation.

 

[lubojart]

That's interesting. I guess the best thing to do would be sit tight, then. It wasnt a marriage out of convenience and my husband knows that, plus he has no interest in reporting me. Yes, he would technically be responsible for me, but I have a job and he isnt spending any money on me. We are still friends and I'm even friendly with his gf/fiancee.

 

[Leon]

That's interesting. I guess the best thing to do would be sit tight, then. It wasnt a marriage out of convenience and my husband knows that, plus he has no interest in reporting me. Yes, he would technically be responsible for me, but I have a job and he isnt spending any money on me. We are still friends and I'm even friendly with his gf/fiancee.

Yes, in that case, you should just sit tight. If nobody reports you within the 2 years, you are off the hook.

 

[lubojart]

Rob_TO, you said that the Liberal government has made it a mandate to eventually remove Condition 51. Do you have any source for that?

 

[scylla]

Rob_TO, you said that the Liberal government has made it a mandate to eventually remove Condition 51. Do you have any source for that?

Google it. You'll find lots of references. It was something mentioned during the election campaign. However we have no idea if and when this change will actually be implemented.