Long story short, I want to sponsor my ex-wife, but I now have a criminal record and she divorced me and was not allowed to stay in Canada. She now realizes her mistake and wants to come back.
History - She is Spanish citizen and our children were born in Spain but I have their Canadian citizenship certificates, they are in the system in Canada. We were together for almost 5 years when we decided to start fresh in Canada. I am a Canadian citizen, born in Canada. We got into a serious argument and I was charged with assault. She denounced the charges, as they can do in Spain, and we started a move to Canada. It was not to run, but I knew we could have a better life here, I could get a job, she would stay home and our roles would reverse.
We moved to Canada in 2017 and it was my family's first time in Canada. Because it was new to me, I pooched several things, including her health care and sponsorship. We were married in Spain, and the kids are citizens already, so it was just about taking care of her. I did not have a job and chose to wait to sponsor her when I got a job, which was supposed to be soon, I had several promising interviews just waiting on security clearance. Only we got into another argument and she taped it and charged me. She had been planning it for a while trying to provoke me to ensure she got custody of the children if she were forced to leave the country after a divorce. It worked out quite well for her in that sense, because that is what happened. She was forced to leave the country and her application for compassionate was denied. She had been in the country for 4 months before she charged me, thinking that I only brought the family to Canada so I could divorce her and keep the kids and deport her. Her mother and friends were feeding her this stuff. So needless to say, I should have not gone on social services to feed our family, I should have been jobless and sponsored her, which would have convinced her of my true intentions to live happy with her in Canada. For almost 2 years her lawyer and CFS were just putting her on a path of deportation. Nobody was helping her stay. I tried all I could but they would not even let me see the children. Lets just say that nothing went right for her or me. And the children suffer the most through all this.
Present - She lives in the USA now, married to someone so she can stay there and not have to go back to Spain. She and I keep in contact via Skype and she has expressed many times that she wants to reunite the family, wants to believe that all I have done since she left is good enough proof that that stuff wont happen again. She loves me still, and I love her. We did not want the divorce but the lawyers pushed things through and I had no control over anything since we were on social services, I still had no job. I could not sponsor her while on social services. At the end of the day, I should have learned then what I know now, how to better deal with conflict. Hindsight, 20/20, that sort of thing.
I need to find some way to keep her here once she arrives. We have already applied and were granted the ETA for her entry into Canada very recently and it is good for several years, so we are patiently waiting for things to happen, questions to be answered.
I need to find out if there is some way she can stay! I know that it is a long shot, if at all possible, that I can sponsor her personally. I now have a job and am supporting myself quite nicely now, even though the criminal record was a bit of a roadblock. I received one year probation for assault and threaten to destroy property. It was an assault, I poked her, but wonder if that it was such a minimal event that it could be possible that they might allow me to sponsor her? I am talking about severity. Does it matter? This was an argument that was verbally abusive and of course I am guilty of the charge no matter what or why. I get that, and I hope those that read get that I get it. My question is that if I have a criminal record with it involving a family member, is it a complete blanket NO on sponsorship? Is there a way to appeal?
We both really want to be together. I have been to many programs, I am so proactive on this, I want all involved to know that I take responsibility for my actions and my faults, and that people can change if they want to. Does immigration take these things into account?
An immigration consultant is working with me and is charging me over $6000 to do this case. He says it is difficult but not impossible. We will get her here in Canada and start the divorce. Then apply for the extensions, which we should easily get, until the divorce happens, then we marry and try the sponsorship route. He seems to think it is possible and at that point we would have to hire a lawyer on top of his already agreed upon fee. Otherwise if that is not possible then we shift over to compassionate, which he seems to think that it should be the easier route. The kids are citizens, 5 year old twins. We put them in school, I have a job and she is not a burden on the system. I would apply for blue cross or something until she gets some documentation and can go on our system. I would hope to check all the necessary boxes for her to be able to stay on compassionate grounds. Any insight on that? She is desperate for a job and would work in a heartbeat.
I need to know if there is any way to sponsor her, go to a tribunal and plead my case, or something. I need to know if she can stay on compassionate grounds. I need to know the odds, are the good or bad? I have people willing to fly down and pick her and the kids up immediately (have friends in Air Canada) at no cost to her and she already has the ETA.
She says that as soon as she leaves the US, her application for the green card will cease to exist and she wont be allowed back into the country if Canada refuses her entry. She has an ETA now, so what are the odds that will happen? I know that it true, and that is what is keeping her from being here now. She is not sure she can get compassionate. If she knew there was a good chance, she would risk coming now, but her current husband is not so hot on this idea, obviously, and has cut off her money. You know, the $5000 he was supposed to have in his/her account. He is quite frosty after finding out she wants to come back to me, and is making life hard for her and our children. She says she has no hope anymore. They tell her that she will never be allowed to stay, that I cannot sponsor her, etc.
Please, can someone answer some of those questions? I really just got this job and am getting established, building up money, and I need to know just how worth it it is to put money in a lawyer, the consultant, both the lawyer and consultant, or to give up because it is impossible. Point being that I dont have enough money at this point of my rebuild to fully fund a lawyer. I can finally do the normal $250 first visit charge, but if it only confirmation of bad news....
I am more than happy to call and receive calls to talk about this. I can probably turn this into a book, seriously.
History - She is Spanish citizen and our children were born in Spain but I have their Canadian citizenship certificates, they are in the system in Canada. We were together for almost 5 years when we decided to start fresh in Canada. I am a Canadian citizen, born in Canada. We got into a serious argument and I was charged with assault. She denounced the charges, as they can do in Spain, and we started a move to Canada. It was not to run, but I knew we could have a better life here, I could get a job, she would stay home and our roles would reverse.
We moved to Canada in 2017 and it was my family's first time in Canada. Because it was new to me, I pooched several things, including her health care and sponsorship. We were married in Spain, and the kids are citizens already, so it was just about taking care of her. I did not have a job and chose to wait to sponsor her when I got a job, which was supposed to be soon, I had several promising interviews just waiting on security clearance. Only we got into another argument and she taped it and charged me. She had been planning it for a while trying to provoke me to ensure she got custody of the children if she were forced to leave the country after a divorce. It worked out quite well for her in that sense, because that is what happened. She was forced to leave the country and her application for compassionate was denied. She had been in the country for 4 months before she charged me, thinking that I only brought the family to Canada so I could divorce her and keep the kids and deport her. Her mother and friends were feeding her this stuff. So needless to say, I should have not gone on social services to feed our family, I should have been jobless and sponsored her, which would have convinced her of my true intentions to live happy with her in Canada. For almost 2 years her lawyer and CFS were just putting her on a path of deportation. Nobody was helping her stay. I tried all I could but they would not even let me see the children. Lets just say that nothing went right for her or me. And the children suffer the most through all this.
Present - She lives in the USA now, married to someone so she can stay there and not have to go back to Spain. She and I keep in contact via Skype and she has expressed many times that she wants to reunite the family, wants to believe that all I have done since she left is good enough proof that that stuff wont happen again. She loves me still, and I love her. We did not want the divorce but the lawyers pushed things through and I had no control over anything since we were on social services, I still had no job. I could not sponsor her while on social services. At the end of the day, I should have learned then what I know now, how to better deal with conflict. Hindsight, 20/20, that sort of thing.
I need to find some way to keep her here once she arrives. We have already applied and were granted the ETA for her entry into Canada very recently and it is good for several years, so we are patiently waiting for things to happen, questions to be answered.
I need to find out if there is some way she can stay! I know that it is a long shot, if at all possible, that I can sponsor her personally. I now have a job and am supporting myself quite nicely now, even though the criminal record was a bit of a roadblock. I received one year probation for assault and threaten to destroy property. It was an assault, I poked her, but wonder if that it was such a minimal event that it could be possible that they might allow me to sponsor her? I am talking about severity. Does it matter? This was an argument that was verbally abusive and of course I am guilty of the charge no matter what or why. I get that, and I hope those that read get that I get it. My question is that if I have a criminal record with it involving a family member, is it a complete blanket NO on sponsorship? Is there a way to appeal?
We both really want to be together. I have been to many programs, I am so proactive on this, I want all involved to know that I take responsibility for my actions and my faults, and that people can change if they want to. Does immigration take these things into account?
An immigration consultant is working with me and is charging me over $6000 to do this case. He says it is difficult but not impossible. We will get her here in Canada and start the divorce. Then apply for the extensions, which we should easily get, until the divorce happens, then we marry and try the sponsorship route. He seems to think it is possible and at that point we would have to hire a lawyer on top of his already agreed upon fee. Otherwise if that is not possible then we shift over to compassionate, which he seems to think that it should be the easier route. The kids are citizens, 5 year old twins. We put them in school, I have a job and she is not a burden on the system. I would apply for blue cross or something until she gets some documentation and can go on our system. I would hope to check all the necessary boxes for her to be able to stay on compassionate grounds. Any insight on that? She is desperate for a job and would work in a heartbeat.
I need to know if there is any way to sponsor her, go to a tribunal and plead my case, or something. I need to know if she can stay on compassionate grounds. I need to know the odds, are the good or bad? I have people willing to fly down and pick her and the kids up immediately (have friends in Air Canada) at no cost to her and she already has the ETA.
She says that as soon as she leaves the US, her application for the green card will cease to exist and she wont be allowed back into the country if Canada refuses her entry. She has an ETA now, so what are the odds that will happen? I know that it true, and that is what is keeping her from being here now. She is not sure she can get compassionate. If she knew there was a good chance, she would risk coming now, but her current husband is not so hot on this idea, obviously, and has cut off her money. You know, the $5000 he was supposed to have in his/her account. He is quite frosty after finding out she wants to come back to me, and is making life hard for her and our children. She says she has no hope anymore. They tell her that she will never be allowed to stay, that I cannot sponsor her, etc.
Please, can someone answer some of those questions? I really just got this job and am getting established, building up money, and I need to know just how worth it it is to put money in a lawyer, the consultant, both the lawyer and consultant, or to give up because it is impossible. Point being that I dont have enough money at this point of my rebuild to fully fund a lawyer. I can finally do the normal $250 first visit charge, but if it only confirmation of bad news....
I am more than happy to call and receive calls to talk about this. I can probably turn this into a book, seriously.
Last edited:
