I know everyone is laughing at this post but it "may" be genuine. In some countries it is legal to have 4 wives. My understanding of how CIC will treat it is that they will only deem the first marriage to be legal for the purposes of immigration to Canada. Under Canadian law, you can only have one spouse at a time. ALL of the children must be counted as his dependents but wives 2, 3 and 4 will not be counted nor can he gain any points for their education or family connections in Canada. OP Manual 2 says:
Polygamous marriages are legal in many countries, but they are not legal in Canada. Therefore,
they are excluded from the definition of marriage as per R117(9)(c)(i). and
For Canadian immigration purposes, R117(9)(c)(i) excludes from
recognition marriages that took place when the sponsor or spouse was
married to another person. Therefore, the first marriage is the only one that
can potentially be recognized. and
13.2. Polygamous marriages
Officers must counsel both parties that polygamy is an offence under the Criminal Code of
Canada.
R117(9)(c)(i) states that a spouse is not a member of the family class if the spouse or sponsor
was already married to another person at the time of the subsequent marriage. This regulation
prohibits a second (or third, etc.) wife from being recognized as a spouse within the family class
and provides that only the first marriage may potentially be recognized for immigration purposes.
In order for the first marriage to be recognized as legally valid under Canadian law, the couple
must live together in a monogamous marriage in Canada. Common law imparts that a
polygamous marriage can be converted into a monogamous marriage provided that the couple
live together in a monogamous relationship from the time of arrival in Canada. This conversion is
effected by the stated intention of the parties to so convert their marriage, followed by some
factual evidence that they have complied—usually by divorcing the other spouses and/or by a
remarriage in a form that is valid in Canada.
Note: The Department cannot require divorce(s) and remarriage. However, officers can ask for
evidence that the parties have converted their marriage to a monogamous one and can explain
what might constitute such evidence.
The decision to refuse must be based on the balance of all evidence, and not solely because the
applicant did not obtain a divorce. The parties must understand that refusal to provide such
evidence may result in a refusal of their application.
A polygamous second (or third, etc.) marriage cannot be converted to one of monogamy. If a
husband wishes to sponsor a wife other than his first as a spouse, he must divorce his other wives
and remarry the chosen wife in a form of marriage that is valid in Canada. He and his chosen
spouse must sign a declaration to that effect.
When a sponsor and applicant have been practising polygamy and there are children existing
from several spouses, officers must caution the sponsor and the spouse being sponsored that
other spouses will not be eligible for immigration to Canada even if their respective children are
sponsored. Officers must explain that separation of children from their mothers will likely be
permanent, and counsel the sponsor and applicant to consider the consequences of that
separation on the children. If the children nonetheless are sponsored, and if one of these children
subsequently sponsors their respective mother, this mother must be cautioned that she will have
no spousal status and related legal protection in Canada and that she will not be eligible for
support or other benefits that also flow from marriage under Canadian law.
The prohibition against polygamy in the Regulations, and the lack of recognition of all spouses
except the first, cannot be avoided by processing a second spouse as a common-law
partner. Legally, it is not possible to establish a common-law relationship that meets the definition
of such in terms of conjugality, where one or both parties are still living in a pre-existing conjugal
relationship. The notion of conjugality has within it the requirement of monogamy; therefore, it is
only possible in law to establish a new common-law relationship after a person is either divorced
or separated from the spouse or common-law partner and where they have convincingly formed
the intention not to continue with that previous relationship.
An already existing marriage, uninterrupted by separation, divorce or death, is a barrier that
cannot be overcome when assessing a second spouse as a common-law partner. However,
where such a barrier is removed (i.e., a first wife is subsequently divorced or is deceased), a
husband and second wife could choose either to remarry, or could potentially meet the definition
of common-law partner (i.e., where a husband was separated from a first wife and lived with a
second wife in a bona fide conjugal relationship for one year after the separation from a first
wife). Because a subsequent marriage (where the first is continuing) is not valid in Canadian law,
persons in such a scenario would be considered as single in law and thus, they would have to
remarry to be considered married under Canadian law.
This is how I understand CIC would process an application with these circumstances. PMM will correct me if I am wrong. I've been around this forum a long time and I'm actually surprised this question has not come up before.
