Sponsoring Common Law Boyfriend, Dependent Question

[mandajoc]

Hi all,

I'm sponsoring my boyfriend (PA, common law, Irish) to Canada (Canadian). We're both living in Ireland and moving to Canada in April then we will be applying in Canada as inland.

He has two kids (ages 16 and 19) living in Northern Ireland with their mum. Neither of them will be coming with us nor will he sponsor them in the future.

Do we still need to declare them as non-accompanying dependents or can we forgo that and exclude them? Is there another form that we would need to fill out to forfeit the right to sponsor them in the future? From what I've read, we would need to include them but then refuse the medicals with a letter explaining we will never sponsor them.

Thanks!

 

[mandajoc]

He is willing to get an affidavit stating he will never sponsor them into Canada

 

[scylla]

Hi all,

I'm sponsoring my boyfriend (PA, common law, Irish) to Canada (Canadian). We're both living in Ireland and moving to Canada in April then we will be applying in Canada as inland.

He has two kids (ages 16 and 19) living in Northern Ireland with their mum. Neither of them will be coming with us nor will he sponsor them in the future.

Do we still need to declare them as non-accompanying dependents or can we forgo that and exclude them? Is there another form that we would need to fill out to forfeit the right to sponsor them in the future? From what I've read, we would need to include them but then refuse the medicals with a letter explaining we will never sponsor them.

Thanks!

He needs to declare them as non accompanying dependents. There is no form to fill out to forfeit the right to sponsor the children in the future. If it is impossible to complete the medical then he would generally want to show evidence of this such as proof the spouse has sole legal custody and has refused requests to complete the medical for the children. Generally he would then want to provide a signed statement indicating he can never sponsor the children in the future. It is in the best interests of the children to get the medicals completed. He should try to convince his former spouse to do this.

 

[mandajoc]

Thanks for this.
He does not want to sponsor them so it’s a final decision he’s made. In this case, I would presume once we get the medical request for them we can refuse and he can get a legalised letter stating he will never sponsor them? It’s also not something he can bring up with his ex wife, as it would cause too much turmoil.

 

[scylla]

Thanks for this.
He does not want to sponsor them so it’s a final decision he’s made. In this case, I would presume once we get the medical request for them we can refuse and he can get a legalised letter stating he will never sponsor them? It’s also not something he can bring up with his ex wife, as it would cause too much turmoil.

You can do that. Be aware that IRCC is hesitant to exclude dependents. In addition to the letter, he really should provide other evidence such as proof his former spouse has legal sole custody of the children. Ideally he really should contact her to ask if she is willing to have the children complete the medicals. But if he's not willing to do that, you'll have to go without that evidence.

Expect processing for his application to likely take longer.

 

[mandajoc]

You can do that. Be aware that IRCC is hesitant to exclude dependents. In addition to the letter, he really should provide other evidence such as proof his former spouse has legal sole custody of the children. Ideally he really should contact her to ask if she is willing to have the children complete the medicals. But if he's not willing to do that, you'll have to go without that evidence.

Expect processing for his application to likely take longer.

That makes sense. The request will not be made but he should have documents about custody etc. Thank you!

 

[armoured]

'm sponsoring my boyfriend (PA, common law, Irish) to Canada (Canadian). We're both living in Ireland and moving to Canada in April then we will be applying in Canada as inland.

You may be aware but you cannot sponsor him as your 'boyfriend.' The only categories that apply are married or common-law (must have resided together for 12 months continuous - and well documented).

He does not want to sponsor them so it’s a final decision he’s made. In this case, I would presume once we get the medical request for them we can refuse and he can get a legalised letter stating he will never sponsor them? It’s also not something he can bring up with his ex wife, as it would cause too much turmoil.

It is of course ultimately his choice but strongly recommend he take the bull by the horns and deal with it. Having the children do the medicals does not oblige him to sponsor the children now or in the future, but it does leave open the possibility until age 22.

The other side of this is that IRCC can and almost certainly will make the application and process of sponsoring more difficult. There's no single piece of paper that will pacify them: they will slow the process and request substantial evidence of some form that there is no contact with the children or the children themselves refuse to submit to medical or the ex-spouse refuses to provide access, etc. Or some combination thereof, and often multiples of these and/or signed and witnessed statements.

Will they eventually accept based solely on his statements? Maybe. But they don't have to do it quickly.

[For background, imagine the case where someone immigrates based on simple "don't want to sponsor them" statements. And then the other parent passes away - and IRCC is left having to deal with claims they are being cruel by not letting the children reunite with their last remaining parent, even though the renunciation of ability to sponsor was supposed to be final.]