Hello!
Quick question! Here is the situation. A family of three (mom, dad and child) come to Canada after living together in another country for their entire life (except Mom, she lived in Canada as a PR for two years in the 90s). The family decides to move to Canada. Father and Son come to Canada on a work visa. Mom reactivates her PR status (allowed as she was removed from Canada as a child). The plan is that Mom would eventually sponsor her partner and her son. Relationship breaks down. Mom then attempts to apply for PR status for the child, sponsoring him as a "dependent child only". She was unaware that she needed the Father's permissions. She is prompted by immigration to have him sing the IMM 5604 form which clearly states that he may lose access to his child completely if he signs. He plans to apply for PR on his own but he cannot sign this form until he has his own PR status or he could lose his child forever. They all live in the same Canadian city with mom being the only one with permanent status (dads is currently doing his PR application).
My question is whether or not she can force him to sign this form. He has joint legal custody and is in court trying to get 50/50 physical custody. She has been difficult to say the least and doesn't believe that fathers should have equal say or time. He has had a consultation with a immigration lawyer who said under no circumstances can he sign the form until he has his own status or he risks losing his son forever. He has a family lawyer dealing with the custody issue. However, his family lawyer is saying that he MUST sign and that he knew the risks when he came here. He also stated that if he doesn't they can take him to court forcing him to sign and he will then have to pay the legal expenses on top of that.
Regardless what is true or not, he cannot sign the form. He is very close with his son and obviously no father would take that risk regardless of the financial consequences. He will obviously gladly sign the form once he has his own status secured.
Quick question! Here is the situation. A family of three (mom, dad and child) come to Canada after living together in another country for their entire life (except Mom, she lived in Canada as a PR for two years in the 90s). The family decides to move to Canada. Father and Son come to Canada on a work visa. Mom reactivates her PR status (allowed as she was removed from Canada as a child). The plan is that Mom would eventually sponsor her partner and her son. Relationship breaks down. Mom then attempts to apply for PR status for the child, sponsoring him as a "dependent child only". She was unaware that she needed the Father's permissions. She is prompted by immigration to have him sing the IMM 5604 form which clearly states that he may lose access to his child completely if he signs. He plans to apply for PR on his own but he cannot sign this form until he has his own PR status or he could lose his child forever. They all live in the same Canadian city with mom being the only one with permanent status (dads is currently doing his PR application).
My question is whether or not she can force him to sign this form. He has joint legal custody and is in court trying to get 50/50 physical custody. She has been difficult to say the least and doesn't believe that fathers should have equal say or time. He has had a consultation with a immigration lawyer who said under no circumstances can he sign the form until he has his own status or he risks losing his son forever. He has a family lawyer dealing with the custody issue. However, his family lawyer is saying that he MUST sign and that he knew the risks when he came here. He also stated that if he doesn't they can take him to court forcing him to sign and he will then have to pay the legal expenses on top of that.
Regardless what is true or not, he cannot sign the form. He is very close with his son and obviously no father would take that risk regardless of the financial consequences. He will obviously gladly sign the form once he has his own status secured.
