Sponsorship question...important

[ninee20]

Hi,

I am a French citizen.My future husband and I want to get married in June and apply for an inland application since I am here on holidays.

The problem is:

My fiance has a criminal record.He was convicted for an aggravated assault offence and was sentenced to 20 months jail time.He is currently out on parole.His offence was NOT TOWARDS A FAMILY member OR OF SEXUAL NATURE,which does not affect him for his sponsorship.But I would like to know if because of this criminal offence.the apllictaion May be suspended or if it would affect our apllication in any way?

Thank you..

Ninee

 

[jambaloni]

I want to know the same answer to the same question but, oddly, these types of questions are avoided by PMM unless it's just my cursory read of the posts and replies. It's a simple question. What's the case law on sponsors with serious criminal charges/convictions. I understand its not an automatic bar to sponorship but the valid question, here, is how have these cases been traditionally handled and what is the exact nature of a "suspended" application pending a final decision on this point.

Please, this is a critical issue for me and several others here. I am a rehabilitated, recovered alcoholic/drug addict with a serious criminal conviction (aggravated assault) and a few minor ones but I'm now a happy, healthy productive, tax-paying member of society and it's imperative that I understand how my past affects my ability to bring my wife over.

Please help.

 

[Leon]

I can't speak for PMM but I avoid these kind of questions because I have absolutely no idea what the answer is. How about one of you call CIC and ask.. or go to a new comer centre for a chat, they may have a free lawyer available.. or talk to a paid lawyer for advice? And then of course post your findings to help others.

 

[PMM]

Hi

I can't speak for PMM but I avoid these kind of questions because I have absolutely no idea what the answer is. How about one of you call CIC and ask.. or go to a new comer centre for a chat, they may have a free lawyer available.. or talk to a paid lawyer for advice? And then of course post your findings to help others.

Reasonably straight forward, here is what the manuals say:

"They are convicted of a sexual offence under the Criminal Code [against anyone]; or an offence [against the person] under the Criminal Code against a family member

Sponsors or co-signers convicted of either of these offences where five years have not passed since the completion of the sentence imposed, cannot sponsor unless:
• for convictions in Canada, they have been pardoned or finally acquitted;
• for convictions outside Canada, they have shown, at least five years after the expiry of the sentence, that they have been rehabilitated, or there has been a final acquittal.
For the purposes of calculating the five-year period above, a sentence includes probation, suspended sentences and intermittent sentences. However, conditional discharges and
absolute discharges should not be considered for the purposes of these provisions of IRPA."

Appendix E http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/resources/manuals/ip/ip02e.pdf outlines the offences that are considered.

If you haven't been convicted of an assault crime against a "family member" (inlaws don't count)/sexual offence or 5 years have passed since the end of the sentence, then you are eligible to sponsor/

The question has never come up before that I know of.

PMM

 

[jambaloni]

PMM, thank you for your reply. I hadn't seen that manual. I have tried and can't see how you navigated to that page from the website! I only found the guide. In any case, that section in the guide appears to limit the bar to those with *censored word*ual offences and those against a family member. The guide itself doesn't specify this, it only says that the application may be suspended if you answer YES to that question until a final decision is made. It simply says that you may not be eligible to sponsor if you have been charged with a violent criminal offence. But the sections that you pointed out are more clear about it. Although, I'm still quit sure that this will result in some kind of a delay while they investigate it and likely ask for more information, etc.

In any case, anything i find out for certain from an attorney or expert, I will post for those who need the information like myself. This is a very useful and valuable forum.

Thanks again for the replies.