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{{JP Boyd on Family Law TOC|expanded = specific}}{{JPBOFL Editor Badge
{{JP Boyd on Family Law TOC|expanded = specific}}{{JPBOFL Editor Badge
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==Immigration issues==
Family law problems involving immigration law usually happen because a relationship breaks down after a spouse or common-law partner has been sponsored to come to Canada. Below is an overview of some overlapping legal issues that may result. If you are a newcomer to Canada with a family law concern, you should seek a lawyer (or an advocate or duty counsel) who is familiar with both family law and the rights and obligations around immigration and sponsorship. Several organizations specialize in supporting newcomers in this way. [https://www.clicklaw.bc.ca/helpmap/service/1013 MOSAIC] provides information, summary advice, referrals and legal representation to low-income immigrants and refugees. The Legal Services Society also publishes a useful booklet called ''[https://www.clicklaw.bc.ca/resource/1073 Sponsorship Breakdown]''.


Problems involving immigration usually crop up because one spouse has sponsored the other spouse into Canada, or a spouse is concerned about deportation once the relationship ends. The discussion that follows provides only an overview of some of these problems. If you have an immigration concern, you really should speak to a lawyer who practises this kind of law.
Let's look at some differences in concepts and language between ''family law'' and ''immigration law'' to start.  


===Permanent resident spouses===
===Use of the term "common-law" or "spouse"===
 
Generally speaking, the term "common-law spouse" or "common-law partner" is not useful when discussing rights and obligations under provincial legislation. The ''Family Law Act'' in BC does not use the term "common-law." The act defines ''spouse'' under section 3(1), and the definition broadly captures both married people and unmarried people who live in a "marriage-like" relationship—if that relationship has continued for at least ''two years''.
 
For federal laws, the term and even the criteria are quite different. The [http://canlii.ca/t/7xsp Immigration and Refugee Protection Regulations] defines "common-law partner":
<blockquote><tt>common-law partner means, in relation to a person, an individual who is cohabiting with the person in a conjugal relationship, having so cohabited for a period of at least one year.</tt></blockquote>
 
Notice the time difference? It's important to remember that qualifying as a common-law spouse under Canadian immigration law does not necessarily mean you qualify as an unmarried spouse for the purposes of ''Family Law Act''. If you have lived together for over one year but less than two, are not married, and your relationship ends, you may be a ''common-law spouse'' under federal law, but not a spouse of any kind under the provincial act.
 
===Best interests of the child===
 
Section 37(1) of the ''[[Family Law Act]]'' states that best interests of the child is the only consideration when making decisions about guardianship, parenting arrangements, and contact with the child.
 
Section 3(1)(d) of the ''[[http://canlii.ca/t/7vwq Immigration and Refugee Protection Act]]'' states that one of the objectives of the act is "to see that families are reunited in Canada." A very important case for immigration law, ''[http://canlii.ca/t/1fqlk Baker v. Canada (Minister of Citizenship and Immigration)]'', [1999] 2 SCR 817 says that "the decision-maker should consider children's best interests as an important factor, give them substantial weight, and be alert, alive and sensitive to them."
 
===Sponsor's obligations===
 
Immigration rules state that a sponsor must commit to providing for their spouse's (or common-law partner's) needs and the needs of any dependent children. This commitment is actually made to the government, and is called an ''undertaking''. The undertaking continues even if the relationship between a sponsor and their spouse or other dependent breaks down. If a sponsor and their spouse separate, and the sponsor will not or cannot support the spouse voluntarily, the spouse may apply for welfare or other government benefits to support themselves and any dependent children. If the government (whether provincial or federal) supports the spouse by paying benefits (such as welfare), the government will then turn to the sponsor and require them to pay back the cost of those benefits. Each undertaking lasts for a period of time called a ''length of undertaking'', during which time the sponsor is liable to support the spouse and repay the government for any support it provides the spouse. See [http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/helpcentre/answer.asp?qnum=1355 the CIC website] for a table showing the different lengths of undertaking, depending on who is sponsored.
 
''Family law'' and ''immigration law'' support obligations are different. Where an undertaking is an obligation between a sponsor and the government, a support obligation in family law is between the spouses as individuals. To get a sponsor to pay spousal or child support under family law, the immigrant spouse must claim it the same way any Canadian resident or citizen would — including applying to court if need be.


Under new rules that were introduced in October 2012, sponsored spouses are under a ''conditional'' permanent residency status for the first two years. According to the press <span class="noglossary">release</span> from [http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/index-can.asp Citizenship and Immigration Canada][http://news.gc.ca/web/article-en.do?nid=703499]:
One family law case from BC Supreme Court, ''[http://canlii.ca/t/1q1m5 Aujla v. Aujla]'', 2004 BCSC 1566, shows that a sponsor's obligations under a sponsorship agreement and undertaking, are separate from the sponsor's obligation to pay spousal support based on family law legislation. If you were sponsored, have dependents, and your relationship with the sponsor has now ended, talk to a lawyer to discuss your entitlement to spousal or child support, or consult some of the resources mentioned here.


<blockquote>"The spouse or partner must live in a legitimate relationship with their sponsor for two years from the day on which they receive their permanent resident status in Canada. The status of the sponsored spouse or partner may be revoked if they do not remain in the relationship."</blockquote>
A sponsor's obligations could extend to stepchildren. For stepparents, both family law and immigration law outline obligations to provide for sponsored dependents in some way.


In other words, the spouse who has been sponsored into Canada must stay with his or her spouse for at least two years or the spouse risks losing his or her permanent residency. This could be a serious problem if the potential loss of status forced people to stay in abusive relationships. However, the new rules appear to come with some exceptions. Here's more from the press <span class="noglossary">release</span>:
As discussed in the chapter on [[Child Support]], under the heading "Stepparents and child support", section 147(4) of the''[[Family Law Act]]'' imposes a duty on stepparents in some cases to pay child support.


<blockquote>"The regulations include an exception for sponsored spouses or partners suffering abuse or neglect. The conditional measure would cease to apply in instances where there is evidence of abuse or neglect by the sponsor or if the sponsor fails to protect the sponsored spouse or partner from abuse or neglect. This abuse or neglect could be perpetrated by the sponsor or a person related to the sponsor, whether or not the abusive party is living in the household or not during the conditional period. The exception would also apply in the event of the death of the sponsor."</blockquote>
If your spouse sponsored you and your children to come to Canada, and if they helped support that child for at least one year, then you may be able to get a child support order under the ''Family Law Act''. Be aware of the one-year limitation period for making a claim, noted in section 147(4)(b).


If your sponsor is abusive and you seek an exemption from the conditional permanent residency, refer to paragraph 3 on Operational Bulletin 480 on the Citizenship and Immigration Canada Website [http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/resources/manuals/bulletins/2012/ob480.asp#sec03]
===Sponsorship application===


However, no matter what, your spouse may still remain responsible for supporting you and your children. If you are married, you will also remain entitled to claim a share in the family assets.
If you leave your sponsoring spouse while the sponsorship application is still in progress, you must inform Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada of this change in your application. Failure to do so constitutes misrepresentation, which is a ground for refusal of your Permanent Residence application. At this point, you may not be able to proceed with your sponsorship application for Permanent Residence, but there may be other options available to you that allow you to stay in Canada. This could include a Permanent Resident application on humanitarian and compassionate grounds. This is especially the case if you leave your partner due to abuse in the relationship. Contact the [https://lss.bc.ca/legal_aid/immigrationProblems Legal Services Society], or other community resources like [https://www.clicklaw.bc.ca/helpmap/service/1013 MOSAIC], to see if you qualify for a free lawyer.  


Although your spouse still has an obligation to support you as a sponsor, you will not lose your permanent resident status after the first two-year period if you have to apply for welfare, although you will be expected to try to get support from your spouse. If your relationship ended because of abuse, you may not have to try to get support from your spouse. Speak to your caseworker or lawyer right away.
You should also inform IRCC of your change of address, so that they may continue to correspond with you after you leave your spouse’s residence.


===Permanent resident spouses===
===Permanent resident spouses===


In October 2016, CIC announced that in 2017, it would eliminate the requirement that spouses cohabit for two years before the sponsored spouse is able to obtain full Canadian permanent residence. You may read more about this in the Gazette. [http://www.gazette.gc.ca/rp-pr/p1/2016/2016-10-29/html/reg1-eng.php]
In October 2012, the government of Canada introduced a rule that most sponsored spouses were under ''conditional permanent residency status'' for the first two years. This condition was removed on April 28, 2017, when the government introduced [http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/department/media/notices/2017-04-28.asp a rule] that sponsored spouses or common-law partners of Canadian citizens and permanent residents no longer need to live with their sponsor in order to keep their permanent resident status.
This means that when a spouse enters Canada as a permanent resident, that residency will not be contingent on the length of that relationship.  


===Non-resident spouses===
If your sponsor is abusive, you no longer need to worry about the threat of deportation or potential loss of status. Your residency status is no longer contingent on the length of the relationship. That being said, the government of Canada will still continue to investigate complaints about marriage fraud (where someone marries a Canadian citizen or permanent resident for the sole purpose of gaining entry into Canada). This means that if you leave your spouse, there is a possibility that he or she may file a complaint of marriage fraud with IRCC. IRCC will then send you a letter with a 30 day deadline to respond to their concerns and tell your side of the story. If that happens, you should seek legal advice. You could also write to the IRCC officer and ask for an extension on the response date. This will buy you some time to find a lawyer. If you do not receive a positive response from the officer, then you must respond by the date listed on the letter to avoid a removal order.


If you do not have permanent resident status, you must seek legal advice and help right away, as the breakdown of your relationship with your sponsor may affect your ability to remain in Canada (if that's in fact what you'd like to do). There are a number of agencies that help immigrants and refugees. Seek them out immediately.
No matter what, your spouse may still remain responsible for supporting you and your children. If you are married or qualify as an unmarried spouse under the ''[[Family Law Act]]'' you may also be entitled to claim a share in the family property. See the chapter on [[Property & Debt in Family Law Matters|Property & Debt]].


===Sponsoring spouses===
So long as your sponsorship is still within the term of undertaking (discussed above), your sponsor's obligation to support you continues. You will not lose your permanent resident status if you have to apply for welfare. If you do apply for welfare, keep in mind that you will be expected to show that you tried to obtain support from your spouse. If your relationship ended because of abuse, you may not have to try to get support from your spouse. The booklet on ''Sponsorship Breakdown'' contains good information on this topic.


If you have sponsored your spouse into Canada, you have certain obligations to continue to provide for your spouse's needs and the needs of any dependent children. These responsibilities are for a fixed amount of time, and you will have promised to support your spouse when you signed the immigration forms.
===Non-resident spouses===
 
You have these responsibilities in addition to your responsibilities under the ''[[Divorce Act]]'' and the ''[[Family Law Act]]''. A 2004 case of the Supreme Court, ''[http://canlii.ca/t/1q1m5 Aujla v. Aujla]'', 2004 BCSC 1566 held that a sponsor's obligations under a sponsorship agreement were obligations between the sponsor and the federal government, separate from the sponsor's obligation to pay spousal support under those acts.


If you are a sponsor and your relationship has ended, <span class="noglossary">contact</span> an immigration lawyer right away to find out exactly what your rights and obligations are.
If you do not have permanent resident status, you must seek legal advice and help right away, since the breakdown of your relationship with your sponsor may affect your ability to remain in Canada (if that is in fact what you would like to do). There are a number of agencies that help immigrants and refugees. See the booklet ''[http://www.clicklaw.bc.ca/resource/1073 Sponsorship Breakdown]'' for a list of community workers and settlement agencies.


===Links===
===Links===
*[http://www.clicklaw.bc.ca/resource/1073 Legal Services Society booklet, Sponsorship Breakdown]  
*[http://www.clicklaw.bc.ca/resource/1073 Legal Services Society's booklet ''Sponsorship Breakdown'']
*[http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/helpcentre/answer.asp?qnum=1355 Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada's Help Centre "How long am I financially responsible for the family member or relative I sponsor?"]
*[https://www.clicklaw.bc.ca/helpmap/service/1013 MOSAIC's Legal Advocacy Program]
*[https://lss.bc.ca/legal_aid/immigrationProblems Legal Services Society's Legal Aid website "Immigration problems"]


{{REVIEWED | reviewer = [[Taruna Agrawal]], March 13, 2017}}
{{REVIEWED | reviewer = [[Taruna Agrawal]], May 24, 2019}}


{{JP Boyd on Family Law Navbox|type=chapters}}
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Latest revision as of 22:46, 10 August 2022

Family law problems involving immigration law usually happen because a relationship breaks down after a spouse or common-law partner has been sponsored to come to Canada. Below is an overview of some overlapping legal issues that may result. If you are a newcomer to Canada with a family law concern, you should seek a lawyer (or an advocate or duty counsel) who is familiar with both family law and the rights and obligations around immigration and sponsorship. Several organizations specialize in supporting newcomers in this way. MOSAIC provides information, summary advice, referrals and legal representation to low-income immigrants and refugees. The Legal Services Society also publishes a useful booklet called Sponsorship Breakdown.

Let's look at some differences in concepts and language between family law and immigration law to start.

Use of the term "common-law" or "spouse"

Generally speaking, the term "common-law spouse" or "common-law partner" is not useful when discussing rights and obligations under provincial legislation. The Family Law Act in BC does not use the term "common-law." The act defines spouse under section 3(1), and the definition broadly captures both married people and unmarried people who live in a "marriage-like" relationship—if that relationship has continued for at least two years.

For federal laws, the term and even the criteria are quite different. The Immigration and Refugee Protection Regulations defines "common-law partner":

common-law partner means, in relation to a person, an individual who is cohabiting with the person in a conjugal relationship, having so cohabited for a period of at least one year.

Notice the time difference? It's important to remember that qualifying as a common-law spouse under Canadian immigration law does not necessarily mean you qualify as an unmarried spouse for the purposes of Family Law Act. If you have lived together for over one year but less than two, are not married, and your relationship ends, you may be a common-law spouse under federal law, but not a spouse of any kind under the provincial act.

Best interests of the child

Section 37(1) of the Family Law Act states that best interests of the child is the only consideration when making decisions about guardianship, parenting arrangements, and contact with the child.

Section 3(1)(d) of the [Immigration and Refugee Protection Act] states that one of the objectives of the act is "to see that families are reunited in Canada." A very important case for immigration law, Baker v. Canada (Minister of Citizenship and Immigration), [1999] 2 SCR 817 says that "the decision-maker should consider children's best interests as an important factor, give them substantial weight, and be alert, alive and sensitive to them."

Sponsor's obligations

Immigration rules state that a sponsor must commit to providing for their spouse's (or common-law partner's) needs and the needs of any dependent children. This commitment is actually made to the government, and is called an undertaking. The undertaking continues even if the relationship between a sponsor and their spouse or other dependent breaks down. If a sponsor and their spouse separate, and the sponsor will not or cannot support the spouse voluntarily, the spouse may apply for welfare or other government benefits to support themselves and any dependent children. If the government (whether provincial or federal) supports the spouse by paying benefits (such as welfare), the government will then turn to the sponsor and require them to pay back the cost of those benefits. Each undertaking lasts for a period of time called a length of undertaking, during which time the sponsor is liable to support the spouse and repay the government for any support it provides the spouse. See the CIC website for a table showing the different lengths of undertaking, depending on who is sponsored.

Family law and immigration law support obligations are different. Where an undertaking is an obligation between a sponsor and the government, a support obligation in family law is between the spouses as individuals. To get a sponsor to pay spousal or child support under family law, the immigrant spouse must claim it the same way any Canadian resident or citizen would — including applying to court if need be.

One family law case from BC Supreme Court, Aujla v. Aujla, 2004 BCSC 1566, shows that a sponsor's obligations under a sponsorship agreement and undertaking, are separate from the sponsor's obligation to pay spousal support based on family law legislation. If you were sponsored, have dependents, and your relationship with the sponsor has now ended, talk to a lawyer to discuss your entitlement to spousal or child support, or consult some of the resources mentioned here.

A sponsor's obligations could extend to stepchildren. For stepparents, both family law and immigration law outline obligations to provide for sponsored dependents in some way.

As discussed in the chapter on Child Support, under the heading "Stepparents and child support", section 147(4) of theFamily Law Act imposes a duty on stepparents in some cases to pay child support.

If your spouse sponsored you and your children to come to Canada, and if they helped support that child for at least one year, then you may be able to get a child support order under the Family Law Act. Be aware of the one-year limitation period for making a claim, noted in section 147(4)(b).

Sponsorship application

If you leave your sponsoring spouse while the sponsorship application is still in progress, you must inform Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada of this change in your application. Failure to do so constitutes misrepresentation, which is a ground for refusal of your Permanent Residence application. At this point, you may not be able to proceed with your sponsorship application for Permanent Residence, but there may be other options available to you that allow you to stay in Canada. This could include a Permanent Resident application on humanitarian and compassionate grounds. This is especially the case if you leave your partner due to abuse in the relationship. Contact the Legal Services Society, or other community resources like MOSAIC, to see if you qualify for a free lawyer.

You should also inform IRCC of your change of address, so that they may continue to correspond with you after you leave your spouse’s residence.

Permanent resident spouses

In October 2012, the government of Canada introduced a rule that most sponsored spouses were under conditional permanent residency status for the first two years. This condition was removed on April 28, 2017, when the government introduced a rule that sponsored spouses or common-law partners of Canadian citizens and permanent residents no longer need to live with their sponsor in order to keep their permanent resident status.

If your sponsor is abusive, you no longer need to worry about the threat of deportation or potential loss of status. Your residency status is no longer contingent on the length of the relationship. That being said, the government of Canada will still continue to investigate complaints about marriage fraud (where someone marries a Canadian citizen or permanent resident for the sole purpose of gaining entry into Canada). This means that if you leave your spouse, there is a possibility that he or she may file a complaint of marriage fraud with IRCC. IRCC will then send you a letter with a 30 day deadline to respond to their concerns and tell your side of the story. If that happens, you should seek legal advice. You could also write to the IRCC officer and ask for an extension on the response date. This will buy you some time to find a lawyer. If you do not receive a positive response from the officer, then you must respond by the date listed on the letter to avoid a removal order.

No matter what, your spouse may still remain responsible for supporting you and your children. If you are married or qualify as an unmarried spouse under the Family Law Act you may also be entitled to claim a share in the family property. See the chapter on Property & Debt.

So long as your sponsorship is still within the term of undertaking (discussed above), your sponsor's obligation to support you continues. You will not lose your permanent resident status if you have to apply for welfare. If you do apply for welfare, keep in mind that you will be expected to show that you tried to obtain support from your spouse. If your relationship ended because of abuse, you may not have to try to get support from your spouse. The booklet on Sponsorship Breakdown contains good information on this topic.

Non-resident spouses

If you do not have permanent resident status, you must seek legal advice and help right away, since the breakdown of your relationship with your sponsor may affect your ability to remain in Canada (if that is in fact what you would like to do). There are a number of agencies that help immigrants and refugees. See the booklet Sponsorship Breakdown for a list of community workers and settlement agencies.

Links

This information applies to British Columbia, Canada. Last reviewed for legal accuracy by Taruna Agrawal, May 24, 2019.


JP Boyd on Family Law © John-Paul Boyd and Courthouse Libraries BC is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 2.5 Canada Licence.