Newcomers to Canada and Family Law

Immigration matters and family law

Problems involving immigration usually crop up because one spouse has sponsored the other spouse to come to Canada and the relationship has ended. Below is an overview of some issues that can arise as a result of the breakdown of that relationship. If you have an immigration concern, you should absolutely speak with a lawyer who practices in this area.

Before we get into substantive immigration law, let us go over some differences in language between family law and immigration law.

Use of the term “common-law” or “spouse”

The Immigration and Refugee Protection Regulations use the term "common-law partner" and defines it as follows:

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.

The Family Law Act in BC does not use the term "common-law." It defines spouse under section 3(1) of the act. The definition is exhaustive, and captures unmarried people who live in a "marriage-like" relationship, but that relationship has to continue for at least two years.

Notice the time difference?

Just because you qualify as a common-law spouse under Canadian immigration law, does not mean that you will necessarily qualify as a spouse for the purposes of Family Law 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

Both family law and immigration law outline a stepparent's obligation to provide for the sponsored dependent 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 Canadian partner sponsored you and your children to come to Canada, and 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 noted in section 147(4)(b) above.

Immigration rules also state that a sponsor has certain obligations to provide for their spouse's needs and the needs of any dependent children. These responsibilities are for a fixed amount of time called a length of undertaking. Refer to the CIC website for a table showing the different lengths of undertaking depending on who is sponsored.

Family law and immigration law impose different obligations when it comes to support. One family law case from BC Supreme Court, Aujla v. Aujla, 2004 BCSC 1566, indicates that a sponsor's obligations under a sponsorship agreement (obligations between the sponsor and the federal government), are separate from the sponsor's obligation to pay spousal support (an obligation from one spouse to another). If you were sponsored, have dependents, and your relationship with the sponsor has now ended, talk to a lawyer to discuss your entitlement to support.

Sponsorship application

If you leave your spouse while the sponsorship application is still in progress, you must inform IRCC 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. I urge you to speak to a lawyer at this point or contact the Legal Services Society, or other community resources, 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 new rule that sponsored spouses are under a conditional permanent residency status for the first two years (with some exceptions). This condition was removed on April 28, 2017. In April 2017, the government introduced a rule that sponsored spouses or partners of Canadian citizens and permanent residents no longer need to live with their sponsor in order to keep their permanent resident status.

The change applies to those who were under investigation under the previous rule. That is, if you left your spouse within two years of receiving your permanent resident status and the government of Canada was investigating you under the previous conditional permanent residency rule, they will no longer continue that investigation.

This means that 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 (that is, if 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. At this point, I suggest seeking 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 immigration 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, you will also remain entitled to claim a share in the family property.

Although your spouse still has an obligation to support you as a sponsor, 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 try 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. Speak to your caseworker or lawyer right away.

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. Seek them out immediately.

Links

• Legal Services Society booklet: Sponsorship Breakdown
• How long am I financially responsible for the family member or relative I sponsor?

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.