My Husband Sponsored Me and We Have Now Separated

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If your spouse sponsored you and you have separated, you have the right to remain in Canada as long as you are a permanent resident or a citizen.

Before April 28, 2017 some permanent resident status was conditional. A conditional permanent resident was required to live with their sponsor for 2 years. As of April 28, 2017 the Government of Canada has eliminated this condition. This change applies to anyone who was subject to this condition as well as persons sponsored in the future.

If you are a permanent resident immigration officials cannot ask you to leave Canada if you separate from your spouse unless they believe the marriage was not genuine.

What if I'm not a permanent resident?

If you are not a permanent resident and you want to remain in Canada, you may do one of two things:

OR


First steps[edit]

  1. Get help from a lawyer or a settlement or community agency:
  2. If you have a child, get legal advice. See I just separated from the other parent of my children.
  3. If you fear returning to your country, get legal advice about how to apply for refugee status. See the section I want to claim refugee status in Canada.
  4. If you were sponsored by your husband and the sponsorship application was not completed when you separated, get legal advice. You may be able to apply to stay in Canada on humanitarian or compassionate grounds. For information, see A Guide to Humanitarian and Compassionate Applications (H&C Applications).
  5. If your spouse is no longer supporting you see the resource titled Sponsorship Breakdown.


Tipsandnotes.png
Unless you already have a work permit, you are not entitled to work in Canada while an H&C application is under consideration until you have been "approved in principle."

Where to get help[edit]

See the Resource List in this guide for a list of helpful resources. Your best bets are:


This information applies to British Columbia, Canada. Last reviewed for legal accuracy by Rochelle Appleby, May 2017.


Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 2.5 Canada Licence Legal Help for British Columbians © Cliff Thorstenson and Courthouse Libraries BC is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution-NonCommercial-ShareAlike 2.5 Canada Licence.