The only truth about marriage of convenience is that it is immigration fraud and can lead up to a 5 year ban from entering Canada. Canadian spousal sponsorship process is a complex legal process. You can sponsor your partner or spouse from within Canada or from abroad. We will discuss the pros and cons of both in an upcoming blog. Stay tuned! But today, we discuss marriage fraud.
Marriages of Bad Faith
As defined in the Immigration and Refugee Protection Regulations,
(1) For the purposes of these Regulations, a foreign national shall not be considered a spouse, a common-law partner or a conjugal partner of a person if the marriage, common-law partnership or conjugal partnership
(a) was entered into primarily for the purpose of acquiring any status or privilege under the Act; or
(b) is not genuine.
Immigration and Refugee Protection Regulations (SOR/2002-227)
These are the two tests that every applicant needs to meet and satisfy the officer to prove that the relationship is a bona fide relationship.
You may think that it is enough to provide a marriage certificate to prove the authenticity of a relationship, but the truth of the matter is that the officer will look much deeper than that when evaluating your relationship. The situation becomes even more complex when the marriage is less than 2 years old, or if it is an arranged marriage, or if it is a second marriage, or if you were sponsored or were sponsored by someone before, among many other complexities. The Officer:
- will conduct a thorough checking of the documents provided,
- may visit your home to check the genuineness of the relationship, or
- conduct interviews with both the sponsor and the applicant.
Marriage frauds
Time and again, we see in the news where people have been misguided and the officer was not satisfied that the marriage was genuine which unfortunately led to a 5 year ban for misrepresentation. Your visa to Canada will be refused and it will stay on the record forever. If you are in Canada, you may be deported and legal action may be taken against you. If you are the sponsor, you may face serious criminal charges. So tell me, is it really worth the risk? It is not. It is about your life. Make the right choice and our team is here to guide you every step of the way.
Choose Authorized Representatives Only
Seek guidance from an authorized Canadian Representative only. By law, only Canadian Immigration Lawyers, Paralegals, and Regulated Canadian Immigration Consultants are authorized to provide immigration advice for Canada. So, choose wisely. This is about your rest of life. And we help you make that Canadian Immigration Journey smooth. Find out here if your representative is authorized.
Would you like guidance for your spousal sponsorship application?
Let us help you! You may book an appointment with Gurpreet, a Regulated Canadian Immigration Consultant, to determine your eligibility or you can get in touch with us here. For other immigration options, please complete our assessment form.
