Filipiniana News – January 2008
RHYME & REASON
Family
reunification is among the pillars of Canadian immigration. This is the principle upon which the
provisions for sponsoring family members is based. As a result, CIC allows the sponsorship of
spouses, common law partners, children, parents, grandparents and other
relatives (in certain exceptional circumstances), as a means of obtaining
permanent resident status in Canada.
Applications to
sponsor spouses, common law or conjugal partners and dependent children are
given top priority such that these could take only a few months to process as
contrasted to the several years that it takes for other types of sponsorships
and permanent resident applications to be finalized. (For instance, a family class application to
sponsor parents from the Philippines is currently taking three to fours years
to process.) If the submission package
is complete and is able to address all the concerns that may be raised by the
visa officer vis-à-vis the genuineness of the relationship, then the interview
will most likely be waived and the processing time is greatly reduced.
Due to the
relatively faster processing time, a number of unscrupulous individuals decide
to enter into marriages of convenience and apply for permanent resident status
under the family class category. This
is to seriously caution those who are thinking of, or are being advised, to
take this route. It is a very risky
proposition and something that is not worth taking. For one, the threat of blackmail is always
present. So is the possibility of
prosecution for fraud, and the declaration of inadmissibility either for
criminality or for misrepresentation.
This will eventually lead to removal from Canada.
It must be kept
in mind that the burden of proving the bona fides of the relationship is on the
applicant. If the visa officer is not
satisfied based on the documents provided, the visa officer is not obliged to
go out of his or her way to seek further evidence. At best, the interview is the final
opportunity for the sponsor and the sponsored person to convince the visa
officer that the relationship is genuine and not one simply entered into for
purposes of obtaining permanent resident status.
If the parties
truly believe that the relationship is genuine but the visa officer refused to
grant the sponsored person a permanent resident visa, the sponsor has a right
to file an appeal with the Immigration Appeal Division (IAD) of the Immigration
and Refugee Board (IRB). On appeal, the
parties are allowed to submit additional evidence that were not submitted to
the visa officer. If the board member is
convinced of the genuineness of the relationship, he or she has the power to
reverse the visa officer’s decision and consequently order the granting of a
permanent resident visa to the sponsored person. Please note however, that due to the current
shortage of IRB members who can preside at the IAD, there is a huge backlog of cases
which is causing a long delay in the scheduling of appeal hearings. At present, it is taking about a year before
an appeal hearing is even scheduled.
Aside from the
documentary requirements and processing times, there are also other factors
which need to be seriously considered when filing a family sponsorship
application. Both the sponsor the
sponsored person/s do not only have to meet certain qualifications, they also
have to execute a Sponsorship Agreement which lays down the responsibilities of
both parties. For the most part, the
sponsor undertakes the serious responsibility of taking care of all the basic
needs of the sponsored person at least during the period specified. This means three years for spouses, common
law or conjugal partners and dependent children over 22 years of age. For dependent children below 22 years old,
the undertaking is for ten years or until reaching the age of 25 years old,
whichever comes first. For parents,
grandparents and all other relatives, the period of undertaking is ten
years.
“Basic needs”
refer to food, shelter, clothing, fuel, utilities, household supplies and even
health care which are not provided by the government such as the costs of
dental and eye care services.
While the
sponsored person is also required to undertake reasonable efforts to meet basic
needs, he or she can always depend on the sponsor for any and all forms of
support. If the sponsor fails to provide
such support and the sponsored person is forced to seek social welfare, the government
will pass on the costs incurred to the sponsor during the period that the
sponsorship undertaking is in effect.
Sponsorship is
irrevocable, meaning the sponsor cannot force the government to nullify the
sponsorship agreement and remove the sponsored person from Canada. Barring any ground for inadmissibility, the
sponsored person’s status as a permanent resident is safe and is not within the
sponsor’s power to take away.
This is
important to note for those who are experiencing or have experienced
relationship breakdowns. Some sponsored
persons think that they are trapped and cannot get out of the relationship
since their immigration status is tied to the sponsor. This is not true. The sponsored person is a not a prisoner of
the sponsor. If the relationship breaks
down, the sponsored person has a right to seek external help. If seeking social welfare is necessary for
survival, the government cannot deny such assistance. The sponsor will then become answerable to
the government for all financial assistance received.
While it may
not have been actively enforced in the past, the government has recently taken
steps to seek repayment from sponsors for all social welfare assistance granted
to their sponsored family members. Some
sponsors have in fact been charged up to hundreds of thousands of dollars in
accumulated social welfare payments.
Family
reunification may be a pillar of Canadian immigration. However, it also means serious commitment
and responsibility for all concerned.
The author would be interested to receive
any feedback and may be reached at mdsantos@osgoode.yorku.ca
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