Filipiniana News – August 2010
RHYME & REASON
Although the issue had arisen in the past,
sponsorship fraud was in the news again quite recently after a number of
Canadians who sponsored their foreign spouses publicly decried the fact that
the latter only married them for purposes of gaining immigration status in
Canada. Unfortunately, the sponsored
spouses have already been granted
permanent residence and the sponsors cannot simply revoke the three-year undertaking
to support that they submitted with the sponsorship application. As much as they would want these alleged fraudsters deported
immediately, there are processes which need to be undertaken before this can be
done.
At the other end of the spectrum are couples in genuine,
committed and loving relationships who are suffering from long-term separation
due to the immigration officer’s often perceived overzealousness in disputing
the genuineness of a marital relationship, usually by cross-examining the
spouses during their visa
interviews. There is hardly any
consideration given to the fact that the “failure” in such interviews can often
be attributed to language barriers, nervousness or even cultural differences or
misunderstanding.
But how does one truly gauge the
genuineness of a relationship and what evidence could be presented to prove
that it is genuine and not entered into simply to obtain permanent residence in
Canada? Unfortunately, this is not an exact
science and there is no infallible way to do so. Until such a foolproof way is devised, it is
rather unfair that the genuine spouses will bear the brunt of the growing
suspicion against potential sponsorship fraud.
To avoid being caught in this unfortunate trap, it is very important that
spousal sponsorship applications are not only comprehensive and thorough, but
also presented in such a way as to avoid any doubt or confusion on the part of
the reviewing officer. CIC on the other
hand, should provide further training to their officers that will inculcate
better understanding of cultural differences and personality types that will
avoid a one-size-fits-all standard for determining the genuineness of a
relationship.
Aside from failed sponsorship applications,
there is another type of family separation which had long been cruelly and
pervasively affecting many prospective permanent residents. These often involve live-in caregivers who
initially enter Canada on work permits and are not allowed to bring their
families with them in the meantime. It
is only after having satisfied the requirements of the program (two years of
full time live-in caregiving work) would they be able to apply for permanent
residence for themselves and their families, which could easily take an
additional few more years to be processed.
It must be noted that in this permanent
residence application, the caregiver is applying concurrently with her family
members and not “sponsoring” them. As
such, they are all required to pass the medical and security clearance requirements. Although recent changes to the LCP
regulations removed the requirement of a second medical examination for the
caregiver herself, the accompanying family members would still need to undergo
the medical and security checks at the permanent residence application
stage. Even if the family members are
declared to be “non-accompanying dependents”
they are still required to undergo medical and security checks - and
if one family member is found to be inadmissible in the process, this would
render everyone, including the principal applicant caregiver, inadmissible to
Canada.
There are all sorts of complicated
situations that could arise from this requirement. First and most prevalent of all, a married
caregiver who has been away from her family for many years while working as an
overseas domestic worker, often ends up with a broken home – i.e. a
philandering spouse and/or alienated children who refuse to finish school or
become addicted to vices. When it is
time to process the family’s permanent residence applications, these family
members could either refuse to undergo the required medical examinations,
provide the necessary police clearances or worse, fail them for all sorts of
reasons. For caregivers who have become
estranged from their husbands, they would also need to obtain a legal
separation, annulment or divorce if they want them removed from their permanent
residence applications altogether. As
these are legal processes which could take time and financial resources, many
caregivers find themselves trapped in a situation where their permanent
residence applications are delayed or even denied, if they and their dependents
are unable to meet these additional requirements within a reasonable time.
The conflict of law issues arising from the
differences in Philippine and Canadian and family laws (e.g. lack of divorce
and prohibition against collusion in annulment cases in the Philippines) could
result in further complications not only in the caregivers’ permanent residence
applications but also in the legal status of their marriage and family
lives. While obtaining a divorce in
Canada or entering into a separation agreement with spouses may be a quick
solution for some in having their permanent residence applications finalized,
it is also important to be fully aware of the implications of such remedies,
which could haunt the spouses even long after the permanent residence
application has been granted or denied.
So whether one is dealing with sponsorship
fraud, an unfairly refused sponsorship application or the inadmissibility of a
dependent in a caregiver’s permanent residence application, prolonged and
indefinite family separation is almost always an unwanted result. This clearly contradicts one of the main
objectives of Canadian’s immigration law which is that of “family
reunification.”
These unfortunate situations are just a few
indications that our immigration system is quite broken and needs a lot of repair (not least of which is the
granting of permanent residence to caregivers upon arrival). Meanwhile, there are still matters which are
well within one’s control that could help prevent such unpleasant
outcomes. For one, choose your spouses
prudently. Then choose your immigration
legal advisers wisely. Hopefully, more
happy endings will follow.
The author is an immigration lawyer in
Toronto and may be reached at deanna@santoslaw.ca.
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