Jack’s brother, Romeo, called him last night in a
crisis. His new wife Julia, whom he met
in Cuba two years ago and whom he married the week after she arrived in Canada
two months ago, stormed out of their home last night wanting a separation. Romeo explained that their marriage was rocky
from day one. It would appear that,
after the marriage, Julia became a completely different person than the sweet,
kind and amusing woman he had dated long distance for the past two years. Romeo believed that, with time, they would be
able to work things out. However, he has
since found out that Julia never loved him and manipulated him into marriage
solely to immigrate to Canada. Having sponsored Julia to become a Canadian
resident, Romeo now faces years of financial responsibility towards her even
after a divorce.
Romeo’s story is unfortunately similar to that of many other
Canadians, and the options available in those situations (until recently) were non-existent.
At the moment, when someone sponsors a
non-Canadian to become a Canadian resident, that person must give financial
support to their immigrating spouse for three years, even if the marriage or
relationship fails. If the immigrating spouse uses social assistance to meet
his or her basic needs, the Canadian spouse will have to repay the money to the
government, as sponsorship is a legal contract with the Government of Canada. You
must meet its terms. It does not matter whether or not a judge would deny the
immigrating spouse financial assistance pursuant to Canadian family law
principles or whether the parties had signed a marriage contract confirming that
no spousal support would be payable in case of separation or divorce. If the immigrating spouse requires financial assistance
to meet his or her needs, the Canadian spouse is 100% responsible, not Canadian
taxpayers. Until very recently, there was nothing a “manipulated” spouse could
do in this unfortunate situation.
However, in October 2012, the Canadian immigration laws have
changed. In an ongoing effort to deter
people from using marriages of convenience to enter into Canada, the Canadian
immigration authorities introduced a new regulation that requires certain
sponsored spouses to live in a legitimate relationship with their sponsor for at
least two years from the day on which they receive their permanent resident
status in Canada. If the sponsored
spouse leaves prior to the two year requirement, its status may be revoked. Canadian authorities can also lay criminal
charges against the sponsored spouse.
Based on this new regulation, Romeo will not have to prove
that Julia manipulated and married him for the sole purpose of immigrating to Canada,
given that she left prior to the two year requirement. Her status as a permanent resident will be
revoked and Romeo’s obligation to financially support her will end since she
will have to return to Cuba. If you are a
Canadian citizen or permanent resident and have met someone from another
country on the Internet or while travelling, think carefully before marrying
them and sponsoring them to come to Canada. Otherwise, blind love could completely
turn your world around…
