Love is sometimes blind… Marriage and immigration

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…

Leaving the country with the children for March Break? Bring a Consent Letter!

Jill is planning to take a boat cruise with the children this March Break.  She is fed up of the cold winter, she is exhausted with the separation process and feels that a good family vacation would do some good.  Jack, however, does not feel the same way.  Jill has so far refused to cover her fair share of the mortgage and if she does not have money for that, she shouldn’t spend thousands on a luxurious vacation south. Jill doesn’t know what to do.  There is no way she can be in court before the scheduled trip and she is afraid that custom authorities will not let her through with the children if she does not have a consent letter signed by Jack… Or should she try anyway?

 

Traveling with children is always a challenge for parents, whether or not you are still together. If you travel with your children and the other parent is not part of the trip, you will need to get the other parent to sign a consent letter giving you permission to leave the country with the children.   A consent letter is normally required by customs whether you have sole custody or joint custody of your children.  It does not matter whether your custodial rights come from a separation agreement or a court order.  If you do not want any surprises at customs, make sure you pack your passport, the children’s passports and an original consent letter in the prescribed form.  The Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade Canada provides an example of a consent letter that you may use to create your own letter.  For your convenience, you may access this consent letter directly from our FREE Toolbox (click here). However, it is advisable to have the consent letter notarized by a lawyer (or someone having authority to swear an oath such a doctor, legal assistant, city officials, etc.) to make sure that the validity of the other parent’s signature is not questioned by customs.

 

Most separation agreements provide that the other parent’s consent must be sought in advance, and that such consent cannot be unreasonably withheld.  But what happens if your ex-spouse refuses to sign the consent letter?  Unfortunately, this happens too often – but sometimes for very valid reasons (health or safety issues) but sometimes simply as a means to engage the other parent in conflict.  If your ex-spouse refuses to sign a consent letter for no valid reason, you may have to bring the matter to court to obtain the court’s authorization to travel with the children outside of the country.  If the court finds that your ex-spouse’s refusal was unreasonable, it can order your ex-spouse to pay for all of the legal fees you had to incur to obtain the court order.

 

This is of course an expensive – and extremely stressful – way to begin a vacation with your children.  You may also need to book an extra week of vacation just to recuperate!  To avoid these unfortunate situations and to keep having fun in the sun, make sure that your separation agreement or divorce order includes well-drafted and comprehensive travel provisions setting out clear expectations when traveling abroad with the children.