Nathaly Arce – Immigration Consultant RCIC – IRB
It’s much more frequent than I’d really like to hear. The couples have an initial consultation where you can see the hope in their eyes and where they describe to me how they dream of living together forever in Canada, how they wish that the government of Canada allows them to fulfill that dream. However, during the course of the process of completing the application and gathering the supporting documents, things happen, couples fight, and suddenly they are no longer so sure about making the legal commitment that Canada immigration demands. What to do at this time?
First it is important to remember that all couples have problems, and that some can be fixed, that is the couple’s decision. When the problems can no longer be fixed and there is a decision to break the relationship definitively, then that is when immigration must be notified to stop the sponsorship process, as long as a response has not yet been received from immigration regarding the case.
Notification can be in writing via a Web Form or through a phone call to Immigration Canada, and this process can be done by the sponsor, the main applicant or the legal representative of both.
If the case has already received a response from immigration and the principal applicant has already received notification that his or her permanent residence has already been approved, then the application can no longer be stopped, no one can. At this point in the process, the sponsor already has to assume their financial responsibility for three years with the principal applicant, or ten years or less with the dependent children included in the case (the time varies depending on the age of the children). This was a legal agreement signed by the sponsor in an official document called the Undertaking that was included in the application.
If the sponsor does not comply with this legal agreement with Immigration Canadian, and the principal applicant and/or dependents request financial assistance from the government to cover their basic needs, this debt will pass directly to the sponsor, who will not be able to sponsor any other person until this debt is paid to the government.
For all this and more, it is very important to have advice from a qualified legal representative who will tell you what are the financial and legal responsibilities that you are assuming in each immigration process before making any decision and/or signing any document in an immigration process in Canada.
