Spousal Sponsorship: Proving Genuineness in a Relationship
Have you ever filed a sponsorship application and got called for an interview? Are you worried that your application could be rejected due to some doubtful situation mentioned in your application? You are not alone when it comes to sponsorship application process. We all know it could be very complicated if your situation is a little different from a regular conventional couple. Little mistakes could lead you to face a delay in your application and your partner could be left hanging for months or maybe years in some cases. Sponsoring your partner to Canada seems like a straight forward process but to your surprise the procedure in itself is not very straight forward. A lot of people on the internet ask this common question, what do immigration officials look for and what we have to do to prepare ourselves to prove that we have a genuine relationship? People often get called for an interview if the immigration officials have some doubts about the relationship and if the genuineness of the relationship is questionable. The immigration procedure is designed to vet relationships that are genuine and are not some scheme to gain status in Canada. There are people who try to take advantage of immigration system by fabricating a false relationship to be able to get acceptance in terms of documents just to enter Canada. For this reason the immigration officials have to be vigilant while processing the application to grant approval of any kind. In this blog we will discuss the how to prove genuineness in the relationship and how important it is for the success of your application to sponsor your spouse/partner to Canada.
Genuine Relations vs. Fake Relationship
For us to be able to understand what a genuine relationship is, first we have to know what constitutes a genuine relationship and what constitutes a fake relationship. It is very important to discuss what factors are taken into consideration to believe that the relationship is for the purposes of starting a family life together in Canada and not any other reason such as entering Canada or gaining status etc. We often forget that establishing a relationship is as easy as we see it, but when it comes to sponsoring our spouse/partner we unnecessarily get confused and make mistakes that should not have been made in the application. It should be as easy as analyzing how a normal conventional couple behaves like and how they have established their relationship. Any kind of anomaly in your relationship and bonding as a couple could raise a red flag on your application. When a couple is called for an interview it could potentially be because the couple has something fishy or sketchy in their application that does not make sense to the immigration officials. In order for immigration officials to clarify something on your application, they conduct an interview to ask you questions about it and figure out the reasoning behind it. If all makes sense to them according to what you explain in regards to any doubts, your file will be concluded and decision could be finalized.
What the officers looks for when assessing spousal sponsorship application
What factors make them skeptical of your application? If there is something that does not make sense in terms of cultural, religious values in your country and if you are doing something opposite in your application that could raise a red flag. For example, in some cultures it is okay for an individual to get married in their family whereas in some cultures it is not acceptable to get married in their own family to their cousins etc. In some cases age factor could also come into play if the female is older in age to her partner which causes doubt for immigration in some cases. If any of the partners are already married or have dependants that would also require some clarification before finalizing a decision on the file.
Documents to include to support Genuineness in relationship
The things that are included in your application to prove genuineness in your relationship are photos of you, receipts of trips taken together, photos of family members along with the couple, gifts of any kind, how many times the couple communicates with each other, travel itineraries, shopping receipts, letters from close relationship etc. If it is a common-law relationship then the immigration would look at the duration of your stay with each other, your tax documents, billing address, how much families are involved in the affair, photos, trips taken together and so on.
Spousal Sponsorship Interview Questions
Now we are also going to discuss what kind of questions that an immigration official could ask through the interview. If any of you readers have been called for an interview, it will be a good preparation for you to go through the questions and be mentally prepared for it. These questions might sound very basic knowledge but it actually establishes the case for the officials before they could grant a decision on the application. Both partners are asked questions in regards to their relationship and should be able to provide supporting answers to support their case.
Below you can find type of question the immigration officer may ask you to test the genuineness in the relationship. See the questions below and develop a scenario keeping your personal information in mind. If you have developed a good relationship with your companion and you are a genuine couple in a true sense then it should not be very difficult for you to answer these questions.
Questions that you can expect at an interview:
- When did you meet for the first time?
- Your spouse’s birth date?
- What does your partner do for living?
- What qualification and training does your partner have?
- What is your partner’s salary?
- Where would you live as a couple when you arrive in Canada?
- What kind of relationship you have had since your first meeting?
- Do you and your partner exchange gifts?
- What are your hobbies and your partner’s hobbies?
- Was your marriage arranged and if it was who arranged it for you?
- Explain your marriage ceremony?
- Was the marriage conducted according to your religious beliefs?
- Who came to the ceremony from your side and as well as from the side of your spouse?
- Did you receive wedding gifts?
- Did you go on honey money? Any trips and for how long?
- Do you have any relatives in Canada?
- What are the names of your relatives in Canada?
- Have you met any of the relatives of your partner or has your partner’s relatives ever met you?
- How often do you talk on the phone?
- Do you support your spouse financially or does your spouse support you financially?
- Did you marry your spouse just so you could immigrate to Canada or bring your parents to Canada as landed immigrants?
- Why did you marry your spouse?
- Why didn’t you marry someone from your own country? Why someone from Canada?
- When and where did you live together?
- From engagement to wedding to reception, who attended and who did not?
- What are your future plans?
- If this application is refused what will you do?
These are some of the questions that are expected. It is always wise to prepare yourself mentally and develop a scenario in your mind. If your relationship is genuine in its entirety you will have a little less to worry about. Good luck!
Contact Akrami & Associates:
If you want further information about sponsorship and want us to work on your application for spousal, common-law and conjugal relationship, please do consider Akrami & Associates for all your legal needs. Our team of dedicated consultants and lawyers will take good care of you by presenting the best possible case for you and your loved ones.
With Akrami & Associates there is always a way!