Applying for spousal sponsorship to Canada can be a very intimidating and scary thing. You always wonder whether the information you gathered to send in is enough. How do you prove your love and commitment for a person to a complete stranger through a bunch of paperwork? Spousal sponsorship can be very tough, just the wait and
the idea that there is always a chance of refusal is one of the scariest feelings in the world. One very helpful thing that you can do right now is get informed. Knowing all the possible outcomes and how to handle them before the situation occurs is always somewhat soothing. If all goes well and your spousal application is approved, then that is great news for you and you can stop reading here. However, if you’re application is refused or you are just looking for some information, then keep reading.
Spousal Sponsorship Can Be Refused For Number Of Reasons:
- Immigration Canada believes that the marriage is one of convenience, in other words, not a genuine marriage
SPONSOR
- is receiving social assistance
- is bankrupt
- is in default of a previous sponsorship agreement
SPONSORED SPOUSE
- has a criminal record
1) APPEAL THE DECISION:
Appeals are options that are only available to those individuals who have made spousal sponsorship applications from outside of Canada. The individuals who have chosen to apply from inside of Canada have option number 2.
Appeals can be made at the Immigration Appeal Division (IAD) of the Immigration and Refugee board. All appeals must be made within 30 days of receiving a refusal letter, otherwise the appeal may not be heard entirely. Depending on the reason for refusal, you must show the Member (decision-maker at IAD) who is hearing your case why this should not pose a problem and why the sponsored should be allowed to immigrate to Canada.
Appeals can take years to actually be heard at the IAD. Due to the fact that this can be devastating and an extremely long wait, the IAD has put in place something called Alternative Dispute Resolution. In this situation, you have the opportunity to meet with a representative from the Canada Boarder Services Agency (CBSA) and convince them as to why your spousal sponsorship application should be accepted. If you are unable at getting the CBSA’s representative’s consent, then you must wait until your scheduled hearing at the IAD.
2) APPLY AGAIN:
Another option is just applying again. If your spousal sponsorship application was originally an inland application, then you and your spouse must follow the terms of refusal and the sponsored must leave and file an application from outside of Canada (that is unless your spouse gets some sort of approval to come back into Canada before you file an inland application again). If your spousal sponsorship application was originally an out of Canada application, then you just go through the same application process as you did originally, or you may file an inland application if in someway your spouse has been approved to enter into Canada before sending in the new application.
All in all, refusal is not the end of the road. There are always options and solutions to difficult situation and problems occurred. Hopefully this information can help you get started on dealing with your spousal sponsorship application refusal.
Call us today and us inform you which option is best for you. At Akrami & Associates, there is Always a Way!
