According to a comprehensive report by the Sing Tao Daily in Canada, the Harper government has quietly proposed that individuals coming to Canada to reunite with their partners must maintain their relationship for two years or more before officially obtaining permanent resident status. Immigration experts point out that this regulatory change in the plan is based on a series of municipal consultations and online surveys. This proposal is also a new initiative by the federal government to combat the use of sham marriages to evade immigration laws.
Immigration experts explain that under this proposal, overseas spouses or partners of Canadian sponsors, if their relationship with the Canadian sponsor is less than two years or only two years, will only receive "conditional permanent residency" rights. After arriving in Canada, they must continue to maintain a genuine relationship with their sponsor for two years or more; otherwise, their permanent resident status may be revoked, and they could ultimately be deported from Canada.
This federal proposal was published before the issuance of the election writ on Saturday (26th). The notice states that this initiative will send a message that Canada takes a tough stance against sham marriages and immigration fraud. The notice also indicates that this aligns Canadian policy with that of other countries, such as the United States, the United Kingdom, and Australia, all of which have established similar two-year conditional permanent residency requirements for immigration.
The Disaster for Domestic Violence Victims
Avvy Go, the executive director of the Southeast Asian Legal Clinic serving the Asian community, stated that this federal initiative would harm women in violent relationships. She said: "This will be a disaster for abused women."
The federal notice states that if this new measure is implemented, concerning violence, the federal government will establish relevant procedures to allow genuine spouses or partners in such relationships to avoid mandatory measures.
However, Avvy Go mentioned that many vulnerable women would not report their partners' abuse. She also expressed doubt that untrained immigration officials dealing with domestic violence situations could determine whether a woman genuinely wants to escape an abusive relationship.
The public has a 30-day period to comment on this federal proposal.
Loopholes in the Spousal Sponsorship Program
The government stated that while most marriages and partnerships are believed to be legitimate, there are indeed loopholes in the spousal sponsorship program. In some cases, both spouses may be exploiting the system for immigration purposes; in other cases, the sponsor believes their relationship is genuine, but the sponsored party wishes to separate quickly after obtaining permanent resident status. The government claims that the data on sham marriage immigration is unknown, but of the 46,300 immigration applications processed last year, about 16% were rejected for various reasons, many of which were due to the relationship in the application being deemed fraudulent. Other reasons for rejection included criminal records, security, and health issues.
Immigration Minister Jason Kenney held municipal meetings last fall in Vancouver, Brampton, Ontario, and Montreal to discuss the issue of marriages of convenience. The Immigration Department also consulted with provinces and territories. The online consultation received 2,342 public responses and 89 responses from interest groups.
In addition to appeal measures, the government also proposed introducing a "sponsorship ban" that would prohibit the sponsored party and spouse from sponsoring a new partner within five years.
