According to Canada’s immigration law, a Canadian citizen or a permanent resident can sponsor a spouse, common-law partner or conjugal partner, or dependent children, to become a permanent resident. This article provides general information and guidance if you are separating from a sponsor or want to leave an abusive sponsor.
Contents:
- What is Sponsorship?
- What is a Sponsorship Agreement or Undertaking?
- How long is the undertaking?
- What is Sponsorship Breakdown?
- What are the different ways a sponsorship can break down?
- What happens if my sponsorship breaks down and How can I get financial support?
- You are a Permanent Resident
- You do not have Permanent Resident status
- You are the Sponsor
- Where can I get more help?
- Glossary of Terms
What is Sponsorship?
Sponsorship means that you agree to take care of your family member and help provide for their needs if the government allows them to come to Canada as a permanent resident.
Often times, family situations change and a sponsorship relationship may break down. The article focuses on spousal/common-law/conjugal sponsorship breakdown.For more information on how to sponsor a partner or family member, read aboutSponsorship Basics.
Immigrant women often face challenges when they come to Canada because of language barriers, cultural differences and discrimination. Sponsorship may break down for many reasons, including an abusive sponsor. This adds more hardships for a woman to deal with. She can face financial problems and other challenges which have an impact on her and her children. She can also face problems with respect to her immigration status.
What is a Sponsorship Agreement and a Sponsorship Undertaking?
Sponsorship Agreement:The sponsor and the sponsored spouse/partner have to sign an agreement. This is called a Sponsorship Agreement. In this agreement, the sponsor makes a commitment to provide basic requirements for the sponsored spouse or partner. Basic requirements include food, clothing, shelter, fuel, utilities, household supplies, personal requirements, and other goods and services, including dental care, eye care, and other health needs not provided by public health care. By signing this agreement, the sponsored partner also promises that s/he will make every effort to support herself/himself.
Undertaking:A sponsor must also sign a promise to the government that her/his sponsored spouse or partner will not need to apply for social assistance.This is called an undertaking. If the sponsored person does receive social assistance, the sponsor will have to pay the money back to the government. The sponsor must also promise to do these things even if the relationship breaks up, s/he changes jobs, becomes unemployed or goes back to school etc.
How long is the undertaking?
If you are a spouse, common law or conjugal partner:
- Your sponsor needs to provide for basic needs for 3 years starting from the day you become a permanent resident.
- If the sponsorship agreement was signed before June 28, 2002, your sponsor needs to provide for basic needs for 10 years starting from the day you become a permanent resident.
Note: If you enter Canada with a temporary resident permit (TRP), your sponsor needs to start providing for basic needs on the day you enter Canada. If you are already in Canada and you have been given a TRP after you apply to remain in Canada as a permanent resident, your sponsor has to start providing for basic needs on the day you get the TRP. Otherwise, the undertaking to provide support begins on the day you become a permanent resident as mentioned above.
What is Sponsorship Breakdown?
Sponsorship breakdown happens when your sponsor is not able or not willing to support you to meet your basic needs. This may be because your sponsor’s circ*mstances have changed (for example: s/he lost a job), your sponsoring is abusing you or you have separated from your sponsor.
What are the different ways in which sponsorship can break down?
Here are some examples of how a sponsorship can break down:
- Your sponsor does not has enough money (even though s/he wants to support you)
- Your sponsor may allow you to live in the home, but does not pay for your food, clothing or medical needs.
- Your sponsor does not want to support you and tells you to leave the house
- Your spouse leaves you and does not support you or refuses to support you after you leave the home
- You leave because your sponsor abuses you (physically or sexually) or threatens you.
- You leave because you are forced to work for your sponsor without being paid
What happens if my sponsorship breaks down?
If you are a permanent resident
If you are a permanent resident and you are being sponsored by your partner, your permanent resident status is not affected if the sponsorship breaks down. Your sponsor cannot withdraw the sponsorship at this point. The government cannot remove you just because you leave your sponsor. Your sponsor may threaten you and insist that he will take away his sponsorship, but this is not true.
Note: If your relationship breaks down, you cannot lose your status just because you leave your sponsor. But, there are still ways that your ex-partner can put your status at risk. S/he could accuse you of misrepresentation (lying on your application), or of other criminal activities that might make you inadmissible to Canada (for example, if you are part of a criminal organization or terrorist group). Even if these things are not true, they can complicate your status and put you at risk or being removed. If you think your ex-partner might do these things, you should speak to an immigration lawyer right away to make a safety plan to protect your immigration status.
How can I get financial support?
If you leave your sponsor or s/he cannot financially support you, you may be eligible for social assistance.
- You can apply to Ontario Works (OW) or if you have a disability, to Ontario Disability Support Program (ODSP).
- Your sponsor is usually required to provide for your basic needs for three years after you get permanent resident status, even if you separate from her/him. Therefore, if you leave your sponsor during those three years, and receive social assistance, your sponsor will owe that money to the government.
You may also be able to apply for spousal support or child support from your spouse or partner.
Note: Spousal support and child support are complex legal issues and you should seek the help of a family law lawyer whether you are going to court or trying to work out an agreement with your partner.
If you do not have permanent resident status
If your sponsorship breaks down while your application is being processed and you do not have permanent resident status yet, you may be at risk of being deported from Canada. This can happen when you are applying for permanent resident status from within Canada.
Here are some examples of situations where your sponsorship can break down and you are left without permanent resident status:
- Your sponsor has not sent in the sponsorship application yet. If you are in Canada and your relationship breaks down before during this time, you will be at risk of deportation when your immigration status expires.
- If your sponsor has sent in the sponsorship application, but it is not yet final or approved, you are also at risk of deportation. If your relationship breaks up before your application is finalized, your sponsor can withdraw the application and you will not be granted permanent residence.
If your sponsorship breaks down and you are facing the risk of removal from Canada, you should contact a legal clinic or seek help from a lawyer immediately and explore the options that are available to you to remain in Canada. You may be able to remain in Canada based on Humanitarian and Compassionate (H &C) grounds:
- If you are applying to remain in Canada on H & C grounds, It is up to you to show that you will face “unusual, undeserved or disproportionate hardship” if you leave Canada. For example, you can show that you are established in Canada, the best interests of your child will be affected if you leave, medical care in your country of origin is not adequate etc. If you are being abused, you can show evidence of abuse. The cost and inconvenience that you will face if you leave Canada is not considered to be hardship.
- However, you should note that if you have a removal order against you, an application on Humanitarian and Compassionate grounds will not delay or stop your removal. You will still have to leave on the date stated on your removal order. Applications are usually refused if you have already been deported.
- You also cannot make more than one H & C application at the same time.
It is not very common that a Humanitarian and Compassionate application succeeds. This is why it is important to ask a lawyer to help you.
If you are sponsoring your spouse or partner, you can end the relationship without risk to your immigration status. If the sponsorship application is still in progress, you can withdraw before your spouse/partner’s permanent residence is final. But, if your spouse or partner has already gotten permanent resident status, you cannot withdraw as the sponsor and you must follow the sponsor obligations no matter what happens. This means that if your spouse/partner goes on social assistance, you will likely have to repay the government even if you leave the relationship, move or get divorced.
Useful Resources:
Legal Aid: If you cannot afford a lawyer, you may be entitled to legal aid. Legal aid is a public program that offers legal services to people with low income or no income. You need to apply for legal aid, and can find more information on their website.
Community Legal Clinics:Clinics provide full legal representation for low-income individuals. They also give free legal advice. To find a community legal clinic in your area, visit thelegal aid website.
Newcomers in Ontario: Settlement.org contains legal information on various areas for newcomers in Ontario
Ontario Works: For information on social assistance. visit theOntario Works (OW) website.
Ontario Disability Support Program: For information on Ontario Disability Support Program (ODSP), visit theODSP website.
Assaulted Women’s Helpline: If you are facing violence or abuse, call 1-866-863-0511, TTY 1-866-863-7868 or visit theirwebsite.
Call 211 information and referral service: This service is available for 24 hours a day, seven days a week in different languages. You can ask questions and discuss your concerns with a trained staff member and they will direct you the services that are appropriate for you. You can dial 211 or visit their website at www.211toronto.ca
Glossary of Terms
Common-law partner: Common law partners are two people (either of the opposite sex or the same sex) who have lived together in a conjugal relationship continuously for twelve months. You can stay apart for short periods because of business, travel of family reasons.
Conjugal partner: A conjugal relationship means that you depend on each other, there is some level of permanence in your relationship and you are just as committed as you would be if you were married or in a common law relationship. Conjugal partners are two people (either of the opposite sex or the same sex) who have maintained a conjugal relationship for at least one year, but have not been able to live together or marry because of exceptional circ*mstances.
Dependent child: A dependent child is a son or daughter who is
- Under 22 years of age and is single
- Is over 22 years of age and
- is a full time student and has depended on the financial support of the parent since before he/she turned 22.
- has depended on the financial support of a parent since before the age of 22 because of a physical or mental condition.
- Got married or was in a common law relationship since before the age of 22, is a full
- time student and has dependent financially on a parent since getting married or becoming a common law partner.
: Under Canadian immigration law, you are generally required to apply for permanent resident status from outside Canada. In some cases, because of humanitarian and compassionate reasons, you may apply for an exception to the normal rule and ask the government to allow your application for permanent residence from within Canada.
Ontario Works (OW): Government social assistance that is given to those who have temporary financial need.
Ontario Disability Support Program (ODSP): This program helps people with disabilities who are in financial need to pay for their living expenses.
Spouse: Spouses are two persons (either of the opposite sex or same sex) who are married to each other and their marriage is legally valid. To be considered legally married, you must comply with Canadian law, and the law of the country where the marriage took place if you were married outside Canada.
