- Canada's Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada flagged marriage fraud as the key risk that could cost a foreign spouse their permanent resident status
- Sponsored spouses found to have entered non-genuine relationships face misrepresentation charges and possible removal from Canada
- A five-year sponsorship bar also applies to prevent people from using marriages of convenience as an immigration route into Canada
Canada's immigration authority has made clear that marriage fraud is the one risk that could see a foreign spouse stripped of their permanent resident status and removed from the country.
According to Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC), immigration officers are trained to verify the legitimacy of every spousal sponsorship application before permanent residence is approved.
Source: UGC
Where a relationship is found to be non-genuine after the fact, the sponsored individual faces an investigation and can lose their status on grounds of misrepresentation, which may result in deportation.
What Happens When Marriage Fraud Is Detected
The IRCC confirmed that cases involving suspected marriage fraud are actively investigated even after a sponsored spouse has arrived in Canada. If the evidence shows that a relationship was entered into primarily for immigration purposes rather than genuine partnership, the sponsored spouse or partner can have their permanent resident status revoked and be removed from the country.
Beyond deportation, the Canadian government also enforces a five-year bar on sponsorship.
This means a sponsored spouse or partner must wait five full years from the date they receive their permanent residence before they are eligible to sponsor a new spouse or partner of their own.
The measure is specifically designed to close the door on those who might use a marriage of convenience as a stepping stone to bring someone else into the country later.
How Canada Previously Handled the Issue
Canada once relied on a conditional permanent residence system to tackle the problem.
Introduced on October 25, 2012, the scheme required sponsored spouses or partners who had been in a relationship of two years or less, with no children in common, to live together with their sponsor for two full years before their status became unconditional. Over 100,000 individuals entered Canada under this arrangement.
The condition was eventually scrapped after concerns mounted that it placed vulnerable individuals, particularly those in abusive relationships, in an impossible position.
The IRCC determined that the risks to sponsored spouses trapped in harmful situations outweighed the benefit of using conditional residence as an anti-fraud tool. With its removal, all pending investigations related solely to the cohabitation requirement were closed.
Lady in Canada speaks about proof of funds
Meanwhile, Legit.ng previously reported that a Nigerian lady who relocated to Canada, @chinenyenwa.e, shared the exact amount she presented as proof of funds in a TikTok video.
She clarified that proof of funds is not an application fee and that no money was paid to any agency or immigration body.
Source: Legit.ng
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