Your gateway to Canada

By Attorney Henry Moyal

NEW SPONSORED IMMIGRANTS FACE FIVE YEAR BAN

SPONSORSHIP CHANGES

Effective immediately, the Federal Immigration department is changing the rules for immigrants who were sponsored to Canada as spouses or common law partners. In the hope of scaring people away from performing sham marriages, the Canadian government is taking swift action against those who use the marriage route to gain quick access to Canada. In the past, a person could marry a Canadian Citizen and then become an immigrant with no conditions. Thereafter, the immigrant would be able to turn around, divorce the Canadian sponsor, and file a sponsorship for another person.

However, laws have changed. Under new rules, a person who becomes an immigrant as a sponsored spouse is barred from sponsoring another spouse for five years after becoming an immigrant.

As well, under a new proposal with is not yet official, the sponsored spouse will have a two year conditional visa upon entry. If after two years, it is discovered that the spouse and sponsor are no longer together, it is possible that the immigrant will be deported.

HIRING ILLEGAL WORKERS

Many are of the view that when a person works illegally in Canada, only the worker is at risk. Many workers try to hide their unauthorized employment by “working under the table” thinking that they will not be caught from the enforcement division. That may be true but it is important to remember that the law applies to Canadian employers too. Many Canadian employers think that there is nothing wrong by hiring illegal workers. They also think that being illegal is something that is foreign. In reality and based on recent policy, Canada Immigration can and does enforce its rules again Canadian employers who hire workers who are not authorized to work for the employer. The Immigration Act imposes stiff penalties against Canadian employers which must be taken seriously. As well, it is important to note that a worker is an illegal worker if they do not have specific work authorization to work for the employer. If a live-in-caregiver has a work permit to work for “employer X”, that caregiver would be an “illegal worker” if for example he/she worked at a bakery on a Sunday. If caught, the worker could be deported and the bakery owner charged with employing an illegal worker and fined heavily. It does happen and it would be naïve to think that Canadian employers are immune from punishment.

TIME REQUIRED TO REMAIN IN CANADA AS A PERMANENT RESIDENT

The laws dealing with the time required to remain in Canada to maintain permanent residence changed in June 2002. I am still amazed that many people today still think that a permanent resident must remain in Canada for six months at a time and cannot leave for more than six months. Those were the pre-2002 rules which basically deemed that a person abandoned their permanent residence if they were absent six months out of the year. That is not the case and has not been the case for a decade. Under current rules, a permanent resident must reside in Canada for 730 days (not necessarily continuously) in every five year period.

SPONSORSHIP APPLICATIONS NOW REQUIRE TWO VALIDATED ONE APPLICATIONS

As many are aware, all applications for permanent residence now require a Generic Application which must be completed on line and then validated. Once validated, the computer generated bar codes must be submitted to the Canadian Embassy. As of March 31, 2012, all sponsorship applications will require two on line validated forms with bar codes – the Generic Application plus the Sponsorship Agreement. Old versions will no longer be accepted.

Attorney Henry Moyal is a certified and licensed immigration lawyer in Toronto, Ontario. The above article is general advice only and is not intended to act as a legal document. Send questions to Attorney Moyal by email canada@moyal.com or call 416 733 3193