Spousal sponsorship allows a husband or wife to be sponsored to become a permanent resident of Canada. There may be some additional requirements that will need to be met. The family class is defined in Immigration and Refugee Protection Regulations (IRPR) Section 117. In this update, we will go over what the word ‘spouse’ means with regards to the IRPR. In addition, there are some nuances of the law which are related to this term.
This may come as a surprise, but the term ‘spouse’ is not actually defined in the IRPR or Immigration and Refugee Protection Regulations (IRPA). While it may not be defined in the law, it is defined in practice. According to IRPR Section 2, with regards to marriages that took place outside of Canada, marriage can only be defined as such if it is valid under the laws of the jurisdiction where it took place and under Canadian law.
Validity under Canadian laws
For example, a Canadian citizen married his sister in another country in which it was legal for such a marriage to take place. Now, he is attempting to sponsor her as a spouse under the family class. However, Canadian laws of marriage prevent close relatives such as brother and sister from marrying. This marriage would not be valid under the family class. His sister would not be considered to be his spouse and could not qualify for spousal sponsorship. Their marriage would not satisfy the requirements set out in the IRPR.
Spousal sponsorship jurisdiction
Another small wrinkle is if you were married outside Canada, and the marriage took place in an embassy or consulate, the marriage has to follow the law of the country the embassy or consulate was located in, and not the country that the embassy or consulate represents. For example, if your marriage took place in the Japanese embassy in China, the marriage would need to be valid under the laws of China and Canada, instead of under the laws of Japan and Canada.
As you can see, while the definitions and terms involved in the law may seem to be straight-forward, they can be anything but. If you have any questions about bring your spouse to Canada, or about any other immigration matters, please feel free to contact us toll-free at 1-866-972-7366.