IMM-3676-09
2010 FC 286
March 11, 2010
Principle Established: Divorce granted in Canada, also effective outside Canada.
The applicant was legally married in Sri Lanka and was sponsored by her spouse in Canada. Her relation fell apart and the couple divorced. An order of divorce was granted by the Ontario court. The applicant remarried a man in Sri Lanka and applied to sponsor him as her husband. The application was refused because according to the IRB, her first marriage was not “dissolved” in Sri Lanka.
The issue was whether the divorce obtained in Ontario effectively dissolved the marriage even if performed in Sri Lanka.
According to the Court, the divorce obtained in Canada has the power to terminate the marriage, not only in Canada, but in Sri Lanka as well.
The application for judicial review was allowed.