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Operational Bulletin 480 – November 16, 2015

Summary

This Operational Bulletin (OB) provides guidance on certain regulatory amendments introduced recently to officers of:

• Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC) and,
• Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA)

This guidance concerns regulatory amendments that led to the introduction of a two-year period of conditional permanent residence for spouses and partners who:

• Are in a relationship for a duration of two years or less with their sponsors and,
• Have no children in common at the time of filing the sponsorship application

Background

The Government of Canada is cognisant of the issues concerning marriage fraud. These incidents could result in:

• Victimising Canadian citizens and permanent residents and,
• Undermining the integrity of Canada’s citizenship and immigration programs

To address these concerns, the Government of Canada has taken certain steps.

Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC) introduced certain amendments to the Immigration and Refugee Protection Regulations (IRPR). These amendments concern spouses, common-law or conjugal partners, who:

• Are in a relationship for a duration of two years or less with their sponsors and,
• Have no children in common at the time of filing the sponsorship application

The amendments introduced prescribe a period of conditional permanent residence for these individuals.

The condition requires the sponsored spouse or partner to cohabit in a conjugal relationship with the sponsor for a duration of two years after the day on which they became permanent residents. This conditional measure applies solely to permanent residents for whom Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC) received the applications on or after October 25, 2012. It is worth mentioning that the amendments came into force on October 25, 2012. The authorities have described this condition in subsection 72.1 (1) of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Regulations (IRPR).

Situations could arise where the sponsored spouse or partner could:

• Have accompanying family members or,
• Be able to sponsor members of the family class upon receiving permanent residence

However, the authorities have barred the sponsored spouse or partner from sponsoring a new spouse or partner for a period of five years. This is in accordance with the guidelines mentioned in OB 386 (i.e. Five-year Sponsorship bar for Persons Sponsored to Come to Canada as a Spouse or Partner).

In situations like this, officers would need to remember that the permanent resident status of those accompanying family members and sponsored members of the family class would typically remain contingent upon the sponsor meeting the condition. As such, the condition permanent residence does not differ from permanent residence in any way except from the additional requirement that the sponsored spouse or partner satisfy the condition specified.

The condition prescribed ceases once the two-year duration has elapsed. In addition, the authorities have specified two exceptions to the applicability of the condition. So, the condition ceases to apply when there is evidence that the sponsor has died during the two-year span of conditional permanent residence. The condition also ceases to apply in instances where there is evidence of:

• Abuse or neglect from the sponsor or,
• A failure by the sponsor to protect from abuse or neglect by another person related to the sponsor (whether the perpetrator resides in the household or not) during the conditional period, the following individuals:
  • The permanent resident
  • A child of the permanent resident or the sponsor or,
  • A person who is related to the permanent resident or the sponsor and who resides habitually in their household

The authorities have prescribed this measure after considering the vulnerability of spouses and partners in abusive relationships.

For both exceptions, the sponsored spouse or partner would need to have lived together in a conjugal relationship with the sponsor right until the time the cohabitation ceased because of:

• The death of the sponsor or,
• The emergence of incidents that highlight abuse or neglect

The Role of the Call Centre Agents

The Role of the CBSA Border Watch Line Officer

The Role of the CIC Officer

The Role of the Citizenship Officer

The Role of the Officers of the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA)

Instructions

• The Overview
• Authority and Legislation
• Assessment of whether the Condition Applies or Not
• Assessing the Evidence of Compliance for the Two-Year Condition
• Processing Instructions for Cases that Have Met the Condition
• Processing Instructions for Cases of Non-compliance

Processing Instructions for Exceptions

Assessing Cases Involving Victims of Abuse or Neglect

The Impact on Accompanying Family Members or Sponsored Members of the Family Class

The Impact on Sponsorship Undertaking

Situations could emerge where the relationship between the sponsor and the sponsored spouse or partner breaks down. In this case, the sponsor continues to bear all the financial responsibility for the sponsored spouse or partner. The sponsor would need to remain financially responsible until the three-year undertaking period concludes. This is regardless of the cause of the breakdown. This also takes into consideration situations, where the sponsored spouse or partner requests for an exception of the condition on grounds of:

• Abuse or,
• Neglect

Ongoing Investigations into Compliance and Pending Citizenship Applications

Citizenship officers would need to perform certain mandatory checks when they process citizenship applications. Typically, they would perform these checks in the:

• Global Case Management System (GCMS) and,
• Field Operations Support System (FOSS)

In most cases, they would conduct these checks before scheduling the citizenship event for applicants. The citizenship event comprises:

• A test
• An interview
• A hearing and,
• The ceremony

In case the officers find no adverse information in the GCMS or FOSS, they would continue to process the citizenship application. However, the officers have the authority to put the application on hold. They would keep the application on hold until they receive a confirmation from the local CIC (immigration section) or the CBSA office. The confirmation would mention that the officers would take no enforcement action against the applicant. Typically, citizenship officers would put applications on hold if:

• They come across information that indicates that the permanent resident status of the applicant is in doubt because of a possible non-compliance with the condition or,’
• They find that the authorities have already commenced an ongoing investigation against the applicant

System Changes

Citizenship officers have access to GCMS release 5.0 since November 30, 2013. They can use this application to track and record outcomes of:

• Level 1 and Level 2 investigations into relationships of convenience and,
• Requests for exceptions to conditional permanent residence for a:
  • Spouse
  • Common-law partner or,
  • Conjugal partner

Therefore, officers would need to ensure that they create an MOC investigation. Alternatively, they could create a conditional exception activity in the GCMS. This would help them to monitor the outcomes of the:

• Investigations or,
• Requests for exceptions to conditional permanent residence

However, officers can only create these activities if they are:

• Conducting Level 1 and Level 2 investigations into relationships of convenience and,
• Receiving requests for exceptions to conditional permanent residence 

Evidence

Types of Abuse

Abuse or Neglect Considerations

Appendix E – Safety Precautions

Appendix G – Victim Services and Resources

Note:

• According to the specifications mentioned in subsection 1 (1) of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Regulations (IRPR), the term “common-law partner”, used in relation to a person, refers to an individual who is cohabiting with the person in a conjugal relationship, having so cohabited for a duration of at least one year
• Similarly, according to the Immigration and Refugee Protection Regulations (IRPR), the term “related person”, includes persons born through assisted human reproduction technologies. This allows the authorities to provide exceptions in cases where the perpetrator or the victim of abuse or neglect was born through assisted reproduction

Source: Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC)