Top 5 Canadian Spousal Sponsorship Mistakes (And How to Avoid Them!)

The Information in this post is not legal advice. To book a consultation about your sponsorship or other immigration matter(s), email sharifakhanlaw@gmail.com or call 416 831 4521, Monday to Friday, 9am- 5pm.

The Canadian immigration system can be difficult, time- consuming and frustrating to navigate. Inadequate attention to detail and seemingly minor errors can result in the return of an unprocessed application months after you and your loved ones assumed your application was being processed, time- consuming requests for more information that could have been provided by the couple upfront, scheduling a marriage interview, or even refusal.

Ultimately, a returned application means, at a minimum, precious time lost. Any noted errors or omissions in the application must be addressed and the application re- filed. A refused application for an overseas file may be appealed, but this is a difficult, timely, expensive and very stressful process. If your Inland application was refused, you will need to address the issue(s) raised by the Immigration Officer and reapply. This can be a daunting and incredibly stressful situation.

As a Canadian immigration lawyer specializing in sponsorship applications, here are the top five most common mistakes I’ve seen applicants make when completing their spousal sponsorship applications on their own, and how to avoid them. While couples are absolutely allowed to apply on their own without the assistance of a lawyer, for some couples, the investment in legal counsel is a sound one.

1. ERRORS ON FORMS AND/ OR SUBMITTING OUTDATED FORMS

I get it, Canadian immigration forms can be dense, repetitive and sometimes just plain confusing. But be careful and pay close attention to details! I have seen applications returned- unprocessed- months after submission because an applicant forgot to disclose a period of work or personal history, misread instructions such as writing names in the original language, or signed in the wrong place, or did not sign at all (missing signatures are very, very bad).

It is therefore essential that all forms are properly completed and thoroughly reviewed with a detailed eye (or better yet, an experienced pair of attentive eyes).

Another common mistake is using outdated forms. Immigration forms are updated regularly and applicants are required to check the Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) website to ensure they are submitting the most recent version of the forms. While this can be a painstaking and time- consuming process, it is much better to ensure the forms are the most recent version and to re- do the forms, if necessary. It is not worth the risk of a returned application to submit outdated forms.

2. INCONSISTENCY ON FORMS AND INFORMATION SUBMITTED

Among other requirements, the underlying analysis that an immigration officer is making in the context of a spousal sponsorship application is whether the marriage is genuine (i.e., not entered into primarily for immigration purposes) and not fraudulent.

Incorrect or inconsistent information, even when perfectly innocent, can raise doubts about whether the marriage is genuine, and lead to additional unnecessary (and unwanted!) scrutiny by IRCC. This can result in processing delays if the Immigration Officer requests additional information, or even schedules a marriage interview to further scrutinize and assess whether the marriage is genuine.

It is therefore crucial that applicants ensure that all forms, documents and information submitted with their sponsorship application are coherent, consistent and well- explained. This includes reviewing all the application forms together to ensure that time periods are correct and consistent throughout, and that details provided in one part of the application are consistent in another.

Sometimes, even though a marriage is genuine, there are unique factors (ex. significant age differences, cultural differences, perceived incompatibility, etc.) that may cause the assessing Officer to doubt the relationship. In some cases, if an Officer refuses an application after concluding that the relationship is not genuine (i.e., fraudulent), the Officer will refuse the application and also ban the sponsored spouse from entering Canada for five years due to (alleged) misrepresentation. This is a very serious immigration offence.

An experienced immigration lawyer can assist couples to explain areas of perceived incompatibility and proactively and effectively address any potential issues an Immigration Officer might have. Addressing potential issues in a forthcoming and direct manner can mean the difference between an approved application and a refusal.

3. IMPROPERLY TRANSLATED DOCUMENTS

IRCC has clear and stringent requirements for the proper translation of documents (that are not written in English or in French). It is imperative that these instructions are followed, and simply outsourcing this task to a translation agency might not be enough. I have seen cases where translation agencies do not follow IRCC requirements for document translations, so it’s important to independently verify these requirements.

While an improperly translated document might not result in the return of an unprocessed application, the assessing Immigration Officer is likely to give the document little to no weight. This can have an extremely negative impact on the outcome of an application, particularly if applicants are relying on the document to help demonstrate the genuineness of their marriage.

4. SUBMITTING UNHELPFUL OR INAPPROPRIATE DOCUMENTATION/ MISSING DOCUMENTATION

Sometimes, in reviewing an application that a couple has prepared on their own, it becomes obvious that they don’t understand or have lost sight of why IRCC requires certain documentation. Again, the Immigration Officer needs to be satisfied that the marriage is genuine and was not entered into primarily for immigration purposes.

Despite the fact that IRCC now limits the volume of documentation that applicants are allowed to provide upfront in support of their application, it always surprises me to see couples wasting this precious allocation on providing redundant, unhelpful or even questionable documentation. Don’t do this; it’s essential to think clearly about why you are submitting the documentation you’ve chosen to include with your application.

A not totally- unrelated problem is when couples forget or neglect to submit key required or supporting documents with their spousal sponsorship application. It is crucial to double and triple check the IRCC document checklist and to ask a reputable source for assistance if these requirements are unclear. It is very likely that IRCC will return an application (marking it as incomplete and therefore unprocessed) if any item listed on the document checklist is missing.

For more guidance on IRCC document requirements, see: https://ircc.canada.ca/english/information/applications/spouse.asp

5. NOT INCLUDING ENOUGH (HELPFUL) INFORMATION

Finally, one of the biggest mistakes I see couples making in their sponsorship application is not providing enough information to allow the Immigration Officer to approve their application. You are not limited to the space provided on the application forms and you are allowed to explain -in detail- aspects of your marriage that prove that it is genuine, from the start of your relationship, to its evolution and details of your current relationship with your spouse.

The assumption that you should provide very limited or basic information (“give them as little information as possible”) is incorrect. You should provide enough details upfront to convince the assessing Officer that your marriage is genuine, ideally without the need for follow- up contact such as a marriage interview. Such unnecessary follow- up communications will delay the processing of your application and, ultimately, your spouse’s ability to join you in Canada.

Consequences: lost time, lost opportunities and lost (Canadian) income

When an unprocessed application is returned due to a mistake, the only solution is to fix the noted error(s) and re- file the application. Unfortunately, the application is then marked as received on this new filing date (barring any further errors) and any time spent waiting after the first time the application was submitted is simply wasted. This can be devastating for couples whose goal is to be reunited as expeditiously as possible.

Additionally, for applicants who are eligible to file an open work permit application in conjunction with their In- Canada spousal sponsorship application (to allow the sponsored spouse to work in Canada), such a delay can be devastating and may result in losing the opportunity to apply for an open work permit (and earn a Canadian income) at that time.

A refused application that must be appealed will cost the couple precious time and money. Typically, the financial cost of an appeal is significantly higher than retaining an experienced immigration lawyer to complete the application correctly, the first time.

As an experienced immigration lawyer, Sharifa Khan can assist you and your loved ones avoid these -and other- common mistakes that result in unnecessary delays, stress and complications during the processing of your spousal sponsorship application. Don’t hesitate to be in touch: email sharifakhanlaw@gmail.com or call 416 831 4521, Monday to Friday, 9am- 5pm https://cornwallimmigrationlawyer.ca/