Top v. Canada (Citizenship and Immigration), 2015 FC 736 : Spousal Sponsorship Refusal Upheld Because the Marriage Was Not Found Genuine

The Federal Court reviewed the refusal of an inland sponsorship application.

The immigration officer was not satisfied that the marriage was genuine, mainly because the applicant showed limited knowledge of important parts of his spouse’s personal, financial, and relationship history.

The Federal Court upheld the refusal.

Key Principle

In a spousal sponsorship application, the applicant must show that the relationship is genuine and was not entered into mainly for immigration purposes.

An officer may consider the couple’s knowledge of each other, their personal and financial arrangements, their relationship history, and whether their answers are consistent.

Background

The applicant was a Cambodian citizen who married a Canadian citizen in 2010.

He later applied for permanent residence under the spouse or common-law partner in Canada class.

During the interview, the applicant was unable to answer several questions about his wife, including matters relating to her previous divorces, rent arrangements, and household finances.

There were also inconsistencies between the couple’s answers, including information about the sponsor’s former husband living in the same household.

The officer therefore concluded that the marriage was not genuine.

Court Findings

The applicant argued that the officer failed to properly consider Cambodian culture and also failed to give enough weight to evidence that his wife was pregnant.

The Court rejected both arguments.

The record showed that the officer had considered cultural factors. The Court also found it reasonable for the officer to give little weight to the pregnancy evidence because the document did not identify the father.

The Court further found that the officer could reasonably rely on the applicant’s lack of knowledge about important aspects of his spouse’s life and on inconsistencies between their answers.

Outcome

The Federal Court dismissed the application for judicial review.

The case shows that in spousal sponsorship applications, applicants should be able to demonstrate genuine knowledge of each other’s lives, finances, family history, and living arrangements.

Case Citation:

Top v. Canada (Citizenship and Immigration), 2015 FC 736 CanLII