A14
PHILIPPINE ASIAN NEWS TODAY August 1 - 15, 2016
Immigration
Corner
By Giovanni G. Mata
In October 2012,
an amendment to the
Immigration and Refugee
Protection
Regulations
(Regulations) was introduced
by the then Citizenship and
Immigration Canada (now
called Immigration Refugees
and Citizenship Canada
(IRCC), requiring sponsored
spouses, common law or
conjugal partners who have
been married or in a marriage
like relationship with the
sponsor for two years or
less and have no children
in common at the time the
application is submitted, to
cohabit or live together with
the sponsor for two years
from the day they acquired
their permanent resident
status in Canada. Their status
is conditional as it could be
revoked if the sponsored
spouse or partner does
not cohabit or live together
and remain in a legitimate
relationship with the sponsor
for two years. This conditional
status however applies only to
permanent residents whose
applications were received on
SPOUSAL SPONSORSHIP: Part 5 –
Conditional Permanent Residence
or after October 25, 2012.
This condition does
not apply if the sponsored
spouse or partner and the
sponsor have been married or
in a common law or conjugal
relationship for more than
two years OR if they have a
child/children in common at
the time of the sponsorship
application.
For those permanent
residents who are subject
to this condition, the CIC or
IRCC officer will note in the
Confirmation of Permanent
Residence (COPR) that the
permanent resident status
is conditional and that the
sponsored spouse or partner
should live with the sponsor
for at least two years. This
condition is automatically
removed after the two year
period.
If
it
has
been
determined
that
the
sponsored spouse or partner
failed to meet the condition
during the two year period,
the
permanent
resident
status could be revoked and
the IRCC may refer this to the
Immigration Division of the
Immigration Refugee Board
for hearing and determination.
If a removal order is issued,
the sponsored person may
appeal to the Immigration
Appeal Division (IAD), and if
the appeal is dismissed, the
permanent residence status
is revoked and removal order
will be enforced.
The application of this
condition is however subject
to certain exceptions. The
sponsored spouse or partner
may request exceptions in
the following circumstances,
namely: 1) death of the
sponsor during the two (2)
year conditional period;
or 2) in cases where the
sponsored spouse or partner
has been subjected to abuse
or seriously neglected. Abuse
may come in different forms
such as physical, sexual,
financial, psychological and
emotional abuse. Neglect
refers to situation where the
sponsor failed to provide the
basic necessities such as food,
shelter, clothing and medical
needs which will result in a
risk of serious harm.
The sponsored spouse
or partner who are into this
unfortunate circumstances
need not have to stay with the
sponsor for two years. He/she
can leave the relationship
during the two year waiting
period and can request for an
exception to the application
of the condition by calling or
writing the IRCC. The IRCC will
grant the sponsored spouse
or partner a full permanent
resident
status
without
waiting for the conditional
period of two years if has
found sufficient evidence
of abuse or neglect as the
cause of the relationship
breakdown. However, if the
situation does not fall under
one of the exceptions or if the
request has been refused, the
sponsored spouse or partner
may be ordered to leave
Canada for failure to comply
with the condition.
If you have a conditional
permanent resident status
and have been reported to
be non-compliant of the
condition, you may need
help from a lawyer as soon as
possible.
Giovanni is an articled
student at Equity Law Group.
Articling is the last phase
of becoming a lawyer in
Canada. Law Society of
British Columbia Rule 2-60
permits an articled student
to provide all legal services
that a lawyer can offer, with
some exceptions. He is
also a licensed immigration
consultant
with
ICCRC,
a Philippine Trial lawyer,
Certified International Trade
Professional in Canada, and
an Arbitrator. If you need
help with your sponsorship
application or have questions
about the process, you can
reach him at giovanni@
equitylawgroup.ca
Disclaimer: This article
is for information purposes
only and not to provide
specific legal advice.
Pacquiao starts light training
Eight-division world champion
Manny Pacquiao (58-6-2 win-lossrecord with 38 knockouts) will begin
light training this week at the Elorde
Gym in Pasay City in preparation for
his November 5 bout against American
Jessie Vargas at the Thomas & Mack
Center in Las Vegas, Nevada.
Liza Elorde, the husband of
Johnny Elorde, confirmed the report
to The Manila Times. “Yes, they will
train there privately,” she said.
“Actually, I already started
exercising and I really feel so good,”
Pacquiao told The Times in a brief
interview at the Senate. “I will do my
training and conditioning here near
the Senate. I’m starting some roadwork here.”
Pacquiao’s personal adviser
WWW.PHILIPPINEASIANNEWSTODAY.COM
Mike Koncz also told The Times in
a separate interview that Pacquiao
indeed has started preparing for the
fight.
“The training will be happening
near the Senate and the schedule of
training in Gensan is not yet final,”
Koncz said in a phone interview. “I
don’t have any schedule of the arrival
of coach Freddie Roach, but I think
he’ll be there four to five weeks before
the fight.”
Vargas, the World Boxing
Organization welterweight champion,
who holds a 27-1 win-loss record
with 10 knockouts), has also started
his training for the fight in the US,
according to reports. (JOSEF T.
RAMOS, MT)