Question Period Note: SPOUSAL SPONSORSHIP

Addressing spousal sponsorship processing times during Covid-19 pandemic.

• The COVID-19 global pandemic has resulted in unprecedented challenges at the border and our Government will continue to find ways to keep families together.

• We know this has been a difficult time for those who are far from their loved ones in these difficult times and that is why we will accelerate the approval of spousal applications as much as possible.

• To process spousal applications more quickly and reduce couples’ wait times, IRCC will use new technology to process applications more efficiently. IRCC also increased the number of its decision makers on spousal applications in Canada by 66%.

• With these initiatives, IRCC aims to accelerate and finalize about 6,000 spousal applications each month, from October until December 2020. This will lead to about 49,000 decisions by the end of this year.

• For the year 2019, we allocated 68,000 annual admission spaces to sponsored spouses, partners and children, increasing to 70,000 annual spaces in 2020 and 2021 under Canada’s multi-year immigration levels plan.

• The backlog of spousal applications peaked at 75,000 applicants in December 2016. At that time, it took about 21 months to process 80 percent of in-Canada spousal applications and 15 months for outside Canada applications.

• The Department also announced that 80% of new spouse and partner applications submitted on or after December 7, 2016, would be processed within 12 months from the month the complete application is received by IRCC.

• In December 2016, the Department updated the application guides and checklists for the spousal sponsorship program to facilitate faster processing and improve the client experience. These changes reflect the Department’s ongoing commitment to respond to clients’ needs and make improvements where possible.

• Ministerial Instructions that came into effect on December 15, 2016, require that all new applications include all of the required documents listed on the application checklist. This contributes to more efficient and timely processing by reducing additional processing time that may result from back-and–forth interactions between IRCC and clients as the department waits to receive requested required documents.

• Due to the impacts of COVID-19 on the Department’s operations, there have been lower volumes in finalized applications and processing times are expected to increase in the short and medium term. However, the Department continues to look at all options to resume normal processing times while ensuring the health and safety of our employees.

• The Department implemented facilitative measures to continue processing sponsorship applications such as allowing additional time for applicants to submit supporting documentation and finalizing applications through virtual landings for in-Canada spousal applicants.

• Spousal sponsorship applicants can also apply for a temporary resident visa or electronic travel authorization while awaiting a decision on permanent residence. As long as the applicant can satisfy an officer that they meet the requirements of temporary residence, including that they will leave at the end of their authorized period of stay, an applicant may seek temporary residence in Canada while they await a decision on their application for permanent residence.

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• IRCC is committed to upholding the integrity of the immigration program by ensuring that relationships of convenience are uncovered and not used to circumvent the law. As a result, some applications are more complex and must be examined more closely.

Preventing marriage fraud

• IRCC’s first line of defense against marriage fraud is our officers. Immigration officers are trained to assess all applications, and must be satisfied that a relationship is legitimate before granting the sponsored spouse or partner their permanent residence status. If an officer is not satisfied that the relationship is genuine, or has sufficient reasonable grounds to believe the relationship was entered into primarily to obtain permanent residence in Canada, the application will be refused.

• Sponsored spouses or partners must wait five years from the day they are granted permanent residence before they themselves are eligible to sponsor a new spouse or partner. This bar seeks to deter people from trying to immigrate to Canada through non-genuine relationships.

• There may be instances where a sponsored spouse or partner is granted permanent residence and evidence of marriage fraud surfaces, which may leave the sponsor in emotional and financial distress. These cases are taken seriously and are investigated. A sponsored individual could lose their permanent resident status and be removed from Canada on the basis of misrepresentation.

• While there are instances of marriage fraud, the majority of sponsored spouses or partners are found to be in a genuine relationship.

• At the end of August 2020, there was an inventory of approximately 64,000 spousal applications.

• IRCC has approximately 290 employees, including decisions makers and support staff, dedicated to spousal processing.

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