Philippine Asian News Today Vol 19 No 16 | Page 12

BUSINESS NEWS
12
The Notary
Corner
By Editha Corrales Nelson
Immigration Consultant, Notary
Public, Mediation / Arbitrator
The Government of Cana-
da has removed the condition
that applied to some spon-
sored spouses or partners of
Canadian citizens and perma-
nent residents to live with their
sponsor in order to keep their
permanent resident status.
Under the old regula-
tion, you had to live with your
sponsor for two years if, at the
time you applied:
• Your relationship was
less than two years; and
• You had no children
in common.
The condition was intro-
duced as a means to deter
people from seeking to im-
migrate to Canada through
non-genuine relationships. By
removing the condition, the
Government recognizes that,
PHILIPPINE ASIAN NEWS TODAY August 16 - 31, 2017
NOTICE – Government of Canada Eliminates
Conditional Permanent Residence
while cases of mar-
riage fraud exist, the majority
of relationships are genuine
and most spousal sponsor-
ship applications are made in
good faith.
Eliminating conditional
permanent residence upholds
the Government’s commit-
ment to family reunification
and supports gender equal-
ity and combating gender
violence. As a result of the re-
quirement for the sponsored
spouse or partner to live with
their sponsor, an imbalance
between the sponsor and the
sponsored spouse or part-
ner could have been created,
potentially making the spon-
sored spouse or partner more
vulnerable.
WHAT HAPPENS NOW
Effective today, condi-
tional permanent residence
no longer applies to anyone,
whether:
• you were sponsored
by your spouse or partner for
permanent residence, or
• you were sponsored
by someone who had condi-
tional permanent residence
(i.e. child or parent).
You don’t need to do any-
thing. We just want you to
know.
If you receive your Con-
firmation of Permanent Resi-
dence on or after April 18,
2017 and it indicates that you
“must cohabit in a conjugal
relationship with your spon-
sor or partner for a continu-
ous period of 2 years after the
day on which you became a
PR”, this requirement no lon-
Life etc.
ger applies to you.
If you were under investi-
gation for not complying with
the requirement to live with
your spouse or partner, you
are no longer under investi-
gation.
In order to uphold the
integrity of the immigration
system, the Government will
continue to investigate alle-
gations of marriage fraud. To
report fraud, including mar-
riage fraud, contact the Can-
ada Border Services Agency
Border Watch Toll-Free Line
at 1-888-502-9060.
* Strictly taken from www.
cic.gc.ca
A Canadian Certi-
fied Immigration Consultant,
Certified Senior Advisor and
a Notary Public in the City
of Burnaby, Editha Corrales
Nelson’s preferred areas of
practice are Powers of Attor-
ney, Wills Preparation, Inter-
national Legal Documents,
Name Changes, Affidavits,
Letters of Invitation, Statu-
tory Declarations, Drafting of
Busine