Backgrounders - Consulting the public on marriages of convenience

Definitions

Sponsorship bars

Australia, New Zealand and the United States forbid a sponsored spouse or partner from sponsoring a new spouse or partner within the following five years.

In Canada, a Canadian citizen or permanent resident who has previously sponsored a spouse or partner may not sponsor a new spouse or partner until the end of the three-year period described before. However, there is currently no similar bar on the sponsored person.

Conditional visas

In the United States, Australia and the United Kingdom, permanent residence is granted to recently married spouses and partners only after a probationary period. The length of the probationary period varies between countries and individual cases, but is generally about two years. Exceptions may be made for cases of domestic violence.

This kind of conditional status does not exist in Canada. This is partly due to concerns about placing sponsored spouses and partners in vulnerable situations and whether this practice would work in the Canadian context.