Recently, the Immigration Canada officers rejected 1,700 spousal visa applications considering them as a marriage of convenience. ‘Marriage of Convenience’ that many applicants regard as the quickest route to Canada is regarded as a crime in Canada. Applicants can easily face refusals if the immigration officers discover the fraud.

It is worth noting that the number of visa refusals is still the same as it was in 2017  said the Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) data obtained by Lexbase, Canada’s largest immigration periodical, providing current immigration policy and practice information.

The document stated that “While the number of spousal sponsorship applications received by IRCC has increased by 32 percent over the last ten years, we have seen a decline in the number of the marriage of convenience investigations since the removal of the probationary period in April 2017”.

If a Canadian citizen or permanent residence sponsors their spouse, they will have to support their financial needs for three years before they complete the Canada immigration process. The applicant must give the spouse financial help, whether the marriage works or not.

The government of Canada had also removed the condition that the applicant had to live with their spouse for at least two years before obtaining permanent residency status.

In 2019, the Immigration, Refugees, and Citizenship Canada investigated 200 visa applications than 800 in 2017. However, it’s surprising that the number of refusals or frauds is still the same in 2019, just in 2017.

IRCC clearly stated that its officials are well-trained and qualified to detect the discrepancies in an application, especially in the marriages of convenience. These officials can easily find out if the relationship is genuine and then act accordingly.

There are many ways – document checks, wedding photographs, interviews with applicants and sponsors, etc. – which officers can discover marriage frauds.

Irrespective of the reason or motivation behind such frauds, no one can enter Canada based on the marriage of convenience. It’s just not worth the risk.

Canada Border Agency had also conducted an investigation, wherein it pointed out some ‘high-risk countries’ where ‘bogus’ spouses are sponsored for Canadian permanent residency.

For more information, you can connect with us on 8595338595 or [email protected]