Spousal Sponsorship Appeal Section IRPA 117(1)(a) / 11(1) / 4(1)

[Sanjeev]

I filed appeal for my husband by myself. Today, I received a letter from Immigration & Refugee Board. There are lot of sections of immigration act cited there, e.g. 117(1)(a), 11(1) and 4(1) etc. I have not studied immigration law. Can you tell me in brief how these section of immigration act will affect my appeal?

[Rajpal (Admin)]

Section 4(1) IRPA states: For the purposes of these Regulations, a foreign national shall not be considered a spouse, a common-law partner or a conjugal partner of a person if the marriage, common-law partnership or conjugal partnership

(a) was entered into primarily for the purpose of acquiring any status or privilege under the Act; or

(b) is not genuine.

In regards to your sponsorship appeal, this section means that you would have to satisfy the officer that your marriage is genuine and was not done just so that you could get status in Canada.

Section 11(1) IRPA states: A foreign national must, before entering Canada, apply to an officer for a visa or for any other document required by the regulations. The visa or document may be issued if, following an examination, the officer is satisfied that the foreign national is not inadmissible and meets the requirements of this Act.

In regards to your sponsorship appeal, this section means that you must apply to get a visa which would authorize you to enter Canada. You would only be issued a visa if the officer does not deem you inadmissible to Canada.

Section 117(1) IRPA states: A foreign national is a member of the family class if, with respect to a sponsor, the foreign national is

(a) the sponsor’s spouse, common-law partner or conjugal partner;

In regards to your sponsorship appeal, this section essentially defines as to which foreign national is considered a member of the family class. In your case, the foreign national (your husband) is your spouse so therefore he is a member of the family class.

In a nutshell, you have to satisfy the Minister’s counsel at the ADR conference or the board member at the full hearing that you are not inadmissible to Canada, you did not get married just to gain entry to Canada, and that your marriage is genuine.