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POLICY BRIEF Spousal Sponsorship and Conditional Permanent Residence

January 14, 2016

Produced By: Rupaleem Bhuyan & René Bogovic Migrant Mothers Project, University of Toronto This policy brief presents research on racial and gendered effects of conditional permanent residence (Conditional PR) and related policies that impact immigrants who are sponsored by their spouses or partners to immigrate to Canada. In this report, we focus on data that was retrieved from Citizenship and Immigration Canada for all sponsored spouses, common-law and conjugal partners between October 2012 and December 2014. Our research included conversations with front-line service providers, lawyers and immigrant advocates who were consulted through a series of community forums and individual interviews in Alberta and Ontario. We join the Canadian Council for Refugees in calling for the repeal of Conditional PR. We also present several policy recommendations to address inequities in spousal and partner sponsorship that create vulnerability for people facing abuse while waiting for their sponsorship applications to be approved. Overview of Immigration through Spousal or Partner Sponsorship In 2012, the Conservative government created a new immigration status called “conditional permanent residence” as part of their crackdown on the so-called problem of “marriage fraud”. Sponsored spouses and partners, which include heterosexual and same sex relationships, have to undergo extensive scrutiny to prove they have a genuine relationship when applying to immigrate to Canada. Previously, sponsored spouses or partners would receive permanent residence status as soon as their application was approved. Today, people who are granted Conditional PR must cohabitate with their sponsor in a “conjugal” relationship for two years. Any suspicion regarding the legitimacy of the relationship or if the relationship dissolves can lead to the sponsored spouse losing their right to remain in Canada.

Racial and Gendered Impacts of Conditional PR Placing a condition on newly sponsored spouses and partners reinforces gender hierarchies that can fuel domestic violence. In addition to more racialized immigrants receiving the conditional status, 64% of immigrants with conditional status are female, as opposed to 32% who are male.

Migrant Mothers Project Factor-Inwentash Faculty of Social Work University of Toronto

www.migrantmothersproject.com

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While on average, 28% of sponsored spouses and 22% of partners are given conditional PR, the percentage of spouses getting this condition is twice as high for people coming from countries in the Middle East and South Asia (e.g. Morocco, Pakistan, Afghanistan). Up to 54% of all spouses from this region receive a conditional status. Considering the disproportionate number of racialized immigrant spouses who received a “conditional status” this policy functions as a form of racial profiling in immigration law. We argue that couples that do not co-habitat before immigrating or who do not have the capacity to document the genuineness of their relationship over time (e.g. same sex couples who live in regions where it is unsafe for them to be open about their relationship), will be more likely to be subject to conditions on their permanent residence.

Longer Processing Times for Sponsorship Applications While Conditional PR creates uncertainty for sponsored spouses and partners, our research also noted continued hardships for people who are waiting for a sponsorship application to be approved. There are two consecutive steps in processing spousal sponsorship applications. The assessment of the sponsor is done first and averages 63 days, followed by the assessment of the person being sponsored.

Gender of the Sponsor

Female (Average Age: 34)

Male (Average Age: 37)

Gender of Spouse/Partner with Conditional PR

Female (Average Age: 31)

Male (Average Age: 34)

October 25, 2012 – the Canadian Government introduced conditional permanent residence (CPR); applies to couples without children and to those in relationships of two years or less at the time of application. Between October 25, 2012 and December 31, 2014:

28,945 (28%) out of 103,887 sponsored spouses/partners received CPR.

1,973 accompanying dependents (children) received CPR.

9,891 (34%) sponsored spouses/partners with CPR applied from within Canada.

19,054 (66%) sponsored spouses/partners immigrated from abroad.



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One third of all spousal applications are submitted within Canada, where the sponsored spouse has a visitor, student or work visa. Nearly two thirds of applicants from within Canada are women. In recent years, the average processing time for applications submitted within Canada has increased, in some cases up to 27 months. This period of uncertainty can contribute to vulnerability in cases of domestic violence or where the relationship breaks down before the sponsorship application has been approved. If the sponsored person lives outside of Canada, processing times vary widely depending on the overseas office assessing their application. This ranges from 5 months in Sao Paulo, Brazil to 47 months in Islamabad, Pakistan. A large number of countries where processing times are over 20 months are also regions where travelers require a visitor visa to enter Canada. This process keeps partners apart for long periods of time, all the while requiring them to prove the genuine nature of their relationship. For sponsored spouses and partners who are subject to the condition upon “landing”, the combined effect could mean being separated from their spouse or partner for up to four years, in addition to living with a conditional PR for two years.

Map of Countries with Processing Times over 20 Months (CIC, 2015)



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Uneven Implementation of “Exceptions for Abuse and Neglect” When the Conditional PR was first introduced, more than 80 organizations that work with women and immigrants across Canada signed a statement opposing the Conditional PR, as it is potentially dangerous to immigrants in abusive relationships. The previous government acknowledged that spousal sponsorship may put people who are vulnerable to abuse in more danger, thus they created an “Exception for Victims of Abuse and Neglect”. As the Canadian Council of Refugees has reported, the exception process that is currently set up has many flaws. From our own research with service providers in Alberta and Ontario, we’ve found that many victims of abuse and neglect are fearful that applying for the “Exception” may jeopardize their immigration status. Exacerbating this fear, are CIC staff who lack the necessary training required to respond to people in times of crisis. As such, investigations into reports of abuse may put victims at further risk. According to CIC data, in the first two years of the government introducing the “Exception for Victims of Abuse and Neglect”, only 57 women officially submitted applications. Of these 57 women, 75% were successful. The rest of the women had their applications denied, while 10% of the women were suspected of fraud and sent for an inadmissibility review, which could lead to their deportation from Canada. As such, a system that responds to immigrant victims of abuse seeking help with a threat of deportation, only serves to violate their basic human rights.

Map of Countries with Processing Times over 20 Months that Also Require a Visa to Visit Canada) (CIC, 2015)



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Country Total Applied

Total with PR

Condition

Percentage with PR Condition

India 9701 4303 44%

China 9834 2632 27%

Philippines 7214 2236 31%

USA 9084 1956 22%

Morocco 2133 1087 51%

Algeria 1672 902 54%

British Citizen 3085 840 27%

Iran 1961 714 36%

Sri Lanka 1764 709 40%

Cuba 1220 617 51%

Country Total

Applied

Total with PR

Condition

Percentage with PR

Condition

Turkey 461 258 56%

Tunisia 976 541 55%

Azerbaijan 29 16 55%

Algeria 1672 902 54%

Nepal 180 94 52%

Morocco 2133 1087 51%

Cuba 1220 617 51%

Albania 261 116 44%

Antigua & Barbuda 18 8 44%

India 9701 4303 44%

Top Ten Countries with the Highest Number of Conditional PR Top Ten Countries with the Highest Percentage with PR Condition



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Summary of Key Concerns

Out of the 10 countries with the highest proportion of Conditional PR, 6 are Muslim majority (Turkey, Tunisia, Azerbaijan, Algeria, Morocco, Albania).

Out of the 10 countries with the highest proportion of Conditional PR, nine are in the Global South (Turkey, Tunisia, Azerbaijan, Algeria, Nepal, Morocco, Cuba, Antigua and Barbuda, India) and one is in South-Eastern Europe (Albania).

Other than Antigua and Barbuda, all of the other 9 countries in the top 10 by proportion of Conditional PR, require a visa to visit Canada.

Muslim majority countries in the Global South requiring a visa to visit Canada, are most disenfranchised in gaining access to Canadian PR, as they are also subject to long processing times.

Conditional PR introduces an overt form of precarious status, but longer processing times also have a significant impact on the rights of sponsored spouses/partners who are in Canada or who are waiting for applications to be approved from abroad.

The compounded effect of Conditional PR and Spousal Sponsorship policies reinforces the policing of racialized communities as suspicious of criminal intent and creates different rights for immigrants based on their country of origin.

Children might also be at risk of remaining in an abusive situation because of the conditional PR status of their sponsored parent or if they are also granted conditional PR.

Policy Recommendations 1. Repeal Conditional PR.

We strongly encourage the Minister to fulfill his promise to repeal the conditional permanent residence measure and grant full permanent resident status to all sponsored spouses and partners who were granted the condition. Removing the conditional status would have an immediate impact on thousands of newly sponsored immigrants who may be tied to a sponsor who is abusive or has left the relationship.

2. Extend support for immigrant victims of abuse or neglect to secure their immigration status. Sponsorship breakdown due to domestic violence is a long standing issue in Canada. The “Exception for Abuse and Neglect” that was introduced along with Conditional PR affirms the potential vulnerability that newly sponsored spouses and partners may face, if abuse or neglect is taking place in the relationship. However, the “Exception for Abuse and Neglect” is not working well. We strongly encourage the Minister to develop programs that increase support for all immigrant victims of



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abuse or neglect to secure their immigration status. These programs should be designed to recognize the great vulnerability of immigrant women and the many barriers they face to seeking help and safety.

3. Reduce processing times for in-land and overseas sponsored spouses/partners, especially for regions where the sponsored person requires a visa to enter Canada. Requiring some sponsored spouses and partners to wait up to 20 months to receive permanent resident status so they may join their families in Canada is unjust. This period of uncertainty causes detrimental hardship and creates a de facto conditional status. Uneven processing times also produce racialized and gendered inequalities. We encourage the Minister to devote adequate resources to overseas offices that have longer processing times, so as to reduce the constraints on families that wish to establish their lives in Canada.

4. Extend work authorization to in-land sponsored spouses/partners as they are waiting for their application to be processed. We recommend the Minister to extend the pilot program which offers work authorization to Sponsored Spouses or Common-Law Partners in Canada who’s applications have been approved in principal. Having work authorization reduces economic dependence and allows newly sponsored spouses/partners to begin to establish a meaningful life in Canada.

Data Sources Processing times for Sponsors and Applicants within Canada: http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/information/times/perm-fc.asp Processing times for Overseas Applicants: http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/information/times/perm/fc-spouses.asp Exception from Conditional Permanent Residence: http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/department/media/backgrounders/2012/2012-10-26b.asp Incidence of Spousal Abuse in Canada: http://www.statcan.gc.ca/pub/85-224-x/2010000/aftertoc-aprestdm2-eng.htm Liberal Government’s Plan for Immigration Policy: http://www.thestar.com/news/canada/2015/10/29/liberals-urged-to-repeal-measure-that-traps-women-in-abusive-relationships.html Other: Data retrieved through an Access to Information Request, submitted July 31, 2015 by Rupaleem Bhuyan, University of Toronto. Prepared by the External Statistical Reporting Group, data Management and Reporting Division, Research & Evaluation Branch, Citizenship and Immigration Canada.

POLICY BRIEF Spousal Sponsorship and Conditional Permanent Residence

November 28, 2016

Produced By: Rupaleem Bhuyan and Ellen Tang Migrant Mothers Project, University of Toronto This policy brief outlines recommendations for the proposed repeal of Conditional Permanent Residence and amendments to the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act (published October 29, 2016). We present data requested from Citizenship and Immigration Canada on sponsored spouses (FC1), common-law (FCC), and conjugal partners (FCE) between 2013-2015. Additional immigration statistics were accessed through Open Data, and cited in the Toronto Star. Our research also included interviews with front-line service providers, lawyers and immigrant advocates in Ontario and Alberta. Background: Gendered and Racial Impacts of Conditional PR Between 2013 and 2015, the number of sponsored spouses/partners who received conditional PR totaled 53,228. This represents 35% of all sponsored spouses/partners admitted to Canada in the same period. Our analysis shows that female immigrants are disproportionately affected by this regulation, with 63% of those placed under conditional PR being female, compared with an average of 52% for all permanent residents admitted.

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Fig. 1: Proportion of Permanent Residents by Gender: Sponsored Spouses/Partners With Conditonal PR

VS. All Permanent Residents

male

female



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Sponsored spouses/partners from some countries were much more likely than the average to receive conditional PR. These countries (see fig. 3) tended to be in the Middle East, North Africa, South East Asia, and East Asia. Considering the number of racialized immigrant spouses who received conditional status, this policy can be seen to perpetuate racial inequities, whereby racialized individuals are targeted for surveillance and enforcement. Our research has shown that the fear of losing PR status creates vulnerability for immigrant women and barriers to seeking support services in situations of abuse.

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Morocco

Korea, South

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China

Pakistan

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Philippines

India

2013

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Number of sponsored spouses/partners with conditional PR

Fig. 2: Top 10 Source Countries of Sponsored Spouses/Partners With

Conditional PR

36%

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54%

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Egypt

Iran

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India

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Cuba

Morocco

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Brazil

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Spain

Colombia

Tunisia

Algeria

Morocco

Poland

Japan

Korea, South

2013

-201

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*Omitting countries with fewer than 100 sponsored spouses/partners

Fig. 3: Top 10 Source Countries With Highest Percentage of

Sponsored Spouses/Partners With Conditional PR*



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Summary of Key Concerns

As noted in the “Regulatory Impact Analysis Statement”, imposing conditions on permanent residents, to cohabitate with one’s sponsor, places newcomers who are in abusive relationships with their sponsor at risk for further abuse.

Through interviews with service providers and immigration lawyers in Calgary and Toronto, we learned that numerous women who may be eligible to apply for the “Exception for Abuse and Neglect” decided to remain with their abusive spouse/partner for fear of jeopardising their immigration status.

Children might also be at risk of remaining in an abusive situation because of the conditional PR status of their sponsored parent or if they are also granted conditional PR.

Conditional permanent residence disproportionately impact women from the Global South, thus reproducing gendered and racial inequality.

Sponsored spouses/partners who originate in South Asian countries or the Middle East are twice as likely to be granted the condition (because their relationship was two years or less at the time of applying for sponsorship); this reinforces cultural bias against immigrants who are seen as more suspicious of their intentions to immigrate to Canada due to varying marital and family migration practices.

Conditional permanent residence was compounded for in-land sponsored spouses who must wait on average 2-years for their application to be processed; during which time they may also face a risk for domestic violence and fear seeking help due to their precarious immigration status.

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Fig. 4: Applications for Conditional Exception Received -R72.1(6) Abuse and Neglect

No. of applications received



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Recommendations

1) We fully support the repeal of SOR/2002-227. 2) In recognition of the thousands of people who currently have or previously had a

condition on their permanent residence status, we recommend for IRCC to send clear documentation to each individual who has received the condition (including those who have completed the initial two years), informing them that the regulation has been repealed.

3) For individuals who applied for an exception and were denied the exception and referred for inadmissibility review, we recommend that IRCC discontinue inadmissibility review as these individuals would now be recognized as permanent residents without a condition.

4) In consideration of the vulnerability for sponsored spouses and their children who currently have a condition on their permanent residence, we strong recommend that the regulations come into force as soon as possible. Waiting until the Spring of 2017 would place an undue burden on sponsored spouses/partners and their children who are in abusive relationships. Waiting until the Spring of 2017 will also place an increased administrative burden on IRCC staff who are responsible for reviewing and processing applications for the Exception AND upon non-governmental organizations that support victims of domestic violence who apply for the Exception, due to the required documentation of abuse, access of services, and affidavits from support workers and social workers.



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Data Sources Permanent resident admissions by category http://www.cic.gc.ca/opendata-donneesouvertes/data/IRCC_PRadmiss_0002_F.xls Canada – Permanent residents by gender and category, 1989 to 2014 http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/resources/statistics/facts2014/permanent/01.asp Liberals Announce Changes to Spousal Sponsorship Rules https://www.thestar.com/news/immigration/2016/10/31/liberals-announce-changes-to-spousal-sponsorship-rules.html Other: Data retrieved through an Access to Information Request, prepared by the External Statistical Reporting Group, data Management and Reporting Division, Research & Evaluation Branch, Citizenship and Immigration Canada.

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