Immigration Corner | Reasons for an interview

Dear Miss Powell,

My boyfriend sponsored me to live in Canada. Since I have a Canadian visa, I usually go up to visit him. He applied to sponsor me and now they have called me for an interview. I found that strange as I already have a visitor’s visa, so they already have my details. I have two friends who were not called for an interview. Can you give me an idea of why they would want me to come in for an interview?

Thanks.

TT

Dear TT,

It is not unusual for Immigration, Refugee and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) to notify you that an interview is required at their local office when there is an application for spousal sponsorship. This just means that your application is being processed and they may need to clarify or confirm information that they have.

I will outline some reasons why you may be interviewed by IRCC. The most common reason for requesting and interview is that they need to evaluate the authenticity of your relationship. Are you in a genuine relationship? If you are, then you have nothing to be concerned about.

QUESTIONS TO EXPECT

You should be prepared to answer questions about your relationship. How long have you been in a relationship? How did you meet? Did you meet him while travelling to Canada? Did you meet via the Internet? How soon after you met, did he apply to sponsor you? How much time have you spent together? Has your boyfriend visited your home country? Have either of you been married before or in a pervious common-law relationship? Is there an age difference? Have you met his family? Do you own properties together? Do you have children together?

Additionally, be prepared to talk about some of the things you do together, mutual friends, how do you relate to each other when there is a difference of opinion. They may ask you details about your boyfriend’s employment, hobbies, and family relationships. Other questions could be about your plans on your arrival in Canada. Are you planning to get married when you get to Canada? If so, when? If not, what are your reasons.

Be prepared to talk about your plans for work or study, if those are some of the discussions you had with your boyfriend. Although you will not be required to show the amount of savings and investments you have as a part of a sponsorship application, do not be surprized if they ask you about your own resources and the amount of money you plan to take to Canada.

MISREPRESENTATION

If you already have a visitor’s visa/temporary resident visa, IRCC may be matching the information you provided for your temporary residence application with that provided for the permanent residence application. If the information does not correlate, then you could be deemed ineligible due to misrepresentation. Individuals who have fraudulently obtained a visa, whether through providing false documents, or providing false information, will not be granted a permanent resident status.

If a visitor’s visa was previously refused, or you have violated a legislation or certain conditions of the visa, such as overstaying your time in a country or failing to apply to extend your time when visiting, then these issues that will be evaluated. If you claim to have a full-time job in your home country, yet you have stayed in Canada over six months, even if you applied for an extension of time and it was granted, then this will be evaluated to ensure that a legislation or rule was not contravened.

There may be recent criminality or security concerns. If you have been arrested, charged, or have a criminal record since obtaining the visitor’s visa, or have become friends with certain known extremist, then you could be deemed inadmissible to Canada.

If you have previously been in Canada and applied to remain in Canada under humanitarian and compassionate grounds and your application was denied, then the local office will need to conduct an interview and request all the documents relating to your previous application. They will expect that you will be able to address all issues of concerns from that application before they can deal with this new application. They will be evaluating your case to ensure that no fraud or misrepresentation can be found.

Another simple reason is to confirm your identity, especially in cases where you have a common name. If you have a genuine relationship, you do not have any reason to be concerned. However, If you have doubts or concerns, you may schedule a telephone or Zoom meeting with me.

Deidre S. Powell is a lawyer, mediator and notary public in Canada. Send your questions and comments to info@deidrepowell.com or connect with her via Facebook, Instagram, Threads, or WhatsApp/call 613-695-8777.