Internet Dating can help you get Sponsorship

From a case in Federal Court of Canada in 2006, here is an interesting piece for all those interesting in immigrating to Canada in shortest possible time.

Carole Savard and Abderaouf Samadi after a short but intense online relationship fell in love with each other. Ms. Savard sponsored Mr. Samadi as a conjugal partner but her application was turned down.

Not to take it lying down, Savard appealed to the Immigration Appeal Division (IAD), which after hearing the arguments form both sides ruled that the couple were indeed in a conjugal relationship and overturned the visa officer’s decision. The applicant, the Minister of Citizenship and Immigration, applied for judicial review of this decision of the IAD, and the Court must now rule on this application.

Both the love birds had met through a website in 2001. Savard is from Canada while Samadi is from Morocco and resident in Spain since 1992. It did not take them long time to realize that they were made for each other and fell madly in love.

Following an exchange of personal emails and letters and telephone calls, Ms. Savard travelled to Spain on June 14, 2002 to meet her sweetheart at last. She then made a second trip in December 2002.

On March 31, 2003, Ms. Savard filed a sponsorship application for Mr. Samadi in the family reunification class as a “conjugal partner” and an undertaking, and Mr. Samadi filed his application for permanent residence in Canada on April 11, 2003. Meanwhile, the lovebirds continued their relationship and she made two further trips to Spain.

The Visa officer rejected the application because he did not believe they were in a committed relationship. The couple appealed to the IAD and won. The government (CIC) appealed to the Federal Court of Canada.

The result? The Federal Court of Appeal ordered that the IAD re-hear the case and allowed the applicants to bring forward new evidence.

This case shows that Internet dating can lead to sponsorship, but it can get tough, especially without legal counsel from the beginning of the application.