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“If you leave me, you will be deported.” “I’ll call immigration.” “You’ll never see the kids again.” Abusers commonly say things like this, and they work because the person hearing them often has no way to check. They may not read English comfortably, may have no access to their own passport or to the mail, and may have been told that every document depends on the person hurting them. Some of those threats have no legal basis, and others are overstated. Even where someone’s status truly is uncertain, Canada has created specific options for this situation.
This article is general information and not legal advice. Your options depend on your status and your facts. Immigration programs change, so please check IRCC’s current guidance, and speak confidentially with a lawyer or a support worker where you can do so safely.
If You Are Already a Permanent Resident
Begin here, because this answer is the simplest and many people do not know it. If you have already become a permanent resident, your status does not depend on living with your sponsor or staying in the relationship. IRCC states this directly. There was once a conditional rule for certain sponsored spouses, but it has been removed.
Your sponsor cannot cancel your status by calling the government or sending a letter. Leaving a violent home does not breach any condition, and your sponsor’s financial undertaking is a promise made to the government, not a hold your sponsor has over you. If you need social assistance after leaving, it does not take away your permanent resident status.
Only a small list of legal events can end permanent resident status, and being a victim of abuse is not one of them. If you have other concerns, such as a past criminal matter or an old misrepresentation issue that your abuser is threatening to report, a lawyer can tell you what the real risk is.
If You Have Valid Temporary Status
If you are a visitor, student, or worker whose status has not expired, you may be able to extend or renew it on your own. You may also be able to change to another type of status, depending on your situation. This is often the moment to check the date on your permit, because abusers sometimes let documents lapse or hide them.
If you can, find or photograph your passport, permit, and any IRCC letters. If you cannot get to them, a lawyer can often help you find out what your status is, and may be able to request records from IRCC. Know that if your abuser controls the email address or online account linked to your application, you may need to take steps to change this.
If your status expired a short time ago, restoration may be available within a limited period, normally 90 days after losing status. Do not assume it is too late, but do not wait either.
The Family Violence Temporary Resident Permit
Canada offers a specific temporary resident permit (TRP) for people in this position. IRCC describes eligibility this way. You must:
- Be an out-of-status foreign national physically living in Canada.
- Be experiencing abuse or neglect by your spouse or common-law partner while in Canada.
- Be seeking permanent residence that depends on staying in a genuine relationship with the person abusing you.
It is designed for those who have been told, for instance, that a sponsorship is underway and then discover that their status depends entirely on this person.
The permit offers real benefits. The first permit lasts at least 12 months, and you may be able to apply for another at the end of that time. There are no processing or biometric fees for the permit, or for a related work or study permit. The TRP can extend to your children who are in Canada without temporary status. It gives access to trauma counselling and health care through the Interim Federal Health Program. Importantly, IRCC says you do not have to testify against your abuser.
The application is made on paper. It involves the following:
- Evidence of abuse, as set out in the next section.
- A safe address, phone number, and email for contact.
- Copies of your passport or other identity documents, whatever you can get.
- Forms IMM 5708, along with IMM 5710 for a work permit or IMM 5709 for a study permit as needed, and IMM 5476 if a representative is acting for you.
IRCC tells applicants to mail the package to its Vulnerable Persons Unit in Toronto, writing “FV” on the envelope and using a tracked service. Please check the current instructions and address on IRCC’s page before sending anything. If the permit is refused, you can ask to have the application considered as a regular TRP, with fees paid and later refunded if a family violence permit is approved.
What Counts as Evidence
Many people assume that without a police report they have nothing to offer. That is not what IRCC’s page says. Police reports are one example, but the list is broad and includes:
- Police notes, photos, or records of bail.
- Criminal or family court documents, such as a restraining order or probation order.
- Letters or reports from a shelter, a victim services program, a doctor, a counsellor, or witnesses.
- Assessments from a psychologist, psychiatrist, or therapist.
- Photos of injuries, and copies of emails or text messages.
You do not need all of these, and you need not have reported everything at the time it happened. Many people do not report abuse when it happens, and fear of what a partner will do is a common reason. If that was your situation, you can say so in your application. Keep what you can in a safe place outside the home, such as with a friend or a shelter, or in an email account your partner does not know about. Family violence is also more than physical harm: it can involve threats, financial control, isolation, sexual violence, and neglect.
Documents not in English or French will need a translation from a certified translator. A family member may not translate them, however fluent. If a certified translator is not possible, a translator’s affidavit may be used.
Permanent Residence on Humanitarian Grounds
A temporary permit is breathing room, not a long-term answer. For the longer term, IRCC offers expedited processing of humanitarian and compassionate (H&C) applications for permanent residence in urgent family violence situations. You generally qualify for this expedited handling if you are experiencing violence in Canada from a spouse or common-law partner on whom you depend to keep your status.
The situations listed by IRCC include one where a sponsor has withdrawn a family class application and one where an abuser has falsely claimed to have filed one. There is a specific process: for those with no application in progress, create an application in the Permanent Residence Portal under the family violence H&C category and then email IRCC to ask for family violence review. Those with a permanent residence application already in process use the IRCC web form and upload a letter describing the situation. IRCC’s page gives the exact steps, which should be followed closely and checked for updates.
H&C decisions are discretionary, and nobody can promise an outcome. They look at factors such as your establishment in Canada, your ties, the best interests of any children, and the hardship you would face if you had to leave. Abuse is highly relevant to that picture.
Other routes may also exist, depending on the facts, such as refugee protection if you fear return to your home country, including from family or your partner’s family. A sponsorship that has already been filed with an in-Canada application may also have its own considerations. A lawyer can help you compare options.
Your Children
Fear of losing children is probably the most powerful threat in this area. Immigration status and parenting are decided separately. An Ontario court, when making parenting orders, focuses on the child’s best interests, and it must consider family violence when doing so. Being without status, on its own, does not stop you from asking the court for decision-making responsibility or parenting time, and being the parent with less money or poorer English does not decide the matter either.
In Brampton, family court matters are heard at the Ontario Court of Justice and Superior Court of Justice at 7755 Hurontario Street. In urgent situations, a family lawyer can bring an emergency motion, for instance to prevent a child being taken out of the country, or to seek a restraining order. Our custody and parenting page outlines this kind of help. It is usually wise to have immigration and family lawyers talking to each other when both issues are live, as what you say in one case may become evidence in the other.
Do not leave Canada with your children, or let them be taken abroad, without first getting advice. Be careful about any “trip home” that your partner suddenly proposes. People have sometimes been taken overseas and left there, with their documents kept from them.
Where to Get Help in Brampton and Peel
You do not have to work through all of this by yourself, and you do not need to be sure about your status before asking for help.
- Emergencies: 911, or Peel Regional Police for non-emergency situations.
- IRCC Client Support Centre: 1-888-242-2100. Choose the option for victims of abuse and forced marriage. Agents can answer questions and direct you to support, but they cannot decide your application.
- Community services: Call 2-1-1, which can connect you to local supports including interpretation and settlement services.
- Shelters: The Shelter Safe website lists women’s shelters across Canada, including in Peel.
- Free legal consultation: IRCC’s page notes that Ontario residents can get a free consultation with a private lawyer at 1-800-668-8258. Legal Aid Ontario may also be able to help.
- Young people: Kids Help Phone at 1-800-668-6868.
Ask for an interpreter if you need one. A professional interpreter is far safer than a relative, who may be close to the person harming you.
A Few Safety Points
When someone is planning to leave, it can be helpful to collect the following, but only if it is safe. Gather your passport, your children’s passports, and your own and the children’s birth certificates. Note any immigration file numbers. Have a list of important phone numbers on paper. Open a separate email account, on a device your partner cannot access, and give that address to IRCC or your lawyer. If you prefer, leave copies of documents with someone you trust.
Think, too, about what you may say to your partner’s relatives or mutual friends. Immigration-related threats are sometimes passed along through extended family or community circles. Treat advice from those sources with care, however well it is meant, and check it against what a lawyer or IRCC tells you.
Your safety comes first. Any immigration problem can be looked at after you are safe, and it may have more solutions than you have been told. Our immigration law page explains how to reach us, and all conversations with a lawyer are confidential.