Each year, hundreds of newly-married Canadians find that their dream of a marital bliss shattered through deception, manipulation and misrepresentation of foreign spouses who have come to Canada by duping the sponsor. Although the immigration department is vigilant in requesting and reviewing substantial documentation to assure the bona fides of the relationship, there are still some individuals who will cleverly manipulate the innocent sponsor, feigning a life-long commitment and land in Canada as permanent residents.
The consequences for the sponsor can be both emotionally and financially devastating. If the new immigrant takes advantage of social welfare benefits, the reimbursement of the same falls on the shoulders of the sponsor for a full three years after the person has immigrated.
Several years ago the Government of Canada introduced a conditional spousal visa which basically provided for a two year window of opportunity for the Canadian sponsor to report such fraudulent activity to the government so that the government could strip the deceiving party of resident status and remove the person from Canada. The government is prominent in publicizing the same:
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FoyzsFaHk5g
But there are civil remedies as well. In one noted case of Raju v Kumar, the aggrieved party was awarded $10,000 in damages and further expenses to cover application fees, telephone costs and other monies lost related to the efforts of supporting the immigration all of which were wasted due to the misrepresentation. The judge awarded the general damages of $10,000 for “hurt feelings, humiliation, inconvenience and postponement of the opportunity to marry another while she was capable of bearing children.” For more information on the rationale of the judge, see the case details in full at:
http://www.canlii.org/en/bc/bcsc/doc/2006/2006bcsc439/2006bcsc439.html