Canadian Immigration Law Accepts Mixed-Orientation Couples

Sponsorship through the family class programs for immigration to Canada is a common choice for conjugal partners who want to settle down together. Immigration law is constantly evolving as the world moves forward, and it is important to understand that no particular facet can be regarded as permanent.

Canada’s juridical system allows people to challenge laws that they find unjust. The statute can be interpreted in a variety of ways and people are slowly beginning to claim what is rightfully theirs. Courts can decide when a particular immigration decision is irrational, forcing a change.

Canada has slowly emerged to be very accepting of all sexual orientations. The laws prohibit any kind of discrimination on the basis of sexual orientation. The definition of family has undergone development over the past few years in Canada to include same-sex couples and unmarried conjugal couples alongside the normative heterosexual married couple.

Landmark case:

A recent case that truly tested the boundaries of Canada’s stand on family was the A.P. v. Canada (Citizenship and Immigration), 2020 FC 906 (CanLII), which reflected how interpretative certain policies can be. A gay man, A.P., and a straight woman, A.M., were refused conjugal sponsoring in spite of having a kid. Then, A.P. decided to take matters into his own hands and made an appeal to the Immigration Appeal Division (IAD) but was disappointed.

The IAD ruled that a homosexual man and straight woman could not fulfill the sexual component of the conjugal partnership. A.P., to his credit, appealed further to the Federal Court of Canada where Judge Fuhrer took his side and stated that there was no reason why they could not be a conjugal unit considering they could experience sexual intimacy with external aids. Judge Fuhrer made it clear that mixed-orientation couples could also have conjugal unions and hence they were eligible for the sponsorship.