Marriage Fraud and Marriages of Convenience

DAVID MANICOM: The financial obligations of a sponsor are that you are responsible for a period of three years for the person you sponsor to come into the country.

The following text fades onto the black screen during his explanation:

Sponsors are financially responsible for THREE YEARS.

The text is written in white and the words “three years” are capitalized and written in red. When the text fades off screen, David Manicom continues to speak:

DAVID MANICOM: So if the person you sponsor uses social assistance during that period, you’ll be responsible for that and will have to repay that debt.

The following text fades onto the screen during his explanation:

If the person you sponsor uses social assistance, YOU will have to repay that debt.

The text appears in white, except for the second “you” which is capitalized and in red.

Cut to a close-up of the second woman’s hands. She continues with her story in French and the following English subtitles appear on screen:

UNIDENTIFIED WOMAN 2: I have been reimbursing the 10 months of social assistance he received.

Cut to a close-up of her silhouette from the shoulders up. The lighting is the same as previously, highlighting only her hair:

UNIDENTIFIED WOMAN 2: I owe about $30,000.

Cut to a close-up of the hands of the man wearing a turban. He nervously agitates his fingers:

UNIDENTIFIED MAN: It’s around $40,000. It’s too much. It’s too much for me.

Cut to his silhouette. The blue of his turban and his clothing on his left side are lightly highlighted.

UNIDENTIFIED MAN: I had to pay my lawyer fee. I sent her ticket. So all my marriage expenses.

Cut to the woman whose hair is slightly contoured with lighting as she continues her story in French. The following subtitles appear:

UNIDENTIFIED WOMAN 2: I sent him money because he said he needed it, or he owed some to other people.

Cut to a close-up of the first woman’s hands. She is pointing her left index finger to stress her first point:

UNIDENTIFIED WOMAN 1: First of all, I remortgaged my home. Then bringing gifts and clothes, not only to his family members but to his neighbours and anyone he knew.

The screen goes black as David Manicom begins to speak:

DAVID MANICOM: There are a lot of legal consequences for engaging in marriage fraud. It is fraud. There are the possibility of criminal sanctions, which can include a fine of up to $100,000 or imprisonment up to five years or both.

Once David Manicom finishes speaking, the text fades off of the screen. Cut to the man wearing a turban as he proceeds with his story:

UNIDENTIFIED MAN: Actually, I’m a little bit strong person. I tried to recover everything, but sometimes, yeah, it hurts.

Cut to a close-up of the second woman’s hands. She continues speaking in French and the following English subtitles appear on screen:

UNIDENTIFIED WOMAN 2: My self-esteem took a big blow. I became severely depressed and had suicidal thoughts…

Cut to the first woman’s silhouette. The lighting remains the same:

UNIDENTIFIED WOMAN 1: I had to be medicated and be off work.

Cut to a close-up of her hands as she proceeds:

UNIDENTIFIED WOMAN 1: All of it, it just, it became too much. I thought that I was a worthless person; that didn’t deserve to be happy.

The screen darkens as David Manicom begins to speak:

DAVID MANICOM: We have a provision that someone who is sponsored to come into Canada for a period of five years, they cannot turn around and sponsor a new spouse or partner.

The following text gradually fades in during his explanation:

A person who is sponsored to come to Canada cannot sponsor a new spouse for five years.

As the sentence fades off screen, David Manicom proceeds as follows:

DAVID MANICOM: We will detect the fact that it’s a fraudulent marriage. You can be forbidden to enter Canada for a period of five years. Even if you get to Canada and it’s detected afterwards that it was a fraudulent marriage, you’ll be subject to a deportation.

The following text gradually fades in during the above explanation:

You can be forbidden to enter Canada for five years.

You will be subject to deportation.

Cut to a close-up of the anonymous man’s hands. Halfway through his sentence, the image changes to a close-up of his silhouette shot from the shoulders and up. The lighting slightly highlights his turban and shoulders as he speaks:

UNIDENTIFIED MAN: They make us believe, like, they love us so much, so we only get to know when it happens, like when they leave us.