Inland spousal sponsorship for a spouse who overstayed

Sponsoring Family
1

So im a bit confused please help my situation is that im on odsp been on it for 2 years now my wife who is from America who is also disabled but doesn’t receive any income for it she previously worked in America before moving in with me in canada Its my fault she overstayed I begged her to stay here with me I didn’t want to be apart from her she’s all I have so she’s been living with me for 3yrs I’ve been taking care of all her needs we plan to marry soon I haven’t told odsp she lives with me as I thought I didn’t have to because she doesn’t have an income or any assets here, i recently discovered I should have told them but having autism i don’t always understand everything and get confused easily my question now is once we marry and I tell odsp will I get in trouble for this? Will they still increase my monthly allowance for adding her to my benefit ? Can you even spouse a spouse who overstayed 3yrs? Please help me with answers if you have knowledge on this matter thank you.

2

Hi there,

Thank you for sharing your question and situation with us.

You may want to reach out to a registered and reputable lawyer for advice tailored to your situation. StepstoJustice.ca has a list of free to low cost legal services that can provide help with ODSP issues. On the list is Legal Aid Ontario, and some of the community legal clinics they work with offer immigration advice as well.

We hope this information is helpful, and wish you all the best. Please reach out if you have any further questions.

Sincerely,

Your Settlement.Org Team

3

You may want to speak with an immigration professional just to be safe, but from what I understand, overstaying does not automatically prevent inland spousal sponsorship in Canada, especially if the relationship is genuine and you are living together. The bigger thing here may be sorting out the ODSP situation since reporting household changes is important, even if your spouse has no income. Since you mentioned autism and confusion around the rules, being honest and updating things now is probably better than letting it continue. Wishing you both the best, and hopefully someone with direct ODSP experience can share more specific advice.