Hello Nink,
Thanks for sharing your question with us and for your kind words about the Settlement.Org website.
We have received some information from one of our researchers.
Unfortunately, your sister cannot sponsor your wife. It is just not an allowed application. You have to sponsor your wife. The minimum income requirement is not mandatory to you, as you are sponsoring your wife.
Also, you can sponsor your wife because you do not receive social assistance other than for reason of disability. ODSP is social assistance based on disability.
You are right that you have to sign the undertaking to provide the basic means to your wife. This obligation will kick in only when your wife becomes a Canadian permanent resident and will last for three years. You will be in default if your wife receives social assistance, even if for reason of a disability, during this period of three years.
This means that you will be disqualified from sponsoring somebody else until you repay the government for whatever your wife received. This also means that the amounts can be recovered from you, but you will not lose your ODSP for this reason.
By law, your ODSP cannot be taken away from you for the purpose of settling a debt. This is what the ODSP Act has to say about it:
"2. “income support” means assistance for the provision of basic needs, shelter, costs related to a person’s disability and other prescribed needs, and includes benefits;
No attachment, etc., of income support
- (1) Income support under this Act,
(a) is not subject to alienation or transfer by the recipient; and
(b) is not subject to garnishment, attachment, execution, seizure or receivership under any other Act.
In practice, you might ask a relative or friend to help you make the default payments.
If you will be in default, you can find out what you can expect from the OW Directives.
Once a sponsored immigrant is in receipt of any amount of social assistance, Ontario Works staff send a letter to notify the sponsor that debt is being incurred.
The letter reminds the sponsor of the obligation to provide for the sponsored person, advises that the federal government has been notified of the default, and advises that any social assistance paid to the sponsored person is a debt, which is subject to collection by the federal government. In addition, the sponsor will not be allowed to sponsor while the debt exists.
If a defaulting sponsor and/or a co-signor reimburses the delivery agent for the full amount of social assistance that was paid to the sponsored immigrant while the sponsorship agreement was in force, staff will notify CIC that the repayment has been made by sending the Confirmation of Repayment of Social Assistance Benefits form to CIC.
If a defaulting sponsor and/or co-signor does not respond after fifteen days and/or does not resume their support of the sponsored immigrant, the delivery agent uses the Notification of Sponsorship Debt Form to confirm the default to CIC.
The case is then referred to the ministry’s centralized Overpayment Recovery Unit (ORU), by emailing the electronic Validation of Sponsorship Debt form to ORU. The ORU staff will pursue the sponsorship debt by sending letters at 45 and 90 day intervals to the defaulting sponsor. If the sponsor does not begin repaying the debt, the ORU will refer the case to the Canada Revenue Agency to begin the Refund Set-Off process.
For more information, you should contact Revenue Canada at 1-800-267-6999 and the Ontario Ministry of Community and Social Services, Overpayment Recovery Unit, Box 333, Toronto, ON, M7A 1N3, Toll free: 1 (888) 346-5184, Fax: 1 (866) 778-7750.
You can also find some other useful information in the Guide to Spouse Sponsorship.
Proof of income is not required if you only sponsor your wife. You need to prove that you have enough income only when dependent children who have dependent children of their own are included in the application. You may not sponsor if you receive social assistance for a reason other than disability. [Guide, page 7]
If you receive social assistance for a reason other than disability, CPC staff will: verify through contact with provincial social assistance officials if the sponsor is receiving social assistance payments, other than for reasons of disability.
You can find this information on page 46 of the CIC IP2 manual.
The Regulations require that applicants have legal temporary resident status in Canada as visitors, students, temporary workers or be temporary resident permit holders. However, this requirement may now be waived under the spousal policy. This does not mean that you are exempt from the requirement of having a valid visa/permit. It just means that they might make an exception.
You can find this information on page 53 of the CIC IP8 manual.
Please consult a lawyer or a Community Legal Clinic for some additional information or advice on your particular case.
I hope this information is helpful. Please let us know if you have further questions and if there is any follow up to your question/situation.
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Anna
Settlement.Org Content and Information/Referral Specialist, CIRS
Settlement.Org