Canada Changes Gay Marriage Immigration Criteria

The Toronto Sun reports that a recent demand for same sex sponsorships to come to Canada has led to changes being conducted at embassies, Canadian diplomats at visa offices abroad must now determine same sex marriages conducted at embassies or consulates of other countries are legal before the partners are considered for legal immigration status in Canada. According to Remo LiFraine, a spokesperson for the Citizenship and Immigration Canada’s International Region, said that a demand for same sex sponsorships in 2010 forced officials to review and revise the same sex policy to prevent a loophole from being employed, saying “Marriages performed in embassies or consulates must the requirements of the host country in which the mission is located. A marriage performed in an embassy or consulate must be legally recognised by the host state,” adding that those who marry who an embassy “must satisfy an officers that all of the requirements of the host country with respect to marriage have been met.” According to a report, an internal memo released in May, 2010, instructed Canadian embassy staff to inquire if the host country recognises marriages performed in diplomatic missions in its jurisdictions, and that the review was precipitated after Canadian visa officers questioned a Colombian doctor who was selected to work in Newfoundland but only after agreeing to move if his same sex partner could come with him. That individual now faces an investigation by immigrations officials over marriage documents obtained in Colombia.