The Migrant Mothers Project is currently conducting a study titled, “There to Here: Sponsored Spouses’ Journeys” as part of our ongoing research on ‘How Conditional Settlement Impacts Immigrant Women’. We are gathering stories from people who recently moved to Canada as a sponsored spouse, to understand their experiences getting settled and any challenges they may be facing related to their immigration status.
Our study falls on the heels of a major policy change in April 2017, when the Canadian Government repealed the Conditional Permanent Residence requirement for newly sponsored spouses and partners. The Migrant Mothers Project worked with advocacy groups around the country to repeal this policy due to the hardships the conditions caused for immigrants, especially those who were trapped in abusive relationships with their sponsor.
From Fall 2017 to Spring 2018, we who live in Toronto or Calgary, who immigrated after 2012 from South Asia (i.e. India, Pakistan, Bangladesh, Sri Lanka, Nepal, Bhutan, Maldives), and who were in a newer relationship with their spouse at the time of migration. We especially hope to talk with people who were initially granted “conditional permanent resident status” when they first arrived.
Interviews will be one-on-one and completely voluntary. Our researchers can converse in English, Urdu or Hindi and meet with folks at a location that is convenient to them.
Through this research, we will work with settlement services to improve supports for newly sponsored spouses and identify policy changes that can increase immigrants’ access safety in cases where they are abused or neglected by their sponsor.
Please contact us if you have any questions about our study at 416-946-5099 or email us at migrantmothersproject@gmail.com
For more information on the Canadian Government’s decision to repeal the Conditional Permanent Residence requirement, the Ontario Women’s Justice Network has recently distributed an article sharing important information regarding what the repeal may mean for sponsored spouses: