Digests

Sinniah v. Canada (Minister of Citizenship and Immigration)

IMM-5954-00

2002 FCT 822, Dawson J.

25/7/02

8 pp.

Judicial review of visa officer's decision applicant not validly adopting wife's niece, no existing parent-child relationship--Immigration Regulations, 1978, s. 2(1) definition of "adopted" requiring two-step process: must determine (1) whether foreign adoption laws complied with; (2) whether parent-child relationship created--(1) Formal adoption order issued by court in Sri Lanka and declaration under oath by applicant, wife in support of petition for adoption order before visa officer, who formed opinion adoption not legal as applicants submitted false information claiming to have no children of this marriage and submitted false address of residence under oath to courts--Patently unreasonable for visa officer to ignore effect at law of final Court order and to decide in absence of cogent evidence that order pronounced by court in Sri Lanka insufficient to establish fact of adoption made in accordance with laws of Sri Lanka--(2) Issue of bona fides of adoption question of fact--Visa officer considered only that niece initially left behind with neighbour in Jaffna when rest of family went to Colombo--Reason given to visa officer so that niece could complete classroom studies--Subsequently joined aunt, uncle in Colombo--Other relevant evidence that applicant, wife had care of, control over niece for past nine years since mother died when she was six years old--Conclusion no genuine parent-child relationship unreasonable--Based solely on inference of abandonment, although conduct equally consistent with another conclusion--In ignoring another equally plausible explanation for conduct, preponderance of evidence as to existence of genuine relationship visa officer committed reviewable error--Application allowed-- Immigration Regulations, 1978, SOR/78-172, s. 2(1) "adopted" (as am. by SOR/93-44, s. 1).