Abused by a Sponsoring Spouse in BC: Safety and Your Options

If your spouse sponsored you, you may fear that leaving will cost you your place in Canada. Abusers sometimes use that fear to control a partner. Your safety matters, and there are supports in British Columbia that do not depend on staying in the relationship.

This article covers the BC side: how family violence is defined, what protection orders and peace bonds do, and how a court looks at children and the home. Federal immigration rules, including any permits for people experiencing family violence, are set separately. Eligibility and process depend on your circumstances, so speak to a lawyer or immigration professional.

This article covers the law of British Columbia.

What counts as family violence in BC

Under the Family Law Act, family violence includes physical abuse such as forced confinement or deprivation of the necessities of life, sexual abuse, and psychological or emotional abuse such as intimidation, coercion, threats and stalking. Threats can include threats about other people, pets or property.

Control over money and personal freedom is included. Unreasonable restrictions on, or prevention of, a family member's financial or personal autonomy count as family violence. If an abusive spouse holds your documents, cuts you off from money or threatens your status, tell a lawyer, because that conduct may fit within the definition depending on the facts.

A person is a spouse if married, or if they have lived in a marriage-like relationship for a continuous period of at least 2 years or (except in Parts 5 and 6) have a child with the other person. A spouse includes a former spouse.

Immigration status and federal permits

Immigration status is a federal matter, separate from the provincial Family Law Act. Whether a permit or other status protection is open to you depends on your own immigration history, the type of sponsorship and the evidence available. Those details are best confirmed with a lawyer or immigration professional before you act.

Ask them specifically about timing: what to do before leaving, what documents to take, and what happens to any sponsorship or application already in progress. Safety steps in BC, such as a protection order, are a separate track and can be pursued alongside that advice.

Safety tools available in BC

A protection order can restrain contact and communication, restrict attendance at specified places, and direct police to remove or seize items such as weapons. You, someone on your behalf, or the court itself can start the application. It can be made without notice to the other person.

On a peace bond the court must consider whether a firearms or weapons prohibition is desirable for safety, and must add it if so. Breaching a peace bond is an indictable offence with imprisonment of up to four years, or a summary conviction offence. Orders from both routes are recorded in the confidential Protection Order Registry, which police can check at any hour.

Children and your home

If you have children, the court considers only the best interests of the child, and the impact of any family violence on the child's safety, security or well-being is a required factor. A child's direct or indirect exposure to family violence is itself family violence. No parenting arrangement is presumed to be in a child's best interests, including equal parenting time.

The court can require that parenting time be supervised by a named person, which may be used where family violence is a concern. If you are a spouse, you can ask the Supreme Court for exclusive occupation of the family residence for a specified period. A protection order restricting access to a residence is available in either court.

What to do next

• Plan for your safety first, including a place to go and a way to reach help.
• Keep your passport, immigration papers and identity documents safe, or copies if you cannot hold the originals.
• Record incidents, threats and control over money, with dates where you can.
• Speak to an immigration lawyer or professional before ending the relationship or withdrawing from any application.
• Speak to a family lawyer about a protection order, a peace bond, parenting and the home.

Both the Supreme Court and the Provincial Court have jurisdiction under the Family Law Act. Legal Aid BC's guide says there is no court fee to apply for a protection order in Provincial Court, and a Supreme Court fee can be waived if you cannot afford it.

Frequently asked questions