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Immigration and Refugee Protection Regulations

r. 4 Bad faith

  • PART 1 Interpretation and Application
  • DIVISION 2 Family Relationships

Last verified: June 2026 · Source: justice.gc.ca

The law says

IRPR r. 4
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(1)For the purposes of these Regulations, a foreign national shall not be considered a spouse, a common-law partner or a conjugal partner of a person if the marriage, common-law partnership or conjugal partnership

  • (a)was entered into primarily for the purpose of acquiring any status or privilege under the Act; or
  • (b)is not genuine.

Adopted children

(2)A foreign national shall not be considered an adopted child of a person if the adoption

  • (a)was entered into primarily for the purpose of acquiring any status or privilege under the Act; or
  • (b)did not create a genuine parent-child relationship.

Sponsorship of adopted children

(3)Subsection (2) does not apply to adoptions referred to in paragraph 117(1)(g) and subsections 117(2) and (4).

Provisions this one cites

Amendment History (1)
  • SOR/2004-167, s. 3(E); SOR/2010-208, s. 1; SOR/2018-251, s. 1(F)

Justice Laws is the authoritative version. If this copy and it ever differ, Justice Laws wins.

Sections numbered under r. 4

Each of these is its own section of the Regulations, numbered after section 4.

IRPR r. 4.1

New relationship

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What that means

This rule targets a couple who end a relationship to gain status and later get back together. It applies where an earlier marriage or partnership between the same two people was ended mainly so that someone could get status or a privilege under the Act. That someone can be the foreign national, another foreign national or the sponsor. A new relationship between them then does not count. The foreign national is not treated as that person's spouse, common-law partner or conjugal partner under these Regulations.

The law says

4.1 For the purposes of these Regulations, a foreign national shall not be considered a spouse, a common-law partner or a conjugal partner of a person if the foreign national has begun a new conjugal relationship with that person after a previous marriage, common-law partnership or conjugal partnership with that person was dissolved primarily so that the foreign national, another foreign national or the sponsor could acquire any status or privilege under the Act.

Guides that explain this section

Spousal Sponsorship Interview QuestionsProof of a Genuine Relationship for Spousal SponsorshipCanada Spousal Sponsorship 2026: Timeline, Cost & ProcessInland vs Outland Spousal Sponsorship: Which Is Better?What Happens If Your Sponsorship Breaks Down? Canada ImmigrationConjugal Partner Sponsorship Canada: When You Can't Live Together

Explained in depth in the textbooks

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Related regulations

IRPR r. 117MemberIRPR r. 3Interpretation — member of a crewIRPR r. 4.1New relationship