A Canadian judge has ordered the deportation of a 29-year-old Nigerian man back to the West African nation over a fake marriage with 79-year-old Canadian woman Doreen Johnson to acquire permanent residency in the North American country, according to legal filings sighted by Peoples Gazette. 

As per court documents, the legal battle began last year when Ms Johnson applied to sponsor her Nigerian husband for permanent residence under the spouse or common-law partner in Canada class upon his arrival in the country in February 2023, three years after the couple married in January 2020.

However, in a decision on March 4, 2024, which was amended on March 28, 2024, the Immigration Appeal Division (IAD) dismissed Ms Johnson’s application to sponsor her husband, who was not named in court documents, stating the panel had reasons to believe that the marriage was entered into primarily to acquire status or privilege.

In the decision, the IAD stated that following an interview with the husband in 2023, the visa officer notified Ms Johnson that her application for spousal sponsorship was refused based on a finding that the couple’s marriage was not genuine but a mere poverty alleviation scheme.

The IAD noted that during the interview, the husband was unable to demonstrate knowledge of basic aspects of his wife’s life despite having been married for over three years, adding that he could not provide any information about Ms Johnson’s medical history, the number of children, grandchildren or great-grandchildren she had.

Displeased with the IAD’s decision, Ms Johnson subsequently applied for a judicial review before the Federal Court in Ottawa, Ontario, which was eventually dismissed by Justice Mandy Aylen in a judgment on April 14, 2025.

In her ruling, Ms Aylen upheld the decisions made by the IAD, stating, “I am not satisfied that the applicant has established any basis for the court’s intervention. Accordingly, the application for judicial review shall be dismissed.”

Furthermore, she noted that a marriage entered with the hope of acquiring a status or privilege would be flawed even if it later becomes genuine, pointing to Ms Johnson’s account admitting that marriage was the easiest means of getting her husband to Canada from Nigeria. 

“Importantly, a marriage entered into for the purpose of acquiring a status or privilege will be flawed even if it subsequently becomes genuine,” Ms Aylen wrote. “As well, a marriage that is validly entered into can become flawed for immigration purposes if it loses its genuineness.”

She added, “This court has recognised that the two considerations– the genuineness of the marriage and the primary motivation for it – are related.

“This means that the stronger the evidence regarding the genuineness of the marriage, the less likely it is that it was entered into primarily to obtain an immigration advantage. Conversely, the more compelling the proof that the couple was seeking immigration status, the more likely it will be that the marriage was not genuine.”