Fetno Umer Keno applied to sponsor his Ethiopian wife, Rahama Adem Abdi, for permanent residency on 28 February 2026. The visa officer rejected the application, citing that Abdi’s 2017 Sharia divorce from her first husband was not legally recognized in Canada and that their 2021 marriage therefore could not be deemed valid.
Keno appealed the decision, but an immigration panel found the marriage invalid under Canadian law. The panel noted the visa officer’s suspicion that the relationship was a sham for immigration purposes and that Abdi had failed to disclose a child from her earlier marriage, which further undermined the application.
Abdi, 38, who cannot read or write, was interviewed by Canadian authorities in April 2023 and again in June 2025 in Ethiopia. She claimed she was abducted into her first marriage and did not disclose a child, leading to accusations of misrepresentation and an order that she leave Canada.
The appeal was dismissed, meaning the sponsorship request remains denied. The decision stands, and Abdi must depart Canada, while Keno has no further recourse unless he files a separate judicial review. The case highlights the strict interpretation of marital validity by Canadian immigration officials.
The ruling underscores the difficulty of proving marital legitimacy when divorce documentation comes from a jurisdiction that does not issue formal papers, and it leaves the couple in a precarious legal limbo.