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To Visitor Visa (before marriage) or not?

Mar 31, 2022
3
1
Hi All,
I would really appreciate some honest feedback on the pros and cons by the members, and/or any better alternate options, if there are any.

I am a Citizen of Canada( PR turned citizen) and will be getting married in April 2023 in India.
The girl is based in India (Chennai), and I am from same city. I would like to have my wife join me in Canada as soon as possible after the marriage,
ideally accompanying me on the return trip to Canada.

From my reading and research, I can think of the following steps.

1. Visitor Visa
I could get my future wife to apply for a visitor visa of Canada (before we get married), so she could fly back to Canada with me after the marriage.
current processing timeline for India states 150 days. if we get visitor visa then she doesn't mind travelling to Canada as a visitor.

2. Marriage followed Spouse Sponsorship and visitor visa after AOR

Most people seem to recommend this option. However, some suggested that once I apply for my wife's PR, she can apply for a visitor visa and come visit me in Canada while we wait for her PR to get approved. Is it possible?

This seems like the best, highly recommended, safest option. However, I would really like to travel back to Canada with my wife after my marriage.
At the same time, I don't want to jeopardize the application. Any thoughts/help/suggestions are really appreciated.

More info: My future wife is a software dev in India and has been working for couple of years. No travel history to Europe/US/outside of india. No
properties in her name but could show decent bank balance if required.


Regards,
Godis
 

canuck78

VIP Member
Jun 18, 2017
53,213
12,844
Hi All,
I would really appreciate some honest feedback on the pros and cons by the members, and/or any better alternate options, if there are any.

I am a Citizen of Canada( PR turned citizen) and will be getting married in April 2023 in India.
The girl is based in India (Chennai), and I am from same city. I would like to have my wife join me in Canada as soon as possible after the marriage,
ideally accompanying me on the return trip to Canada.

From my reading and research, I can think of the following steps.

1. Visitor Visa
I could get my future wife to apply for a visitor visa of Canada (before we get married), so she could fly back to Canada with me after the marriage.
current processing timeline for India states 150 days. if we get visitor visa then she doesn't mind travelling to Canada as a visitor.

2. Marriage followed Spouse Sponsorship and visitor visa after AOR

Most people seem to recommend this option. However, some suggested that once I apply for my wife's PR, she can apply for a visitor visa and come visit me in Canada while we wait for her PR to get approved. Is it possible?

This seems like the best, highly recommended, safest option. However, I would really like to travel back to Canada with my wife after my marriage.
At the same time, I don't want to jeopardize the application. Any thoughts/help/suggestions are really appreciated.

More info: My future wife is a software dev in India and has been working for couple of years. No travel history to Europe/US/outside of india. No
properties in her name but could show decent bank balance if required.


Regards,
Godis
Best option is to try and secure a TRV before marriage. She should apply asap because after you get married she must update her file to indicate she has married a Canadian. Chances of approval will decrease after she has married a Canadian because there will be strong concerns that she isn’t a true visitor and plans on remaining in Canada. As an employed software developer she likely has better chances of approval than most but still far from guaranteed especially if she has no international travel history especially to countries like US, UK, Australia, etc. If approved she can travel with youto Canada and apply for inland processing but must remain in Canada during the processing period. A shirt vacation abroad (2-3 weeks) seems to be overlooked. With AOR from her inland sponsorship she can apply for an OWP but getting approved usually takes months. If she is trying to work remotely for her employer in India the employer must not have any Canadian offices or have any clients or customers from Canada. There aren’t any negative impacts on sponsorship if denied a TRV. You must declare the denial on any future applications.

If denied a TRV she can attempt to get a TRV after you get married. It would be best to wait until you have at least sponsored your spouse and you’ve received AOR (confirmation that your application has been received and is complete). There are no guarantees that it will be approved. Before Covid almost all TRVs from spouses of Canadians were denied. During Covid those that had much longer processing were often granted a TRV because their application had been in
process for so long. Currently it is hit and miss in terms of spouses that are granted TRVs. Won’t hurt your sponsorship application if you apply for a TRV. Would not make plans until you know if you have been approved for a TRV or not. Would suggest assuming you’ll be denied and if you get approved that will be a bonus.
 

Ketobaby

Star Member
Feb 2, 2022
194
89
Per my experience She has a better chance
Hi All,
I would really appreciate some honest feedback on the pros and cons by the members, and/or any better alternate options, if there are any.

I am a Citizen of Canada( PR turned citizen) and will be getting married in April 2023 in India.
The girl is based in India (Chennai), and I am from same city. I would like to have my wife join me in Canada as soon as possible after the marriage,
ideally accompanying me on the return trip to Canada.

From my reading and research, I can think of the following steps.

1. Visitor Visa
I could get my future wife to apply for a visitor visa of Canada (before we get married), so she could fly back to Canada with me after the marriage.
current processing timeline for India states 150 days. if we get visitor visa then she doesn't mind travelling to Canada as a visitor.

2. Marriage followed Spouse Sponsorship and visitor visa after AOR

Most people seem to recommend this option. However, some suggested that once I apply for my wife's PR, she can apply for a visitor visa and come visit me in Canada while we wait for her PR to get approved. Is it possible?

This seems like the best, highly recommended, safest option. However, I would really like to travel back to Canada with my wife after my marriage.
At the same time, I don't want to jeopardize the application. Any thoughts/help/suggestions are really appreciated.

More info: My future wife is a software dev in India and has been working for couple of years. No travel history to Europe/US/outside of india. No
properties in her name but could show decent bank balance if required.


Regards,
Godis
I believe she has a better chance of getting a TRV prior to marriage as it appears her ties to India are stronger than Canada(stable job, family etc). However, after marriage that chance does decrease drastically since her spouse is in Canada and her ties to Canada will appear stronger than India due to the marriage. This is my opinion based off my friends experiences, they all married wives from their respective home countries.
Hope this helps.
 
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Master5678

Star Member
May 11, 2023
132
55
Hi All,
I would really appreciate some honest feedback on the pros and cons by the members, and/or any better alternate options, if there are any.

I am a Citizen of Canada( PR turned citizen) and will be getting married in April 2023 in India.
The girl is based in India (Chennai), and I am from same city. I would like to have my wife join me in Canada as soon as possible after the marriage,
ideally accompanying me on the return trip to Canada.

From my reading and research, I can think of the following steps.

1. Visitor Visa
I could get my future wife to apply for a visitor visa of Canada (before we get married), so she could fly back to Canada with me after the marriage.
current processing timeline for India states 150 days. if we get visitor visa then she doesn't mind travelling to Canada as a visitor.

2. Marriage followed Spouse Sponsorship and visitor visa after AOR

Most people seem to recommend this option. However, some suggested that once I apply for my wife's PR, she can apply for a visitor visa and come visit me in Canada while we wait for her PR to get approved. Is it possible?

This seems like the best, highly recommended, safest option. However, I would really like to travel back to Canada with my wife after my marriage.
At the same time, I don't want to jeopardize the application. Any thoughts/help/suggestions are really appreciated.

More info: My future wife is a software dev in India and has been working for couple of years. No travel history to Europe/US/outside of india. No
properties in her name but could show decent bank balance if required.


Regards,
Godis


Looking for update on what you did? Did you apply for TRV as finacee? Success?
 

Ram89

Star Member
Oct 5, 2018
60
3
Hi All,
I would really appreciate some honest feedback on the pros and cons by the members, and/or any better alternate options, if there are any.

I am a Citizen of Canada( PR turned citizen) and will be getting married in April 2023 in India.
The girl is based in India (Chennai), and I am from same city. I would like to have my wife join me in Canada as soon as possible after the marriage,
ideally accompanying me on the return trip to Canada.

From my reading and research, I can think of the following steps.

1. Visitor Visa
I could get my future wife to apply for a visitor visa of Canada (before we get married), so she could fly back to Canada with me after the marriage.
current processing timeline for India states 150 days. if we get visitor visa then she doesn't mind travelling to Canada as a visitor.

2. Marriage followed Spouse Sponsorship and visitor visa after AOR

Most people seem to recommend this option. However, some suggested that once I apply for my wife's PR, she can apply for a visitor visa and come visit me in Canada while we wait for her PR to get approved. Is it possible?

This seems like the best, highly recommended, safest option. However, I would really like to travel back to Canada with my wife after my marriage.
At the same time, I don't want to jeopardize the application. Any thoughts/help/suggestions are really appreciated.

More info: My future wife is a software dev in India and has been working for couple of years. No travel history to Europe/US/outside of india. No
properties in her name but could show decent bank balance if required.


Regards,
Godis
hi - May I know what did you do eventually? If my PR is in process, can I ask the girl I am marrying to apply visitor visa independently?
 

armoured

VIP Member
Feb 1, 2015
15,843
8,048
hi - May I know what did you do eventually? If my PR is in process, can I ask the girl I am marrying to apply visitor visa independently?
Since it's 'independently', then of course she can apply. Separate question whether she gets it.