Marriage after PPR/CoPR but before Landing

[salkhan]

Hi guys,

I have applied for PR through Express Entry from within Canada, my application processing time has reached more than 6.5 months now (known slow PNP-Inland issue). I called CIC and they told me to check back at the end of the month for an update which basically means that my application processing can take longer than expected.

I had plans to get married in July after getting my PR case approved. My fiance is a recent Canadian permanent resident but she is currently residing with her parents back in my home country. Since most of our families are back home, we decided to get married there.

Due to the added delay in the processing of the application the situation has changed and now, I wanted to know if it was okay to get married when I go back home after getting the immigrant visa and CoPR and then come back to Canada for landing? if yes then do we have to convey this info to CIC in advance (before getting married)?

I know that if the family composition changes during the application processing, the applicant has to submit the change in information along with marriage document to CIC and it adds some processing delay for the spouse's details and CoPR but since my fiance is a permanent resident, I don't have to sponsor her or add her with my case for PR, so I thought it was better for plan marriage after PR.

If my case does not get finalized before mid of July, it would be favorable for me as I will then simply update the change in family composition on my application with the marriage document submission.

If let's say I do get my case approved before that, would marriage after receiving PPR/CoPR but before landing be okay ? because it changes the family composition from what the application was approved on. I am even remotely considering this option as this would be the only time I would be able to travel back home and take time off from work and get most family members to attend the wedding). I tried to find info regarding this on CIC website but could not find anything relevant with this particular query?

I could land right away after receiving COPR here in Canada but then I would have to wait for PR card (which takes over 56 working days to process) during this time I would not have a valid visa or PR card to travel back to Canada. I am also not willing to re-schedule my wedding and bet on the chances of CIC sticking to their word of issuing PR Cards in 56 working days.

Guys I need to plan my life and with the slow application processing, it's very frustration to not being able to move on with life events. What do you guys recommend, what can be done and what needs to be avoided ?
If you have any other suggestions, please share

Thank you in advance.

 

[jes_ON]

Hi guys,
Due to the added delay in the processing of the application the situation has changed and now, I wanted to know if it was okay to get married when I go back home after getting the immigrant visa and CoPR and then come back to Canada for landing? if yes then do we have to convey this info to CIC in advance (before getting married)?

If you get married after receiving the COPR but before landing, you would have to report the change of family status AFTER getting married and before landing.

Because your future spouse is already a Canadian PR, it is not a big deal, but it still has to be done, and could cause delays.

If possible, can you do a civil marriage in advance, and inform IRCC of the marriage right away?

Alternatively, send IRCC a CSE (using the web form) and inform them of your plans to get married and the fact that your fiance is already a permanent resident (include scan of her PR card and passport), and request advice on how to proceed. Since, as you noted, you don't actually have to add her to the application, this may be sufficient.

http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/contacts/web-form.asp

 

[farazafzal]

Hold on for a minute I mean for couple of months.

Just get your COPR and do the flag polling within Canada to complete the landing process. There on you have honored your words with CIC.
Go back and get married. You come back to Canada, there is no one who is going to ask you about your marriage. But later get it registered in Canada, so that you guys can have a family status. No issues.

Good luck

 

[salkhan]

If you get married after receiving the COPR but before landing, you would have to report the change of family status AFTER getting married and before landing.

Because your future spouse is already a Canadian PR, it is not a big deal, but it still has to be done, and could cause delays.

If possible, can you do a civil marriage in advance, and inform IRCC of the marriage right away?

Alternatively, send IRCC a CSE (using the web form) and inform them of your plans to get married and the fact that your fiance is already a permanent resident (include scan of her PR card and passport), and request advice on how to proceed. Since, as you noted, you don't actually have to add her to the application, this may be sufficient.

http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/contacts/web-form.asp

Civil marriage is not an option as she is not in Canada at the moment.

I sent a CSE on June 12th for which I haven't got a reply yet.

What do you advise ?

 

[salkhan]

Hold on for a minute I mean for couple of months.

Just get your COPR and do the flag polling within Canada to complete the landing process. There on you have honored your words with CIC.
Go back and get married. You come back to Canada, there is no one who is going to ask you about your marriage. But later get it registered in Canada, so that you guys can have a family status. No issues.

Good luck

How will I travel back to Canada while my PR Card is in process (currently taking atleast 57 days and this changes often, changed to 75 days last week I heard) ?

PRTD is easy to obtain ? I saw a thread in the forum where many did not have their PRTD approved as the situation didn't met the "emergency status"

 

[jes_ON]

How will I travel back to Canada while my PR Card is in process (currently taking atleast 57 days and this changes often, changed to 75 days last week I heard) ?

PRTD is easy to obtain ?

I've never heard of anyone being refused a PRTD (it's certainly possible), but the main problem for people is they are (surprise!) slow, ~ 2 months to process. That exceeds the timeframe for most trips outside Canada.

Have you received the COPR yet? If not, you might not have to worry about it.

But - if you can enter the USA, an alternative is to drive to the USA and fly in/out of a US airport, because you can enter Canada by road using your stamped COPR.

 

[salkhan]

I've never heard of anyone being refused a PRTD (it's certainly possible), but the main problem for people is they are (surprise!) slow, ~ 2 months to process. That exceeds the timeframe for most trips outside Canada.

I tried digging for that particular thread but couldn't find it where a certain poster wrote why his PRTD wasn't approved because it wasn't for an emergency situation (like death or medical emergency) ...

If it get's processed in 2 months then it is almost the same time as processing for a PR card. maybe it's pointless to apply for PTRD after landing I guess.

No I have not received COPR yet, I haven't got the passport request yet, although my pr application processing has exceeded the normal processing time by almost a month.

I don't have a valid USA visitor visa, I guess I should probably start exploring this option.

 

[salkhan]

Alternatively, send IRCC a CSE (using the web form) and inform them of your plans to get married and the fact that your fiance is already a permanent resident (include scan of her PR card and passport), and request advice on how to proceed. Since, as you noted, you don't actually have to add her to the application, this may be sufficient.

http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/contacts/web-form.asp

Talked to an agent earlier today, said... "the security background check is still pending, we can't move on the application unless we hear from them (whoever is doing the check for them)". Earlier in the month, another agent told me that I should expect an update at the end of the month. Guess it was just a statement to calm my nerves back then.

Basically the agent implied today that, they don't know when there will be an update on my application. So I should probably forget about the status update now.

I also discussed with him about my marriage plans.

He said, " I would not advise you to get married while you leave Canada and have your martial status changed and then re enter Canada for landing". He added that, " although your future wife would be excluded from the application as she has a PR and is a step ahead of you, but that marital change can cause confusion as how the wife suddenly pops up after the application approval!". (I am not sure if he understood what I was asking completely as I did tell him that I would report the change right away.)

then repeat the statement twice when I added on the query, that "anytime you get married just inform us right away".

After this conversation I think the option of leaving Canada after getting a COPR and getting married before landing is a risky option. as I have yet to find a clear answer, the agent was not telling me that I can't do it explicitly but was more like implying to seek alternate options.

The only two options I have other than this is to :

1. Travel right away, get married and update my application and then wait for whenever the case gets approved.
2. Complete the Landing and PR and fly back home on PRTD, get married then.

This is such a frustrating situation

 

[Aakash Evans]

I did my soft landing in November and came back in December for my marriage. I am applying for PRTD now as i have not received the PR card. Can i mention marriage as a reason for PRTD? Does it have any implication?

 

[suansh]

Hi
I got my copr in april 2023, I got married in may 2023 but did not know the process where i had to inform ircc. now copr expires in 10 days. Already raised webform but they said my information has been passed to the concerned office and they will get back to me. It has been 20 days since this and till now no reply and my copr expires on 4th march 2024. What should I do ? will i lose of chance of PR if I don't receive reply before 4 march. How can i expedite this. Please reply