Validity of marriage questioned?

[fullofturtles]

My partner and I (he's American, I'm Canadian) have been dating long distance for about 5 years, going back and forth across the border. He has never stayed here more than a couple of weeks until earlier this year. He has been staying with me for 4 months now. We are hoping to get married sometime next year to close the distance (we'll try to get him a visitor extension so we can have some breathing room to plan and figure out logistics).

My question is: has anyone ever had the validity of their marriage questioned due to having only a small private ceremony? I read this article (http://www.metronews.ca/news/canada/2015/05/19/immigration-guide-for-detecting-marriage-fraud-called-racist-and-offensive.html) which is a little dated, but it says immigration officials have very traditional and very expensive standards for what a wedding is. We're wondering if it would be very damaging to just have a small private ceremony with an officiant/ pastor and a little dinner after, as opposed to a full ceremony with a reception and more than 15 guests.

We don't have a lot of money to have a wedding, but we have years worth of photos, conversations, plane tickets, and evidence that we have been in a real relationship for this long.

Has anyone had this problem? Thanks!

 

[haXudon]

as long as both of your parents are there during your wedding, you'll be fine. if not, then you have to explain why not. or make your parents write letters to you.

 

[YVR123]

Small weddings are fine. Specially you are a Canadian-American couple.

My parents were at our small wedding but his couldn't make it. The ceremony was held in Canada and they (my in-laws) couldn't arrange time to visit. We went back to our home town for a casual dinner/banquet with his side of the relatives few months after. Ours went pretty smooth.

 

[Oulrish]

My partner and I (he's American, I'm Canadian) have been dating long distance for about 5 years, going back and forth across the border. He has never stayed here more than a couple of weeks until earlier this year. He has been staying with me for 4 months now. We are hoping to get married sometime next year to close the distance (we'll try to get him a visitor extension so we can have some breathing room to plan and figure out logistics).

My question is: has anyone ever had the validity of their marriage questioned due to having only a small private ceremony? I read this article (http://www.metronews.ca/news/canada/2015/05/19/immigration-guide-for-detecting-marriage-fraud-called-racist-and-offensive.html) which is a little dated, but it says immigration officials have very traditional and very expensive standards for what a wedding is. We're wondering if it would be very damaging to just have a small private ceremony with an officiant/ pastor and a little dinner after, as opposed to a full ceremony with a reception and more than 15 guests.

We don't have a lot of money to have a wedding, but we have years worth of photos, conversations, plane tickets, and evidence that we have been in a real relationship for this long.

Has anyone had this problem? Thanks!

Hi there,

A small wedding is fine, as long as it is genuine you won't have any trouble. I met my wife last year around June and we got married last January. We had a small wedding, with the marriage officer, a priest for the religious wedding and only family members were invited with both our parents in attendance. There was dinner served after the ceremony and we went on honeymoon.There were at most 80 people in total. We provided the maximum amount of proof with our conversations, photos and all. Additional ongoing conversation was requested just two weeks ago. We provided that as well and lo and behold between then and today my wife received her PPR email today.

 

[spousalsponsee]

A small wedding is fine, ....There were at most 80 people in total.

I'm pleased you got through, and don't want to get at you, but that comment is a perfect example of cultural norms In many western countries, 80 would be considered enormous. A "small" wedding would be, at most, one quarter the size of yours Some people do it with as few as 5 (the couple, officiant, and two witnesses). And the first poster talked about 15. And that's the sort of thing IRCC have to deal with - some applicants will be showing proof that they had a wedding many times larger than the case officers themselves, and still have question marks about whether it was 'small' or not, because it's culture-dependent

 

[Oulrish]

I'm pleased you got through, and don't want to get at you, but that comment is a perfect example of cultural norms In many western countries, 80 would be considered enormous. A "small" wedding would be, at most, one quarter the size of yours Some people do it with as few as 5 (the couple, officiant, and two witnesses). And the first poster talked about 15. And that's the sort of thing IRCC have to deal with - some applicants will be showing proof that they had a wedding many times larger than the case officers themselves, and still have question marks about whether it was 'small' or not, because it's culture-dependent

I do understand where you're coming from but actually there was only relatives which ended up being that many. I was just trying to offer the support given the fact that we just met and still we had a lot of proof that convinced the officer it was genuine. As far as cultural norms go, our wedding would have gone for 4 days and there would have been at least 300 and up. I do appreciate your comment though.

 

[canuck_in_uk]

My partner and I (he's American, I'm Canadian) have been dating long distance for about 5 years, going back and forth across the border. He has never stayed here more than a couple of weeks until earlier this year. He has been staying with me for 4 months now. We are hoping to get married sometime next year to close the distance (we'll try to get him a visitor extension so we can have some breathing room to plan and figure out logistics).

My question is: has anyone ever had the validity of their marriage questioned due to having only a small private ceremony? I read this article (http://www.metronews.ca/news/canada/2015/05/19/immigration-guide-for-detecting-marriage-fraud-called-racist-and-offensive.html) which is a little dated, but it says immigration officials have very traditional and very expensive standards for what a wedding is. We're wondering if it would be very damaging to just have a small private ceremony with an officiant/ pastor and a little dinner after, as opposed to a full ceremony with a reception and more than 15 guests.

We don't have a lot of money to have a wedding, but we have years worth of photos, conversations, plane tickets, and evidence that we have been in a real relationship for this long.

Has anyone had this problem? Thanks!

As a Canadian-American couple with a 5 year relationship history, you would have no problems getting married in a courthouse with 2 strangers for witnesses.

The "very traditional and very expensive standards" you refer to are really for applicants from cultures where a such a wedding is the cultural norm, i.e. India.

 

[bafonso]

No one attended our wedding and we stated we did it for health insurance purposes while in us (child on the way). They never questioned it, but we have been together for over 4 years...

I have other friends with recent weddings and they had to send a lot of proof, which seems reasonable. One did not even had any parents at ceremony.

 

[CanadianZenGirl]

My American husband and I got married on the lawn of the courthouse in Toledo, Ohio with just his family in attendance. Afterward, his parents threw us a wedding party so that I could meet some of my husband's friends. Now that he lives here in Canada, we are planning a vow renewal for my family. This will be small as well because my family isn't very big. Immigration was fine with it.

 

[dominicantiguan]

My partner and I (he's American, I'm Canadian) have been dating long distance for about 5 years, going back and forth across the border. He has never stayed here more than a couple of weeks until earlier this year. He has been staying with me for 4 months now. We are hoping to get married sometime next year to close the distance (we'll try to get him a visitor extension so we can have some breathing room to plan and figure out logistics).

My question is: has anyone ever had the validity of their marriage questioned due to having only a small private ceremony? I read this article (http://www.metronews.ca/news/canada/2015/05/19/immigration-guide-for-detecting-marriage-fraud-called-racist-and-offensive.html) which is a little dated, but it says immigration officials have very traditional and very expensive standards for what a wedding is. We're wondering if it would be very damaging to just have a small private ceremony with an officiant/ pastor and a little dinner after, as opposed to a full ceremony with a reception and more than 15 guests.

We don't have a lot of money to have a wedding, but we have years worth of photos, conversations, plane tickets, and evidence that we have been in a real relationship for this long.

Has anyone had this problem? Thanks!

Based off of the info you've given, you shouldn't have any problems at all once it's genuine. Regardless of whether your parents attend or not. You'll have to explain it but still I doubt you'll have any issues. Good luck!

 

[methyl]

I know a couple that got their marriage registered in a city hall, with literally just 2 friends attending as witnesses. Sponsorship was not an issue for this couple..
Not everyone is a fan of big expenses and parties, and some don't want anything to do with priests of any religion and most CIC officers make allowances for that if there's sufficient additional evidence.

 

[Shineon39]

For me I got married in Thailand after 8 months of dating, we did the traditional wedding. Only family on her side were present and we explain that my family could not do it to Thailand. No issue at all with the pr apllication, no interview and Singapore is one of the thoughest visa office. So you everything will be ok for you

 

[fullofturtles]

Oh wow! Thanks everyone. I really appreciate it. I am overwhelmed with the amount of good news I got from this thread. I was terrified we were going to have to put on a circus to entertain immigration. Hopefully, the evidence supporting 4+ years of being in a genuine relationship and a little dinner with close friends will be enough.

Thanks everyone!

 

[Cheema4012]

Oh wow! Thanks everyone. I really appreciate it. I am overwhelmed with the amount of good news I got from this thread. I was terrified we were going to have to put on a circus to entertain immigration. Hopefully, the evidence supporting 4+ years of being in a genuine relationship and a little dinner with close friends will be enough.

Thanks everyone!

Check your inbox brother

 

[keesio]

Oh wow! Thanks everyone. I really appreciate it. I am overwhelmed with the amount of good news I got from this thread. I was terrified we were going to have to put on a circus to entertain immigration. Hopefully, the evidence supporting 4+ years of being in a genuine relationship and a little dinner with close friends will be enough.

Thanks everyone!

Yup, you should be fine. I recall one US/CDN couple got married in the living room of a friend's house with a friend performing the ceremony and with a few friends as witness. They were dressed casually (jeans, etc) and took about 4 photos which they sent in with their application. It was fine. A very small wedding by itself is not a red flag if the rest of the evidence is good.