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Me (25M) Serbian Wife (25F) Dating 20 months, Secret Marriage. Outland PR Chances?

ronjames

Star Member
Jan 10, 2017
51
15
Hello everyone,

Me (25/M) and my Serbian Wife (25/F) have enjoyed a wonderful 5 months living together, during this time, we got married at City Hall in Canada (no real engagement, we just discussed it amongst ourselves and picked a wedding date, Our situation aside, we are both not the type for big traditional engagement and marriage ceremonies). At the bottom of this post is a timeline of our relationship (Along with a TL;DR :) but please read if you have the time) , our end goal is for her to receive a PR to continue living together in Canada. As such, we are preparing an OUTLAND Spousal Sponsorship Application since she has to return to Russia in February and June respectively to complete final examinations for her Master’s Degree. I have done extensive research, including reading posts here (such as this one, case similar, but weaker to ours and still got approved), and the book ‘Points of Entry’. However, there is no case quite like ours, so I thought it would be worth posting to solicit thoughts and opinions.

I am not worried about my status as a sponsor; good job in the Canadian Federal Government (in the process of getting her health/spousal benefits, stupid phoenix :( ), no criminal record or anything.

One admitted red flag is that while our relationship is genuine, and has been public since May 2016, My family and friends DO NOT KNOW that we got married. Secondly, her parents do know but due to difficulties of obtaining a visitor visa (especially since she got rejected twice), we only had two friends at the wedding who jointly served as witnesses. FWIW, Her parents and brother don't speak English and I have only met them on Skype, I plan to meet them this Spring or Summer.

Her relationship with my parents is fantastic, and she has spent Thanksgiving and Christmas with them. However, my family is very traditional and conservative and are against the idea of marrying that young. Furthermore, my older brother is getting married August 2018 and it’s a very big, traditional wedding (150+ guests, engagement parties, etc). As such, we don’t feel comfortable about opening this up to my parents at least until after my brother’s wedding.

I understand why many could interpret our marriage, especially given it’s secrecy as one for ‘convenience’. This is something that I can’t deny, as our options were particularily restricted:
1) Past visitor visa rejections; 2) Her having to return to Russia in February and June to complete her Master’s Degree. You can see my past post history where we were looking into things like Common-Law and Conjugal Relationships but just weren't good options. In my research though, it seems that sometimes IRCC cares more about the 'relationship' (the relation between two people) than just the marriage itself. This is the angle that I am trying to frame our application around, that our relationship is genuine

Included in our application;
1) Cover letter outlining our relationship; evidence to be presented in application indicating that relationship is genuine
2) Proof of Financial Status, Government of Canada Job Offer, Tax Returns, Emails showing that I’m trying to add her as a Spouse to my healthcare plan.
3) Documentation: Marriage Certificate, Proof of us living together, Shared tenancy, packages sent to her, joint bank account
3) Proof of Contact (10 Pages max as per guidelines) Screen Captures and Chat Logs from Facebook Messenger, Email, Whatsapp, Text Message. Include Facebook screen caps indicating that our relationship is PUBLIC.
4) (20) Photos of each other at various points of relationship, including our wedding her meeting my parents
5) Proof of visits; Stamps from passport, flight tickets. 2 TRV rejections.
6) Reasoning why we kept our marriage a secret (outlined above),
7) Timeline of our relationship

As such, I am also asking whether a) We should proceed with the Outland Spousal PR Application or b) try for a TRV in August to attend my Brother’s wedding then submit an Inland Spousal Application.

Timeline of our relationship
April 2016 – First met
May 2016 – Began Dating
June 2016- Visited her in Serbia/Montenegro (3 Weeks)
October 2016 – Visited her in Russia
December 2016 – Rejected TRV Visa
January 2017 – Rejected TRV Visa (After receiving GCMS notes through ATIP for first refusal)
June/July 2017 – Joint trip to Spain/Portugal
August 2017 – January 2018 – Successful SX-1 Visa to study in Canada for 1 Semester
December 2017 – Marriage

Thank you

TL;DR
Serbian GF and I met in Russia April 2016. Dating since May 2016
Long distance most of the time, I have visited her three times, two TRV requests rejected for her
She got SX-1 Visa in August 2017-January 2018. Living happily together. Our Relationship is public and she has met my parents, friends and family multiple times
Secret Marriage in December 2017. Her parents know but not ready to tell my parents yet. Traditional and Conservative
Would like to know whether a) We should proceed with Outland Spousal Application PR or B) wait a bit, try for another PR, then apply Inland Spousal Sponsorship
 
Last edited:

lea1113

Star Member
Dec 10, 2016
129
22
App. Filed.......
10-11-2017
We also did a similar thing as you and your wife. Some differences of course.

You sound like you have done your research and you have plenty of proof.

But they will ask who was at the ceremony and you will have to explain why both sets of parents weren't there. And since you did it in Canada, they might have red flags as to why your parents were not there. So depends how you explain it.

As for trying again for a visit visa.. They might reject it more now because you are married..

So really to me, and please, I am no expert like some of the other posters, but I feel either way you do has some obstacles.
 

ronjames

Star Member
Jan 10, 2017
51
15
We also did a similar thing as you and your wife. Some differences of course.

You sound like you have done your research and you have plenty of proof.

But they will ask who was at the ceremony and you will have to explain why both sets of parents weren't there. And since you did it in Canada, they might have red flags as to why your parents were not there. So depends how you explain it.

As for trying again for a visit visa.. They might reject it more now because you are married..

So really to me, and please, I am no expert like some of the other posters, but I feel either way you do has some obstacles.
Thanks,

In IMM5532E where it asks questions about the marriage, we do explain why her family couldn't come to the wedding (visa reasons) and why we kept it a secret from the parents and the public.
 

ronjames

Star Member
Jan 10, 2017
51
15
Any further advice would be greatly appreciated. She is leaving on the 7th and we would like to have a concrete course of action.

Thank you!
 

Krisss

Full Member
Nov 30, 2017
23
12
You have done your research very well and you have plenty of supporting documents for your application. It might be better that she applies a new TRV to enter Canada again after you get the AOR1 or SA for your outland sponsorship. Good luck.
 

ronjames

Star Member
Jan 10, 2017
51
15
You have done your research very well and you have plenty of supporting documents for your application. It might be better that she applies a new TRV to enter Canada again after you get the AOR1 or SA for your outland sponsorship. Good luck.
Thank you for your reply.

So if I understand correctly, we should proceed with the Outland Spousal Application, then after I get approved to be a sponsor, to apply for a Visitor's Visa?