Hello! I am from the Philippines. My husband is an international student in Canada and he came home last December to marry me on January 3, 2019 and went back to Canada for his schooling. Can I use the original certificate of marriage issued by the local civil registrar for my application on SOWP? I will be attaching our photos for being 6 years in a relationship and our wedding photos also in my application as a proof of our relationship. I will be applying most probably by fourth week of January.
Spouse Open Work Permit of international student
- Thread starter chummagallanes
- Start date
Just wanted to make you aware that spouses of international students aren't guaranteed an sowp. It says you can apply but many get refused. Just wanted to warn you that you shouldn't quit your job or do anything drastic until you know you have an sowp.
Hello, I did not resign yet and do not have plan to until I get the SOWP. For the proof of relationship, is the original certificate of marriage issued by the local civil registrar sufficient?
In general I think advanced degrees help so if your husband is doing a masters or PhD that will help. Sufficient funds to pay for you if you don't get a job also helps. Not sure 100% how they decide which spouses get permits.
With regards to that, I included a budget and a timeline for my intended stay in Canada and my available funds in my bank account is sufficient for my entire stay in Canada and I will also attach my bank statements and also my husband's.
Hi! I have a question. In order to apply for a work permit as the spouse of an international student, do you need to have been married for a certain amount of time? Or having lived together for a certain amount of time? Or do they only care if you're married? If my boyfriend and I get married this year, will I be able to apply for an open work permit when he starts studying in Canada next year? Or does the time you've been married not matter at all?
Since you're going through the application, I thought you might know the answer to this. Thank you
Hi there! As far as I know, if you're marriage is legal, and both of you attended the wedding, not proxy, then, there's no problem with that as long as you can prove that it's not a fixed marriage and show photos of special occasions together especially you're wedding photos with the priest or solemnizing officer.Hi! I have a question. In order to apply for a work permit as the spouse of an international student, do you need to have been married for a certain amount of time? Or having lived together for a certain amount of time? Or do they only care if you're married? If my boyfriend and I get married this year, will I be able to apply for an open work permit when he starts studying in Canada next year? Or does the time you've been married not matter at all?
Since you're going through the application, I thought you might know the answer to this. Thank you
Thank you so much for your answerHi there! As far as I know, if you're marriage is legal, and both of you attended the wedding, not proxy, then, there's no problem with that as long as you can prove that it's not a fixed marriage and show photos of special occasions together especially you're wedding photos with the priest or solemnizing officer.
The problem is I actually wasn't planning on having a wedding ceremony, we were planning on having just a courthouse wedding. Do you think getting married without a cerimony would be a problem? Do they really insist on wedding photos? Do you think not having a ceremony could make us look bad when applying? We're also both from the same country in Europe.
I am not an expert on this but I think it is fine to have a courthouse wedding and sending photos of the wedding is a need because you just got married just to prove that both of you are present on that day with the officiating officer. You just have to state it in your cover letter why you have decided to have a courthouse weddding and who are your witnesses. Aside from your photos on the wedding day, you can submit other photos on special occasions for proof of relationship that you two are real couple, not a fixed marriage for convenience.Thank you so much for your answer
The problem is I actually wasn't planning on having a wedding ceremony, we were planning on having just a courthouse wedding. Do you think getting married without a cerimony would be a problem? Do they really insist on wedding photos? Do you think not having a ceremony could make us look bad when applying? We're also both from the same country in Europe.