Sponsoring Same-sex to be spouse (Outland)

[Shosanna]

I’ve been in a same-sex relationship since 2012. Me and my partner both live in Portugal but wish to immigrate to Canada. We want to get married to eachother but will probably not have a party or anyone present (something like eloping) because we are not quite accepted by all of our family members and want it to be just us. On top of that we don’t want to waste our money. Will having no party and therefore no pictures with family members, friends etc. hurt our case? Make it seem like it is a fraud?
thank you for your help

 

[bian07]

Is one of you canadian citizen or pr holder?
And if you provide a letter of explanation why you had a small ceremony it might be ok

 

[armoured]

Presumably you have pictures of other gatherings with friends etc (or even some with family members at other events, even if not your own wedding)?

Anyway with short explanation letter, you should probably be okay (assuming rest of the file and application is straightforward).

 

[Shosanna]

Is one of you canadian citizen or pr holder?
And if you provide a letter of explanation why you had a small ceremony it might be ok

Yes. I am a Canadian Citizen by birth and I do have my passport. Although I left Canada with only 1 year old and never returned.
thank you for your help

 

[Shosanna]

Presumably you have pictures of other gatherings with friends etc (or even some with family members at other events, even if not your own wedding)?

Anyway with short explanation letter, you should probably be okay (assuming rest of the file and application is straightforward).

Yeah I have pictures of other gatherings with friends and family no problem.. my problem would be specifically not having a symbolic ceremony for the wedding. I don’t know if that usually makes it look sketchy

 

[AutumnSkies]

Yeah I have pictures of other gatherings with friends and family no problem.. my problem would be specifically not having a symbolic ceremony for the wedding. I don’t know if that usually makes it look sketchy

I’m not familiar with what would typically be seen as a traditional wedding in Portugal, but as you’re a Canadian citizen by birth it’s not usual for Canadians to elope. I would still provide photos for an elopement ceremony and would personally recommend a professional photographer.

Also, since not everyone in the family supports the relationship that’s a perfectly valid reason to have eloped and should also be included in your explanation. My case is a little different in the sense that my husband is from New Zealand, which is a progressive country like Canada, and we eloped. Just the two of us, the officiant, two witnesses and our application went through just fine.

I would just be certain to include a well thought out explanation for the decisions you and your partner made when deciding to elope.

 

[Shosanna]

It is not very usual to elope in Portugal too. But Portugal is definitely not as progressive as New Z. or Canada.
Thank you so much for your comment.. it really really helped.

 

[armoured]

I don't know about terminology, it sounds to me just a small private wedding. It may help if you have a small ceremony and even just a few close friends attend, for example as witnesses. I'm not saying required and up to you, but shows it is a family issue and that others know of your relationship and marriage.

 

[Shosanna]

Yeah that’s what I meant.. a small private wedding. We have a lot of friends in common since we went to the same college and they all support us.. that should be no problem. The problem is really just her conservative family.
Thank you for your help!

 

[AutumnSkies]

It is not very usual to elope in Portugal too. But Portugal is definitely not as progressive as New Z. or Canada.
Thank you so much for your comment.. it really really helped.

You’re welcome! I hope everything works out for you and your partner! As long as you present a solid case you’ll be fine!

 

[russellup]

I’ve been in a same-sex relationship since 2012. Me and my partner both live in Portugal but wish to immigrate to Canada. We want to get married to eachother but will probably not have a party or anyone present (something like eloping) because we are not quite accepted by all of our family members and want it to be just us. On top of that we don’t want to waste our money. Will having no party and therefore no pictures with family members, friends etc. hurt our case? Make it seem like it is a fraud?
thank you for your help

I am also married with the same sex. It was only us and a witness on our wedding day. We submitted other pictures during our early years as a couple and wrote a little explanation why it was only us on the wedding. Both our family are conservative.
Sadly, our application has not moved since being transferred to NY VO in January 2020. We submitted it in August 2019. I am not sure why, I dont want to think it’s because of the same sex marriage but I see other applications getting approved faster than us.

 

[texpat]

I am also married with the same sex. It was only us and a witness on our wedding day. We submitted other pictures during our early years as a couple and wrote a little explanation why it was only us on the wedding. Both our family are conservative.
Sadly, our application has not moved since being transferred to NY VO in January 2020. We submitted it in August 2019. I am not sure why, I dont want to think it’s because of the same sex marriage but I see other applications getting approved faster than us.

We also are a same sex couple, submitted in August 2019 and application at NY VO since December 2019. e’ve heard nothing since mid-January.

We had a small ceremony with friends and my parents. None of his family could attend due to distance, and we explained that.

I would write a letter of introduction of you two as a couple with your application - tell your story. How you met, how you fell in love, the support of friends and family, and social issues of how some family members are conservative and not as supportive. That isn’t an isolated story, and letters of support from friends and those family members that DO support you could corroborate that. So would pictures of any of those who attend your small ceremony, with explanation of who they are to you.

Best wishes to you both.

 

[russellup]

We also are a same sex couple, submitted in August 2019 and application at NY VO since December 2019. e’ve heard nothing since mid-January.

We had a small ceremony with friends and my parents. None of his family could attend due to distance, and we explained that.

I would write a letter of introduction of you two as a couple with your application - tell your story. How you met, how you fell in love, the support of friends and family, and social issues of how some family members are conservative and not as supportive. That isn’t an isolated story, and letters of support from friends and those family members that DO support you could corroborate that. So would pictures of any of those who attend your small ceremony, with explanation of who they are to you.

Best wishes to you both.

Hi Texpat. Thanks for the reply and sharing your thoughts. You really made my day. The long wait and the emotional stress with the application plus covid. I am relieved to know someone in this situation (Same-sex and transferred NY VO but not the delays) I thought we are the only one being deleyed in this application.

 

[AutumnSkies]

From what I can tell there are still quite a few applications just on this forum alone from August 2019 that are still in limbo and COVID-19 certainly didn’t help. That includes couples from both same-sex and opposite sex relationships, so I wouldn’t stress about that being the main issue. (I still feel bad for those in the June 2019 group who are still waiting, which is the group my husband and I were in.)

Hopefully things will start moving forward again and you’ll both hear some good news soon!

 

[russellup]

From what I can tell there are still quite a few applications just on this forum alone from August 2019 that are still in limbo and COVID-19 certainly didn’t help. That includes couples from both same-sex and opposite sex relationships, so I wouldn’t stress about that being the main issue. (I still feel bad for those in the June 2019 group who are still waiting, which is the group my husband and I were in.)

Hopefully things will start moving forward again and you’ll both hear some good news soon!

Isn’t there a link to follow for application beyond the 12 months processing times? thanks for the positivity. Goodluck to us!