So got a question. I was married back in 2013 and divorced within 6 months. I was reading up on requirements for marriage in the province I'm going to be married in (Newfoundland) and one of the stipulations is, if you were divorced in a country outside of Canada you have to actually hire a lawyer in NL to attest you can get married there! I get having the divorce decree and also having it translated if it's not in English but that seems excessive? When you go to get married, I mean do they have a way of knowing I was previously married in America? What about on the Spousal sponsorship application? I don't want to flat out lie but hiring a lawyer sounds really expensive and I'm concerned about that, especially if there's really no way of them knowing otherwise.
Previous Divorce. Will they know?
- Thread starter Michelle2020
- Start date
The US and Canada share a ton of information and this is bound to come up - would you rather be banned from Canada for the next 5 years for misrepresentation? I wouldn't lie in your application..would you maybe qualify for common-law to avoid getting married for now?
No, we don't qualify for that as we've never really lived together.
But, you're right, I don't want to risk that. I'm just concerned about how much money a lawyer will cost. Seems like there's so many little tiny details that end up being super complicated. I'll 'figure out' one thing and something else will pop up. It's starting to feel really overwhelming. Thank you for the quick response though.
Hi, I (re)married Ontario and they have a similar law. I had to locate an Ontario lawyer to basically vet my American divorce and have them write a letter saying that I was eligible to remarry in Canada. It was one quick appointment that cost me about $250. These lawyers specialize in this and it's easy money for them. It was definitely a unexpected expense, but you won't be able to apply for a marriage license without it.
As for applying for PR, there are quite a few places where you are asked for your former spouse's information and your divorce paperwork, so get ready to have that handy. I don't think they actually contact your ex, but just an FYI. They DO want to know everything about the person (you) that wants to live in their country!
Extremely high chance IRCC will find out. Lots of information sharing between Canada and the U.S.
As others have said, absolutely horrible idea to lie unless you're prepared for the 5 year ban. If you lie as part of the marriage process, it also means your marriage in Canada won't be valid or legal.
You need to hire the lawyer and do things the right / legal way. It's really not hard. I had to do it because my husband was previously married in the U.S.