Do we have enough for proof for our spousal sponsorship?

[OrangeMapleIsHome]

Hi, my wife and I are applying for outland spousal sponsorship. She is in the US(her home country) for a few months and intends to return to Canada while a decision is made on our application. Basically, we are concerned about lack of proof of a genuine relationship. Please tell me if I am being paranoid, or if these items might satisfy immigration. We have:

-Marriage Certificate issued in Canada(BC)
-Joint bank account (Bank Statements)
-Rental Agreement signed by both of us(We lived together for a year and a half here in Canada)
-A copy of my wife's temporary Canada SIN that shows my Canadian home address
-A Canadian and American criminal record check for my wife that has my Canadian home address
-My wife's visitor record that has my Canadian home address

When my wife and I got married, it was during peak covid time. We were tired of waiting(engaged for two years) and we eloped. We did not take very many photos, and our only witnesses were my father and a close friend, and of course the commissioner. None of my family could fly from Ontario, my wife's family could not travel from the US. My point is, I'm afraid they will think we married just for immigration, which is not the case.

We don't have much in the way of phone bills or car insurance with both our names on it, aside from our bank statement and our marriage certificate. We also don't have any joint utility accounts (our utilities were included in our rent).

I understand there's no real way of knowing if this is enough proof until we hear back from immigration, and I was wondering what happens if they are not satisfied? Do they simply request more proof? I'd love to hear anyone's thoughts, thank you in advance!

 

[armoured]

Gut reaction only, sounds pretty solid esp in COVID time and youre probably bring paranoid.

Order your gcms notes instead of worrying.

 

[SLCtoYEG]

My husband and I are in the same boat. He lived with me while studying in Canada back in 2013-2015 on a study permit but has since lived in the US, his home country. We married over this past summer in the US and while his whole family was there, none of mine were as no one but me is vaccinated and they couldn't get into the country let alone the hassle of quarantining. We also have a lease agreement and a joint bank account and we HATE having our photos taken but do have some. Most of our photos are just of us though, selfies with no one else in the picture, no context as to location.

I'm curious how you got your wife's visitor record? My husband has no stamps on his passport from CDN officials. I assume they can look it up to prove the timelines and visits we've given but the only real evidence of travel I have are itineraries from flights and hotels stays from Expedia or Westjet (not actual proof that they were used).

Also, the criminal record check you mentioned from Canada - I'm wondering if my husband will need this as well since he lived here for 2 years. How did you go about getting one for your wife if she wasn't in Canada to make the application?

Good luck!

 

[OrangeMapleIsHome]

Gut reaction only, sounds pretty solid esp in COVID time and youre probably bring paranoid.

Order your gcms notes instead of worrying.

Thank you for that, will do.

 

[OrangeMapleIsHome]

My husband and I are in the same boat. He lived with me while studying in Canada back in 2013-2015 on a study permit but has since lived in the US, his home country. We married over this past summer in the US and while his whole family was there, none of mine were as no one but me is vaccinated and they couldn't get into the country let alone the hassle of quarantining. We also have a lease agreement and a joint bank account and we HATE having our photos taken but do have some. Most of our photos are just of us though, selfies with no one else in the picture, no context as to location.

I'm curious how you got your wife's visitor record? My husband has no stamps on his passport from CDN officials. I assume they can look it up to prove the timelines and visits we've given but the only real evidence of travel I have are itineraries from flights and hotels stays from Expedia or Westjet (not actual proof that they were used).

Also, the criminal record check you mentioned from Canada - I'm wondering if my husband will need this as well since he lived here for 2 years. How did you go about getting one for your wife if she wasn't in Canada to make the application?

Good luck!

It was so much harder to get married because of covid hey? And we are the same way about photos. Actually, this sponsorship process has shed light on the fact that we do not take enough photos of ourselves, especially with other people...

My wife obtained a visitor record when she extended her stay as a visitor. She was originally on a working-holiday visa through SWAP that lasted one year, we were planning on applying inland but because of circumstances, she had to return to the US. For that same reason, we did a criminal record check in both the US (the country where she has lived for most of her life), and Canada (the country where she lived at that time) as requested in the checklist. I'm now using that Canadian CRC simply because it is addressed to her, at my home address.

 

[SLCtoYEG]

It was so much harder to get married because of covid hey? And we are the same way about photos. Actually, this sponsorship process has shed light on the fact that we do not take enough photos of ourselves, especially with other people...

My wife obtained a visitor record when she extended her stay as a visitor. She was originally on a working-holiday visa through SWAP that lasted one year, we were planning on applying inland but because of circumstances, she had to return to the US. For that same reason, we did a criminal record check in both the US (the country where she has lived for most of her life), and Canada (the country where she lived at that time) as requested in the checklist. I'm now using that Canadian CRC simply because it is addressed to her, at my home address.

Makes sense. Thanks for your reply. Covid put a damper on everything. We were supposed to get married in 2020 and postponed. Finally we said screw it! and got married last August just so we could get a move on with this application. Good luck to you! We will be applying hopefully by the end of this month as we are waiting for his photos and just getting the application organized. There is so much and to ensure it is perfect and complete is a full time job.

 

[MJSPARV]

Hi, my wife and I are applying for outland spousal sponsorship. She is in the US(her home country) for a few months and intends to return to Canada while a decision is made on our application. Basically, we are concerned about lack of proof of a genuine relationship. Please tell me if I am being paranoid, or if these items might satisfy immigration. We have:

-Marriage Certificate issued in Canada(BC)
-Joint bank account (Bank Statements)
-Rental Agreement signed by both of us(We lived together for a year and a half here in Canada)
-A copy of my wife's temporary Canada SIN that shows my Canadian home address
-A Canadian and American criminal record check for my wife that has my Canadian home address
-My wife's visitor record that has my Canadian home address

When my wife and I got married, it was during peak covid time. We were tired of waiting(engaged for two years) and we eloped. We did not take very many photos, and our only witnesses were my father and a close friend, and of course the commissioner. None of my family could fly from Ontario, my wife's family could not travel from the US. My point is, I'm afraid they will think we married just for immigration, which is not the case.

We don't have much in the way of phone bills or car insurance with both our names on it, aside from our bank statement and our marriage certificate. We also don't have any joint utility accounts (our utilities were included in our rent).

I understand there's no real way of knowing if this is enough proof until we hear back from immigration, and I was wondering what happens if they are not satisfied? Do they simply request more proof? I'd love to hear anyone's thoughts, thank you in advance!

Have you already submitted the application? If not if you have pictures that are of the two of you pre-marriage and especially with family members I'd add those in (within the 20 picture limit). Honestly though you do have several important docs in common so you probably shouldn't be too concerned.

 

[davidoqc2]

Hi, my wife and I are applying for outland spousal sponsorship. She is in the US(her home country) for a few months and intends to return to Canada while a decision is made on our application. Basically, we are concerned about lack of proof of a genuine relationship. Please tell me if I am being paranoid, or if these items might satisfy immigration. We have:

-Marriage Certificate issued in Canada(BC)
-Joint bank account (Bank Statements)
-Rental Agreement signed by both of us(We lived together for a year and a half here in Canada)
-A copy of my wife's temporary Canada SIN that shows my Canadian home address
-A Canadian and American criminal record check for my wife that has my Canadian home address
-My wife's visitor record that has my Canadian home address

When my wife and I got married, it was during peak covid time. We were tired of waiting(engaged for two years) and we eloped. We did not take very many photos, and our only witnesses were my father and a close friend, and of course the commissioner. None of my family could fly from Ontario, my wife's family could not travel from the US. My point is, I'm afraid they will think we married just for immigration, which is not the case.

We don't have much in the way of phone bills or car insurance with both our names on it, aside from our bank statement and our marriage certificate. We also don't have any joint utility accounts (our utilities were included in our rent).

I understand there's no real way of knowing if this is enough proof until we hear back from immigration, and I was wondering what happens if they are not satisfied? Do they simply request more proof? I'd love to hear anyone's thoughts, thank you in advance!

This sounds fine honestly, you actually have more proof from official sources there than I provided with my PR application! I have my PR now and was never asked for additional proof, so I don't think you have anything to worry about

 

[armoured]

My husband and I are in the same boat. He lived with me while studying in Canada back in 2013-2015 on a study permit but has since lived in the US, his home country. We married over this past summer in the US and while his whole family was there, none of mine were as no one but me is vaccinated and they couldn't get into the country let alone the hassle of quarantining. We also have a lease agreement and a joint bank account and we HATE having our photos taken but do have some. Most of our photos are just of us though, selfies with no one else in the picture, no context as to location.

Overall wouldn't see much reason to be concerned either, assuming you have given some evidence of the longer-term relationship (incl even some from time living together before).

As in all online discussions or comparisons of cases, the question is if there's something you've neglected to mention that is significant and substantive; I don't mean that as any type of accusation, it's just the unknown factors.

But in both cases raised here: applicant from USA, couples married and (mostly) living together since marriage, established relationships before the marriage - unless there's some surprise factor, from relationship side probably the proverbial no-brainer cases. If there's a weakness perhaps the photo record side of things, as described (but if photos from entire relationship over time, prob not a major issue).

(Small note for others: marriage here, legal marriage, does make a difference for these cases compared to common law - even if relationship substantially the same otherwise. It means all the documentation for leases and official docs etc is mostly supporting docs for the relationship, and small gaps/technical issues in time or docs barely matter; for almost the same case but common law, insufficient proof of 12 months continuous cohabitation - those seemingly small technical gaps - could mean they are not common law in IRCC's eyes.)

 

[AutumnSkies]

All sounds like solid proof to me. There are also good options for spouses who worked temporarily in Canada for proof of shared address. My husband had an IEC visa, so we could provide that, proof of address with the temp SIM number, CRA notice of assessment with address if they worked on a temp visa, notices from Service Ontario (or your provincial equivalent) with PA’s address, along with join bank accounts, a bank manger’s letter confirming shared address, marriage certificate, police records(My NZ hubby’s had his Canadian address on it) along with credit card bills, utility bills, etc.

Honestly, if your spouse has the ability to work in Canada as an Outland applicant on a temp visa, it is a HUGE advantage for spousal sponsorship and opens a real chain of rock solid proof for shared address and genuine relationship.

 

[SLCtoYEG]

Overall wouldn't see much reason to be concerned either, assuming you have given some evidence of the longer-term relationship (incl even some from time living together before).

As in all online discussions or comparisons of cases, the question is if there's something you've neglected to mention that is significant and substantive; I don't mean that as any type of accusation, it's just the unknown factors.

But in both cases raised here: applicant from USA, couples married and (mostly) living together since marriage, established relationships before the marriage - unless there's some surprise factor, from relationship side probably the proverbial no-brainer cases. If there's a weakness perhaps the photo record side of things, as described (but if photos from entire relationship over time, prob not a major issue).

Thank you! I appreciate the feedback. We have clear proof of visits and and some photos for the last decade so I'm hoping that is enough evidence. My divorce took a long time for my ex to accept and sign off on so that is the only tripping point I can see. For me the marriage ended in 2010 and yet the divorce wasn't sign off on until June 2021 and I was remarried in August 2021. Timeline doesn't look great but I've been in this relationship with my now-husband as of 2011. Fingers crossed but I wouldn't be surprised if he ends up having to interview to explain it all.

 

[armoured]

My divorce took a long time for my ex to accept and sign off on so that is the only tripping point I can see. For me the marriage ended in 2010 and yet the divorce wasn't sign off on until June 2021 and I was remarried in August 2021. Timeline doesn't look great

I don't recall (and too lazy to check) whether you mentioned this before above.

But yes: this will be something they notice. Be sure to write a letter of explanation and briefly make this clear - that you were separated and apart from spouse for a long time, only the legal divorce came later. This is not that unusual but you do want to make this explicit and clear.

 

[Western Mountain Man]

Thank you! I appreciate the feedback. We have clear proof of visits and and some photos for the last decade so I'm hoping that is enough evidence. My divorce took a long time for my ex to accept and sign off on so that is the only tripping point I can see. For me the marriage ended in 2010 and yet the divorce wasn't sign off on until June 2021 and I was remarried in August 2021. Timeline doesn't look great but I've been in this relationship with my now-husband as of 2011. Fingers crossed but I wouldn't be surprised if he ends up having to interview to explain it all.

I don't think they will be too interested in your previous relationship unless there are kids involved.
No need to write a novel,.. Just keep it simple and provide them with the legal divorce document.
If there is not a big age difference, cross-cultural family issues, past criminal history, or other 'red flags' then you shouldn't have anything to worry about.

 

[SLCtoYEG]

I don't think they will be too interested in your previous relationship unless there are kids involved.
No need to write a novel,.. Just keep it simple and provide them with the legal divorce document.
If there is not a big age difference, cross-cultural family issues, past criminal history, or other 'red flags' then you shouldn't have anything to worry about.

Thanks for your reply. My husband is 9.5 years younger than me and I have a child from my previous marriage but we've been at this for a decade so I think if we were faking we would have given up long ago lol. Fingers crossed though I wouldn't be surprised with a request for an interview.

 

[YVR123]

Thanks for your reply. My husband is 9.5 years younger than me and I have a child from my previous marriage but we've been at this for a decade so I think if we were faking we would have given up long ago lol. Fingers crossed though I wouldn't be surprised with a request for an interview.

I think your proof looks good. FYI I am also older than my husband and we dated for 7 years....(I think) before we got married. I need to be sure with such age difference. But we had a lot of common friends and we did include pictures with families and friends. We had a small casual wedding (50ppl with no dinner. just an afternoon party) I didn't physically meet his family until we got married but we had a small banquet in his home town shortly after. That was pre-COVID time so things were very different back then.

Good luck.