Spousal sponsorship (expedited entry on a visitor visa?)

[blackwood96]

I am a Canadian citizen and currently engaged to a foreign national and understand that I will only be able to apply for a spousal sponsorship once we get married and sign the contract. However, since the spousal sponsorship takes 1 year to process from the date of marriage (which is also likely to take some time) and I would hate for us to live separated for one whole year post-marriage, I am planning to take a proactive approach and advise my fiance to apply for a visitor visa starting now.

My question is which of the following options makes a stronger visa application and is more likely to be granted a visa?

1. Me being the host and writing a letter of invitation for my fiance to submit along with her application for the purposes of visiting me.

Downside: I am thinking the visa application might be rejected since they will presume we will want to spend more time together and may risk exceeding the 6 months lawful stay. However, in reality this visa application is a workaround to allow my (to-be) spouse to live with me until the spousal sponsorship paperwork gets processed.

OR

2. Cousin inviting her to reunite after a long period of separation due to covid and to go together on a summer tour in Canada

Downside: applying for a spousal sponsorship right after being granted a visitor visa (for reunion with cousin purposes) may seem quite fishy; i.e. it can't be a coincidence that the visitor met the man of her dreams during her visit to Canada and soon after gets married. Meaning the real reason of applying for a visitor visa will surface and we might be perceived as liars when applying for the visitor visa application. Or am I overthinking this?

 

[MJSPARV]

My question is which of the following options makes a stronger visa application and is more likely to be granted a visa?

1. Me being the host and writing a letter of invitation for my fiance to submit along with her application for the purposes of visiting me.

Downside: I am thinking the visa application might be rejected since they will presume we will want to spend more time together and may risk exceeding the 6 months lawful stay. However, in reality this visa application is a workaround to allow my (to-be) spouse to live with me until the spousal sponsorship paperwork gets processed.

OR

2. Cousin inviting her to reunite after a long period of separation due to covid and to go together on a summer tour in Canada

Downside: applying for a spousal sponsorship right after being granted a visitor visa (for reunion with cousin purposes) may seem quite fishy; i.e. it can't be a coincidence that the visitor met the man of her dreams during her visit to Canada and soon after gets married. Meaning the real reason of applying for a visitor visa will surface and we might be perceived as liars when applying for the visitor visa application. Or am I overthinking this?

1. Yes, there could be concern that your fiance would overstay her visa, and there's a chance the visitor visa would be denied. If she has a travel record to the US/UK/similar questions showing she has visited and left within the appointed time that would be helpful. You'll also need to show strong proof of ties to her home country.

2. Yes, this could definitely be perceived as fishy, or much worse as misrepresentation. You'll have to give your relationship history in the PR application and it will be quite obvious that the real reason for the cousin inviting her was for you guys to get married and you really really really don't want IRCC to have any reason to say there was misrepresentation on a previous application. It's a can of worms you don't want to open.

Personally I'd do choice 1. There is always a chance it could be denied but far better that than the possibility of making IRCC suspect you/she haven't been honest with them in the past.

 

[Phalos]

I am a Canadian citizen and currently engaged to a foreign national and understand that I will only be able to apply for a spousal sponsorship once we get married and sign the contract. However, since the spousal sponsorship takes 1 year to process from the date of marriage (which is also likely to take some time) and I would hate for us to live separated for one whole year post-marriage, I am planning to take a proactive approach and advise my fiance to apply for a visitor visa starting now.

My question is which of the following options makes a stronger visa application and is more likely to be granted a visa?

1. Me being the host and writing a letter of invitation for my fiance to submit along with her application for the purposes of visiting me.

Downside: I am thinking the visa application might be rejected since they will presume we will want to spend more time together and may risk exceeding the 6 months lawful stay. However, in reality this visa application is a workaround to allow my (to-be) spouse to live with me until the spousal sponsorship paperwork gets processed.

OR

2. Cousin inviting her to reunite after a long period of separation due to covid and to go together on a summer tour in Canada

Downside: applying for a spousal sponsorship right after being granted a visitor visa (for reunion with cousin purposes) may seem quite fishy; i.e. it can't be a coincidence that the visitor met the man of her dreams during her visit to Canada and soon after gets married. Meaning the real reason of applying for a visitor visa will surface and we might be perceived as liars when applying for the visitor visa application. Or am I overthinking this?

I would go with #2. Once you apply inland, you just explain that yes you knew your fiance already but were not sure in which country to be married. Its not misrepresentation to hit 2 birds with 1 stone. You are not going to lie anywhere, yes she is going to visit her cousin as her primary purpose, but then you were like hey why not take the opportunity get married in Canada and apply Inland-its not a CRIME.
There is no such question on the TRV application as "Do you have a fiance living in Canada that you intend to marry if we grant you TRV"...
As far as IRCC should be concerned, you are boyfriend and girlfriend right now.
When you prepare your PR application just word it correctly so not to sound like all this was premeditated and deceptive. For example, you could say she stayed with her cousin at first, ie. do not say something like- my fiance moved in with me as soon as she arrived to Canada...or IRCC would be like wtf?

 

[blackwood96]

1. Yes, there could be concern that your fiance would overstay her visa, and there's a chance the visitor visa would be denied. If she has a travel record to the US/UK/similar questions showing she has visited and left within the appointed time that would be helpful. You'll also need to show strong proof of ties to her home country.

2. Yes, this could definitely be perceived as fishy, or much worse as misrepresentation. You'll have to give your relationship history in the PR application and it will be quite obvious that the real reason for the cousin inviting her was for you guys to get married and you really really really don't want IRCC to have any reason to say there was misrepresentation on a previous application. It's a can of worms you don't want to open.

Personally I'd do choice 1. There is always a chance it could be denied but far better that than the possibility of making IRCC suspect you/she haven't been honest with them in the past.

Thanks for your thorough response and explaining your logic/perspective. I guess something that I forgot to say was we'd be getting married back home and not in Canada. In addition, my fiance won't be "visiting" Canada until we sign the marriage contract and get legally married. I just want her to have a way into Canada by the time we get married, hence why I will be advising her to apply for a visa in advance. The reason for this workaround of applying for a visitor visa in the first place is because the spousal sponsorship takes a minimum of one year processing time and we don't want to be geographically separated for that long once we're married.

Would that influence your answer, if at all?

 

[Buletruck]

Having done this, I’d apply for the TRV now, stating you are visiting for a short period. Make sure she has a decent travel history ( preferably to visa required countries). Make sure you include your documentation that shows your current home is overseas and not Canada as proof you/your fiancé are only visiting.

 

[Phalos]

Once you get married abroad, your chances of a TRV goes from 75% to 10%.....just sayin'

 

[blackwood96]

I would go with #2. Once you apply inland, you just explain that yes you knew your fiance already but were not sure in which country to be married. Its not misrepresentation to hit 2 birds with 1 stone. You are not going to lie anywhere, yes she is going to visit her cousin as her primary purpose, but then you were like hey why not take the opportunity get married in Canada and apply Inland-its not a CRIME.
There is no such question on the TRV application as "Do you have a fiance living in Canada that you intend to marry if we grant you TRV"...
As far as IRCC should be concerned, you are boyfriend and girlfriend right now.
When you prepare your PR application just word it correctly so not to sound like all this was premeditated and deceptive. For example, you could say she stayed with her cousin at first, ie. do not say something like- my fiance moved in with me as soon as she arrived to Canada...or IRCC would be like wtf?

Thanks for your detailed response. I agree with your rationale on option #2. However, something I missed to inform you was that we'd be getting married outside of Canada and she most likely won't be "visiting" until we are legally married. I just wanted to bypass the one year wait (spousal sponsorship processing) by having my to-be spouse eligible to enter canada (via a visa) as soon as we are married. Now the question is would there be an issue with her entry to Canada on a visit visa to live with her husband (which is a different reason to option #2) and obviously we'd apply for spousal sponsorship as soon as she's in the country. Or could we just stay the course and say that she's visiting her cousin then apply for the spousal sponsorship once she enters, and hope to receive it before the 6 month duration limit or request for a visa extension.

I was wondering if you have anything (from experience or what you've heard) against option #1? Is the concern I have regarding risk of overstay (if I'll be hosting her as a fiance) a legitimate reason for them to deny her a visa? Even if my fiance has a travel record to the US showing she has visited and left within the appointed time?

 

[blackwood96]

Having done this, I’d apply for the TRV now, stating you are visiting for a short period. Make sure she has a decent travel history ( preferably to visa required countries). Make sure you include your documentation that shows your current home is overseas and not Canada as proof you/your fiancé are only visiting.

Okay so you are suggesting to go ahead with option 1 i.e. visiting her fiance? And attach travel records to the US showing she has visited and left within the appointed time? Your last statement regarding "current home is overseas"; that is not applicable to me - I am a Canadian citizen living in Canada - it only applies to my fiance (for the time being). She does have strong economic and family ties back home though. Would that be okay?

 

[blackwood96]

Once you get married abroad, your chances of a TRV goes from 75% to 10%.....just sayin'

Hence why I will be advising my fiance to apply now for a TRV. We do not plan on getting married until next year. I just want her to be able to enter Canada once we are married and bypass the one year wait period for the spousal sponsorship. The question is just a matter of the purpose of travel/who is hosting her for the TRV application; me (as her fiance), or her cousin (for reunification).

 

[Phalos]

Now the question is would there be an issue with her entry to Canada on a visit visa to live with her husband (which is a different reason to option #2) and obviously we'd apply for spousal sponsorship as soon as she's in the country.

See my % chance response. Look almost everyone on this forum would like to wait their spousal application in Canada, but we all know that its almost impossible to get a TRV once you are married....hence my suggestion of option#2.
Let me put in simple for you. Visa Office by default, does not believe a foreign spouse from a visa required country is going to leave Canada at the end of her stay. Your spouse could have travel to every single country in world, and Canada would still deny.

 

[Phalos]

question is just a matter of the purpose of travel/who is hosting her for the TRV application.....

Once again: Cousin. Do not even think of mentioning such words as FIANCE, BOYFRIEND, LOVER, CONCUBINE, FWB, PENPAL, BESTIE, HOMEGIRL, BOO, etc.
These words Visa Office is hunting for and will blacklist your butt so fast you wont even have time to blink.

 

[blackwood96]

Let me put in simple for you. Visa Office by default, does not believe a foreign spouse from a visa required country is going to leave Canada at the end of her stay. Your spouse could have travel to every single country in world, and Canada would still deny.

Once again: Cousin. Do not even think of mentioning such words as FIANCE, BOYFRIEND, LOVER, CONCUBINE, FWB, PENPAL, BESTIE, HOMEGIRL, BOO, etc.
These words Visa Office is hunting for and will blacklist your butt so fast you wont even have time to blink.

hahahahah I completely understand your point and agree with it. I just thought a TRV application would be rejected if it were a legally married spouse (once married, not a fiance); but I guess a risk of overstay is the common to both.

For option 2, would it be okay if her cousin is on a work visa and not a Canadian citizen / permanent resident of Canada? Or would a friend who is a Canadian citizen present a stronger case?

 

[Phalos]

hahahahah I completely understand your point and agree with it. I just thought a TRV application would be rejected if it were a legally married spouse (once married, not a fiance); but I guess a risk of overstay is the common to both.

For option 2, would it be okay if her cousin is on a work visa and not a Canadian citizen / permanent resident of Canada? Or would a friend who is a Canadian citizen present a stronger case?

I think (I might be mistaken on this) on the trv application they ask if you have any family in Canada, so in such case they will know about her cousin, so might as well be the cousin inviting. I have personally known cases where siblings successfully invite each other so I don't see why cousins would be any different

 

[Phalos]

Keep in mind though, even a cousin invites, the applicant still needs to satisfy the visa officer with the standard strong ties to home country (good job, finances, property, travel history, no refugee claims to any country blablabla).
The fiance/spouse thing just takes all that proof and flush it down the drain.
Right now with the Covid, a family reunification reason is much better than a friend invite-that might not be given priority or even refused for non-essential reason.

 

[blackwood96]

Keep in mind though, even a cousin invites, the applicant still needs to satisfy the visa officer with the standard strong ties to home country (good job, finances, property, travel history, no refugee claims to any country blablabla).
The fiance/spouse thing just takes all that proof and flush it down the drain.

Yeah, I am totally convinced. Thanks a tonne for sharing your perspective. Just wondering, is this you speaking from sound logic and instinct, or experience? Also, I am concerned that because her cousin is on a work visa and not a Canadian citizen that this may weaken the application. But I guess this is still a stronger case than a friend's invitiation, even if Canadian?