Marriage valid in Canada?

[JJS2022]

Hello!
so I married my partner Back in 2021. We got married in the Dominican. I AM CANADIAN..HE IS DOMINICAN. So in 2023 when he came to Canada.. (this was his first time coming to Canada)We were asked in customs if we were married and was asked when. The officer told me Since it was not within the 6 months of the marriage date I was told it if I didn’t register The marriage it was not valid . So this whole time I thought my marital status in Canada was still single. We were planning to do a wedding here eventually. We ended up having a child so it’s been put off. Is this marriage legit in Canada or what am I supposed to do to make it valid. He is only here on a visitor visa at the moment so he has no status in Canada either

 

[armoured]

Hello!
so I married my partner Back in 2021. We got married in the Dominican. I AM CANADIAN..HE IS DOMINICAN. So in 2023 when he came to Canada.. (this was his first time coming to Canada)We were asked in customs if we were married and was asked when. The officer told me Since it was not within the 6 months of the marriage date I was told it if I didn’t register The marriage it was not valid . So this whole time I thought my marital status in Canada was still single. We were planning to do a wedding here eventually. We ended up having a child so it’s been put off. Is this marriage legit in Canada or what am I supposed to do to make it valid. He is only here on a visitor visa at the moment so he has no status in Canada either

Whatever you were told doesn't make sense. If the marriage was done in Dominica (or Dominican Republic?), and done according to local laws, it's valid and will (can) be recognized in Canada. There's no procedure to recognize a foreign marriage in Canada - that's nonsense - and there's no time limit (that's utter gibberish).

Now some details:
-if there's some registration requirement in D/DR, then it's required. Just get a copy of whatever marriage certificate was issued there.
-This is where there is a small possibility what you were told could make sense - but I doubt a Canadian customs officer would know about it: if D/DR has a procedure where you get married and then the marriage must be registered in a separate step, then yes, it would not be a valid marriage. (In Canada a marriage certificate IS that registration).
-If the document is in a foreign language (not English or French), you'll need a proper translation.
-For some countries (not common), you might need a certain type of notarization/authentication from the government.

Instructions here:
https://ircc.canada.ca/english/information/applications/spouse.asp

See the part at the bottom that lets you select country and check what else is needed.

 

[JJS2022]

It’s the Dominican Republic. I have a copy of a marriage registration from when we got married. And it’s in Spanish. Also how does Canada know that I’m married if I didn’t register it . Am I in trouble

 

[steaky]

It’s the Dominican Republic. I have a copy of a marriage registration from when we got married. And it’s in Spanish. Also how does Canada know that I’m married if I didn’t register it . Am I in trouble

No need to register it with Canada.

When you sponsor her for immigration, you will have to get a certified translation of your DR marriage certificate and submit it with other documents to IRCC..

 

[JJS2022]

No need to register it with Canada.

When you sponsor her for immigration, you will have to get a certified translation of your DR marriage certificate and submit it with other documents to IRCC..

where would I get a certified translation done ??

 

[Flyingfast]

It’s the Dominican Republic. I have a copy of a marriage registration from when we got married. And it’s in Spanish. Also how does Canada know that I’m married if I didn’t register it . Am I in trouble

They don't. You have to prove you are married via an official marriage certificate from the Dominican government ( not the one you are given at the ceremony ) when you apply to sponsor your husband. Also if either of you have been previously married you must provide a divorce certificate to prove you were free to marry.

 

[steaky]

where would I get a certified translation done ??

You can google for an office near you. For BC:

https://stibc.org/find-translator-interpreter/certified-translator/#/cid/1715/id/3101

 

[JJS2022]

They don't. You have to prove you are married via an official marriage certificate from the Dominican government ( not the one you are given at the ceremony ) when you apply to sponsor your husband. Also if either of you have been previously married you must provide a divorce certificate to prove you were free to marry.

Is a marriage certificate and marriage registration different? I only have a registration copy I was given. I don’t have a certificate. And I would only be able to get that in the Dominican?

 

[JJS2022]

You can google for an office near you. For BC:

https://stibc.org/find-translator-interpreter/certified-translator/#/cid/1715/id/3101

I am in Saskatchewan

 

[armoured]

I am in Saskatchewan

Do they have google in saskatchewan?

 

[armoured]

Is a marriage certificate and marriage registration different? I only have a registration copy I was given. I don’t have a certificate. And I would only be able to get that in the Dominican?

The marriage registration document is probably basically the same. (Certification usually implies that something is also registered, in a registry, so that it can later be confirmed. For marriages, in most countries, that's some kind of marriage or registry of civil acts).

But it depends on the jurisdiction (country, state, province, etc) what the final, official document is called and looks like. It's your responsibility to figure that out, and get whatever is required.

IRCC will accept as proof of a foreign marriage, well, whatever is standard proof of a valid marriage in each country (exceptions are quite rare or well-known, like bigamy).

 

[canuck78]

You should be applying of sponsorship asap. At a certain point his visitor record will be denied since he is clearly trying to live in Canada.