Am I on the Right Track? Canadian Sponsoring Japanese Wife.

[v-globe]

also one of the most important things is that the two of you write an individual letter to the embassy how long youve known eachother, how/when the relationship started, and why do you love your significant other so much.

Wow, I haven't heard anybody else mention this... Seems kind of obvious now that I think of it. I appreciate the help and encouragement!!


We'll definitely be looking for certified Japanese/English translators so if there's any recommendations, I'm all ears.

Thanks again for all of the input, help and support. It definitely takes a bit of the stress away.

 

[canadianwoman]

CIC says they will not go to links provided (though maybe they do sometimes), so I would put a few screenshots of that Youtube video in the application as well as the link.

 

[v-globe]

CIC says they will not go to links provided (though maybe they do sometimes), so I would put a few screenshots of that Youtube video in the application as well as the link.

Great idea!! I figured having them access a link of a YouTube video was a bit of a stretch (YouTube is actually more than likely a blocked website on their network).

Thanks for the suggestion.

 

[v-globe]

Just confirming something from another thread...

My Fiance has booked her medical exam for mid January. According to immigration when I called this morning, it's fine for her to have the medical exam before our wedding and that it is valid for 12 months.

Now, question: according to another thread and a couple of other sites I have found, the old Appendix C and IMM 1017 is no longer needed. The doctor will have the new form and the rest is done electronically... Meaning, my fiance is going to the medical exam empty handed??

 

[KP1111]

i had in canada, the doc knew the process, he explained what i need to bring when i called. i think he said form A but if you don't have it, don't worry, i have here. i brought appendix c and 5 pics and *cash*.

 

[Rob_TO]

My Fiance has booked her medical exam for mid January. According to immigration when I called this morning, it's fine for her to have the medical exam before our wedding and that it is valid for 12 months.

You shouldn't do your medical exam until the last possible moment before you submit the application. Since they are only valid for 12 months, you don't want to have to re-do them during the processing time. So if you get them done 3 months early... well then they are only valid for 9 months after you submit your app so if your processing takes even a day longer than that... you might be asked to waste time and money to get them done again!

Now, question: according to another thread and a couple of other sites I have found, the old Appendix C and IMM 1017 is no longer needed. The doctor will have the new form and the rest is done electronically... Meaning, my fiance is going to the medical exam empty handed??

I would bring Appendix C from here anyways, even though the updates rules say its not required: http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/resources/publications/dmp-handbook/pdf/AppendixC_e.pdf

And as was mentioned, you also need immigration photos.

 

[v-globe]

You shouldn't do your medical exam until the last possible moment before you submit the application. Since they are only valid for 12 months, you don't want to have to re-do them during the processing time. So if you get them done 3 months early... well then they are only valid for 9 months after you submit your app so if your processing takes even a day longer than that... you might be asked to waste time and money to get them done again!

I would bring Appendix C from here anyways, even though the updates rules say its not required:

And as was mentioned, you also need immigration photos.

We are going to bring Appendix C along to the medical exam just in case.

Thanks.

 

[v-globe]

in japan there is no marriage certificate or birth certificate. birth and marriage are recorded in "koseki" and local city office issues certified copy only in japanese. so you have to have it translated but by the instruction, it has to be done by a certified translator. i googled and used one in vancouver, who gave me the cheapest quote, in my case around $200. some gave me a quotation of $500. btw, japanese consulate in canada can make those certificate based on "koseki" but i didn't have them made.

So if I understand correctly, after we get married in March in Japan, they update her family Koseki Tohon and give us a copy instead of a marriage certificate? And that's what's used as proof that we are legally married in Japan?

Thanks for the help

 

[KP1111]

So if I understand correctly, after we get married in March in Japan, they update her family Koseki Tohon and give us a copy instead of a marriage certificate? And that's what's used as proof that we are legally married in Japan?

Thanks for the help

she will be deleted from her parents koseki and new one under her name will be created (takes 2-3 weeks). this new koseki says she is married to you, canadian citizen. you request after they finish their paper work. i was frustrated because they only say "usually it takes 2-3 weeks, i cannot tell over the phone whether yours is done. only way you know is coming here and request, if it is not ready, we will tell you." you need both of them, under her parents and herself, issued after they finish their paper work.

when you submit the marriage paper, you request "juri shomeisho" which certifies your marriage paper has been submitted. you can get one for about 300 yen on the spot, and my husband brought this one to the consulate and received the paper in english saying his marriage is reported to canadian consulate. we are using this one from consulate as our marriage certificate when we need to show, like at the airport when we came to canada 3 months ago. i didn't have a return ticket and was given one year visitor. we also have fancy "juri shomeisho" for 1500 yen (?). it's bigger, printed on a nice paper, just nice to have

 

[v-globe]

she will be deleted from her parents koseki and new one under her name will be created (takes 2-3 weeks). this new koseki says she is married to you, canadian citizen. you request after they finish their paper work. i was frustrated because they only say "usually it takes 2-3 weeks, i cannot tell over the phone whether yours is done. only way you know is coming here and request, if it is not ready, we will tell you." you need both of them, under her parents and herself, issued after they finish their paper work.

when you submit the marriage paper, you request "juri shomeisho" which certifies your marriage paper has been submitted. you can get one for about 300 yen on the spot, and my husband brought this one to the consulate and received the paper in english saying his marriage is reported to canadian consulate. we are using this one from consulate as our marriage certificate when we need to show, like at the airport when we came to canada 3 months ago. i didn't have a return ticket and was given one year visitor. we also have fancy "juri shomeisho" for 1500 yen (?). it's bigger, printed on a nice paper, just nice to have

Thanks for the help. Just trying to clear up the process...

So we go to the city hall, apply for the marriage and ask for "Juri shomeisho" as kind of proof from that day that we've submitted the marriage. After the marriage has been applied for at the city hall, they create a new koseki under her name saying that she is married to me. After 2-3 weeks, we get her new koseki under her name.

We already have her main family koseki but now I am assuming we will need the updated one with her name deleted as well as her new own koseki??

We cannot apply for her visa with just the old family koseki and the juri shomeisho right?

This stuff is all kind of confusing so thanks for the help. Very much

 

[KP1111]

So we go to the city hall, apply for the marriage and ask for "Juri shomeisho" as kind of proof from that day that we've submitted the marriage. After the marriage has been applied for at the city hall, they create a new koseki under her name saying that she is married to me. After 2-3 weeks, we get her new koseki under her name.

yes, that's right. she can call and ask what is needed to bring with her (or if you are going together with you), but i recommend to go to the office with the marriage paper and supporting documents as they say over the phone prior to the day for pre-check. they will check the marriage paper and tell you if something needs to be corrected. we were told to bring other supporting documents with japanese translation (i did myself). we were told to bring his passport with translation!

We already have her main family koseki but now I am assuming we will need the updated one with her name deleted as well as her new own koseki??

if you are going to the city office where her parents' koseki is not registered, you need it to submit the marriage paper. but in this case, it has to be within 3 months from issuance. for PR purpose, she is still single in the koseki you have.

We cannot apply for her visa with just the old family koseki and the juri shomeisho right?

i read CIC's country specific instruction as they require both, my parents with my name deleted and mine as married to my husband. juri shomeisho and consulate's paper were little extra to make them happy.

This stuff is all kind of confusing so thanks for the help. Very much

agreed. but for me, marriage process in japan was easier. cic's instruction was not easy sometimes, it can be read this way, and that way. and their instruction does not cover all, some extra info is on the form only, and we didn't notice on those small letters on top of the form.

 

[v-globe]

yes, that's right. she can call and ask what is needed to bring with her (or if you are going together with you), but i recommend to go to the office with the marriage paper and supporting documents as they say over the phone prior to the day for pre-check. they will check the marriage paper and tell you if something needs to be corrected. we were told to bring other supporting documents with japanese translation (i did myself). we were told to bring his passport with translation!
if you are going to the city office where her parents' koseki is not registered, you need it to submit the marriage paper. but in this case, it has to be within 3 months from issuance. for PR purpose, she is still single in the koseki you have.
i read CIC's country specific instruction as they require both, my parents with my name deleted and mine as married to my husband. juri shomeisho and consulate's paper were little extra to make them happy.
agreed. but for me, marriage process in japan was easier. cic's instruction was not easy sometimes, it can be read this way, and that way. and their instruction does not cover all, some extra info is on the form only, and we didn't notice on those small letters on top of the form.

That all makes sense. I wasn't really understanding the whole Koseki thing but now I do. Thanks a lot for the help.

I'm definitely going with her to the office to bring the document and supporting documents, we have already called a couple of times to make sure we're getting the right stuff.

We're not applying for her visa until after we have submitted the marriage application in March, we're just trying to get everything ready so that as soon as we've been married, we can submit the application for her visa.

I guess all we're doing is adding a couple of weeks to the timeline.

Thank you again for your help. I really appreciate it.

 

[v-globe]

So it's Sunday and I am back at chipping away at this application... Going over the checklist, it seems like we are getting close to having everything we need however, I have a questions about "Proof of Relationship to Sponsor". Do they want the actual cards that we have sent each other or are copies ok? Also as far as emails and proof of communication, any idea of how much proof is necessary?

My fiance and I literally have tens of thousands of messages sent back and forth over an iPhone messaging application. I exported the transcript and pasted it into a word file, it was 2000+ pages of messages. haha something tells me that's a little excessive, so what I did was copy and pasted a few key conversations about visiting each other and buying plan tickets etc.

As far as emails are concerned, do I copy and paste, or print right from the email program/web browser?

I've included about a dozen pics from different trips we've taken and with her family and friends etc. we also plan on having some pictures taken in March when we get married. We also have copies of boarding passes and passport pages to prove our visits to each other.

Am I missing anything key to prove that this relationship is genuine?

Thanks!

PS If you are up here in Toronto, hope you enjoyed this weather!!

 

[canadianwoman]

Do they want the actual cards that we have sent each other or are copies ok?

Copies are OK. If the vo wants to see the originals, he/she will ask.

Also as far as emails and proof of communication, any idea of how much proof is necessary?

My fiance and I literally have tens of thousands of messages sent back and forth over an iPhone messaging application. I exported the transcript and pasted it into a word file, it was 2000+ pages of messages. haha something tells me that's a little excessive, so what I did was copy and pasted a few key conversations about visiting each other and buying plan tickets etc.

As far as emails are concerned, do I copy and paste, or print right from the email program/web browser?

A few key conversations and a few key emails are appropriate. For the emails, you can either copy and paste or print from the email program. For both, mention that you have many more pages, and will send them to the vo if needed.

I've included about a dozen pics from different trips we've taken and with her family and friends etc. we also plan on having some pictures taken in March when we get married. We also have copies of boarding passes and passport pages to prove our visits to each other.

I would send more than 12 photos. You don't need a huge number, but at least one from every trip taken together, plus the ones proving you've met each other's family and friends should add up to more than that.

 

[danko8]

So it's Sunday and I am back at chipping away at this application... Going over the checklist, it seems like we are getting close to having everything we need however, I have a questions about "Proof of Relationship to Sponsor". Do they want the actual cards that we have sent each other or are copies ok? Also as far as emails and proof of communication, any idea of how much proof is necessary?

My fiance and I literally have tens of thousands of messages sent back and forth over an iPhone messaging application. I exported the transcript and pasted it into a word file, it was 2000+ pages of messages. haha something tells me that's a little excessive, so what I did was copy and pasted a few key conversations about visiting each other and buying plan tickets etc.

As far as emails are concerned, do I copy and paste, or print right from the email program/web browser?

I've included about a dozen pics from different trips we've taken and with her family and friends etc. we also plan on having some pictures taken in March when we get married. We also have copies of boarding passes and passport pages to prove our visits to each other.

Am I missing anything key to prove that this relationship is genuine?
Thanks!
PS If you are up here in Toronto, hope you enjoyed this weather!!

As long as you have a written story of how you met, and photos over your relationship, and a few emails or letters, it should be enough. The list of requirements was so stressful to check off...was like studying for an exam.
My wife is from Japan, and we married in Toronto Oct. 2011 (civil wedding) before applying for Family Sponsorship (Outside Canada). It took 2 months to get our Marriage certificate, so we began gathering all the forms in Jan.2012. Our ceremony wedding was April 2012.
She stayed with me in Toronto during the entire time. We applied for Family sponsorship (Outside) only because the TOkyo visa office was suppose to take 6 months, vs. 1 year within Canada.
Going through the CIC checklist, getting all the documents took us 3 months, including all the documents from Japan (police, family register, etc). WE took a trip to Japan for vacation and got this all done.
The CIC has a list of approved doctors (Canada and Japan), we went to one in Markham and got it all done quickly (regardless of the fact we are applying from Outside Canada).

We submitted everything in March 2012, I was approved for Sponsorship May 2012 from CPC- Mississauga. SHe received her PR through CIC-Manila in November (Tokyo Office closed for some reason), a letter came in the mail with CoPR.

Before we married, she had a temporary visitor visa, and after applying for extensions through the CIC website, she received 6 months extensions.

Your wife/fiancée can enter Canada any time and stay for 6 months. Even if she doesn't have her PR when she arrives, she can stay 6 months and as long as you explain to the CBS officer, they aren't too fussy. My wife and I travelled to the US regularly by car and air during the application process, and all the border guards were supportive after our explanation.