Colombian marrying with my Canadian boyfriend

[camholguin]

Hello everybody.

My partner and i have been living apart for 2 years since April 2nd and he just got himself back on track financially to look for options to start the process of immigrations.

He spent 2 years in Colombia and we were very lucky to fall in love but, As Colombia does not have same sex rights, we were not able to get married prior to my departure and did not understand all our rights.

He got hit hard financial with the correction and has been working to get to a place where he can start to look at options.

I submitted one request to the Canadian embassy to visit him in Canada a month ago which was denied. He was trying to sponsor me hoping we could get married in Canada and submit the necessary paperwork and then have me return to Colombia until my residency was in place.

We have been doing a bunch of research without and clear direction and we need help.

What are our options and how can we proceed. Any help would be well appreciated.

PD: Can we perform a marriage by proxy there in Canada, since gay marriage is not allowed here in Colombia?

 

[amikety]

No, you cannot do proxy marriage in Canada.

You can get married in a third country that allows same sex marriage, then apply. Even though you're legally married, you can still have a ceremony in Canada after you land.

He could also return to Colombia and live with you for a year. That would qualify you as common-law under Canadian law and allow him to sponsor you. The same could happen if you were admitted to Canada, but a visitor's visa can be hard to get.

 

[camholguin]

The situation is difficult right now for him to come to Colombia right now. He's starting his new business and he's doing really good in Montreal.

We can support we've been having a relationship for more than a year together, by facebook messages, emails and phone calls. Can we apply for sponsorship as conjugal partners?

According to what CIC website says:

You may apply as a conjugal partner if:

you have maintained a conjugal relationship with your sponsor for at least one year and you have been prevented from living together or marrying because of:
an immigration barrier (I already applied for a temporary visa to get married there but it was denied)
your marital status (for example, you are married to someone else and living in a country where divorce is not possible) or
your sexual orientation (for example, you are in a same-sex relationship and same-sex marriage is not permitted where you live) (Same sex marriage is not legal in Colombia)

 

[amikety]

The situation is difficult right now for him to come to Colombia right now. He's starting his new business and he's doing really good in Montreal.

We can support we've been having a relationship for more than a year together, by facebook messages, emails and phone calls. Can we apply for sponsorship as conjugal partners?

According to what CIC website says:

You may apply as a conjugal partner if:

you have maintained a conjugal relationship with your sponsor for at least one year and you have been prevented from living together or marrying because of:
an immigration barrier (I already applied for a temporary visa to get married there but it was denied)
your marital status (for example, you are married to someone else and living in a country where divorce is not possible) or
your sexual orientation (for example, you are in a same-sex relationship and same-sex marriage is not permitted where you live) (Same sex marriage is not legal in Colombia)

Conjugal should be your last option after you have tried everything else. If he can live in Colombia with you (CIC doesn't care about his business) or get married in another country, such as Brazil, you will be denied. Conjugal has the highest rate of rejection. Things such as 'don't want to leave my job' do not qualify for Conjugal. There are few cases were Conjugal is actually the only option left.

You need to look at countries that do have same sex marriage and you can enter without a visa.

I'm confused. I thought you said he was in Colombia before? But now you've only had a relationship online?

 

[camholguin]

He lived here in Colombia when we met, but then went back to Canada after some problems with his previous business. Now he's starting all over again and he's doing really good, it's not feasible for him to come and live here at all.

 

[chipits]

He lived here in Colombia when we met, but then went back to Canada after some problems with his previous business. Now he's starting all over again and he's doing really good, it's not feasible for him to come and live here at all.

From CIC's perspective, it doesn't matter. If he can physically come and live in Colombia with you (which he can) then you do not apply for conjugal. If you can both go to Brazil and get married (which I assume you both can), then you absolutely don't apply for conjugal.

If you apply for conjugal, you WILL be denied.

 

[amikety]

From CIC's perspective, it doesn't matter. If he can physically come and live in Colombia with you (which he can) then you do not apply for conjugal. If you can both go to Brazil and get married (which I assume you both can), then you absolutely don't apply for conjugal.

If you apply for conjugal, you WILL be denied.

I second this. Not wanting to leave a job are not reasons for Conjugal. Directly from CIC's website:

You should not apply as a conjugal partner if:
•You could have lived together but chose not to. This shows that you did not have the level of commitment required for a conjugal relationship. (For example, one of you may not have wanted to give up a job or a course of study, or your relationship was not yet at the point where you were ready to live together.)

http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/immigrate/sponsor/spouse-apply-who.asp

You will not qualify as Conjugal.

 

[Sweden]

there is no legal barrier for you to get married (you're not married, he is not), so conjugal won't work for you. If he can not go to live with you in Colombia for 12 months to qualify as common-law, then you need to get married somewhere else, and then apply as spouses.

Countries that allow same-sex marriage in the world are: Argentina, Belgium, Canada, Denmark, Iceland, Netherlands, Norway, Portugal, Spain, South Africa, Sweden, and several sub-national jurisdictions (parts of Brazil, Mexico, and the United States).

As a colombian, you don't need a visa to Argentina ( you can also check Brazil, I'm almost sure you don't need a visa either). And your Canadian boyfriend either. So : go to Argentina, get married, have a holidays together, keep all the proofs, and apply as spouses.
Good luck,
Sweden

 

[camholguin]

Thank you so much for your information people. It's really hard to get information online. I was almost sure that we could perform a marriage by proxy there in Canada, but now everything is a lil bit more clear.

Thinking about Mexico City, NY or Sao Paulo

 

[Sweden]

Thank you so much for your information people. It's really hard to get information online. I was almost sure that we could perform a marriage by proxy there in Canada, but now everything is a lil bit more clear.

Thinking about Mexico City, NY or Sao Paulo

get familiar with the immigration forms as well as thinking about organising your marriage, because like this you will see what you need to have as proofs, and can be better prepared. Don't stage anything - if it's staged pictures, just for immigration, it will show. But keep everything - receipts, plane tickets, hotel bookings, mails discussing the preparation, and take lots of pictures etc - it will help to prove that you are in a real relationship ( you will need to convince CIC of that, even if you're married). But if you lived together in Colombia, then kept in contact even long distance, and now are planning to get married, you probably have already quite a lot of proofs.
Good luck,
Sweden

 

[camholguin]

So, to let you know, we agreed we'll get married in Mexico city. We hired a lawyer to help us with the process and, indeed, he told us applying as Conjugal partners should be the last option.

We'll start working on the paperwork for the sponsorship as a Married couple to submit it as fast as possible, since it takes 8 to 17 months to get an answer.

Thank you for your help, and I'll keep on writing here to let you know how's everything going. Maybe this could help other people, right? hehe

 

[amikety]

So, to let you know, we agreed we'll get married in Mexico city. We hired a lawyer to help us with the process and, indeed, he told us applying as Conjugal partners should be the last option.

We'll start working on the paperwork for the sponsorship as a Married couple to submit it as fast as possible, since it takes 8 to 17 months to get an answer.

Thank you for your help, and I'll keep on writing here to let you know how's everything going. Maybe this could help other people, right? hehe

You would be amazed. People dig up threads, sometimes 2-3 years old that related to their situation and ask for updates!

I hope you enjoy your wedding! Viva Mexico!

 

[Sweden]

So, to let you know, we agreed we'll get married in Mexico city. We hired a lawyer to help us with the process and, indeed, he told us applying as Conjugal partners should be the last option.

We'll start working on the paperwork for the sponsorship as a Married couple to submit it as fast as possible, since it takes 8 to 17 months to get an answer.

Thank you for your help, and I'll keep on writing here to let you know how's everything going. Maybe this could help other people, right? hehe

Glad to hear that! as a married couple, with history of living together, you have a good chance of being approved within reasonable time - good luck!
Sweden