Different Religions

[mmle]

Hello,
I am a Canadian Citizen studying in Egypt. I met my boyfriend here and we have been together for 2.5 years. We still have 2 years until we graduate. We would like to get married and live in Canada after we finish school. Our problem is that we are different religions and there is no civil marriage in Egypt. What are our best options to be able to get married in Canada? Please help

 

[amikety]

Travel to a neutral third country that allows marriages or have your boyfriend get a TRV and get married in Canada.

If you decide to come to Canada to get married, make sure to include lots of proof your boyfriend intends to return to Egypt for the TRV application.

 

[mmle]

Thank you so much for replying. I will research temporary resident visas now!

 

[amikety]

You're welcome!

There's a lot of information and tips in the Visiting Canada section of this forum. Hopefully it will be of use to you.

 

[canadianwoman]

I am a Canadian Citizen studying in Egypt. I met my boyfriend here and we have been together for 2.5 years. We still have 2 years until we graduate. We would like to get married and live in Canada after we finish school. Our problem is that we are different religions and there is no civil marriage in Egypt. What are our best options to be able to get married in Canada? Please help

Are you living together? If you are, or will be, then you can apply to sponsor him as your common-law partner. You will have to live with him for one year (at least) and have proof of this: a lease in both names, utility bills in both names (or one bill in your name and one in his, both going to the same address), joint bank accounts and joint credit cards. If some or all of these would be difficult to get where you live, I would get married in a third country, or get him into Canada as a visitor and marry there, as the above poster noted.

 

[notfromhere]

make sure his feelings are genuine.. I have been living in teh Middle East and Gulf area for quite a long, and I know very well, how the guys are hunting for the western girls...
Because if he is a muslim, his family most likely will be against this marriage. Or even if they will accept it in the beginning, only for the same reason of the westrn passport. once he got his citizenship, he will be able to go back home and to marry someone else...He even doesn't have to divorce you. I wish you all the best, but simply be careful, not to get hurt later ... If you really want to marry him, you guys can do it in Cyprus. Or India. Or Sri Lanka. I doubt he can get visa to Europe, otherwise you could get married in Prague.
To get a visa to Canada for him will be very difficult.
Again, just please be very careful!!

 

[mmle]

Thank you everyone for taking the time to reply.

I have been researching conjugal sponsorships. Do you think this could apply to my case? Legally, we could be married in Egypt since a Muslim man may marry outside of his religion, but this would put me in a position where I would lose a lot of my rights, and it would also endanger us from our families and even extremist strangers. Living together without being married is illegal and absolutely impossible in Egypt.

If he applied for a visitor's visa and got denied (which is probably what will happen) then could we apply for a conjugal sponsorship?

I would also like to know if we are able to get married in another country, what do we do while waiting for our application to be processed? It said it could take up to 16 months. Wouldn't it look suspicious to be married and not live together at all?

Sorry for all the questions, I am just trying to be prepared

 

[R151NG5UN]

Thank you everyone for taking the time to reply.

I have been researching conjugal sponsorships. Do you think this could apply to my case? Legally, we could be married in Egypt since a Muslim man may marry outside of his religion, but this would put me in a position where I would lose a lot of my rights, and it would also endanger us from our families and even extremist strangers. Living together without being married is illegal and absolutely impossible in Egypt.

If he applied for a visitor's visa and got denied (which is probably what will happen) then could we apply for a conjugal sponsorship?

I would also like to know if we are able to get married in another country, what do we do while waiting for our application to be processed? It said it could take up to 16 months. Wouldn't it look suspicious to be married and not live together at all?

Sorry for all the questions, I am just trying to be prepared

Hey mmle,

Not sure on the 1st part of your question but in regards to the 2nd part, why would it look suspicious to get married in another country and have not lived together? It shows you are committed to each other and are willing to do anything to be together. Lots of people on this site have never lived together (still waiting after 15 months of being married). Immigration is a long process and CIC understands that in a lot of cases it is impossible to live together until applications are complete.

As for Conjugal, if there is any other way of you being able to be married or common law as oppose to conjugal then CIC will be leaning towards that scenario. The success rate of conjugal is so horrific, if you do apply down that route be 100% certain it can't fail and then you might just be successful.

What you would do whilst waiting is a number of things. You could visit each other on visitor's visa's, Work permits or wait it out apart from each other. There are options open to you both but obviously if he is not visa exempt it will be more difficult but I guess you will have to look at other ways.

Good luck

 

[amikety]

Conjugal sponsorship have a very low rate of success. In the eyes of the government of Canada, if you can get married or live as common-law, then you should do one of those routes first. Now, as cohabitation is illegal in Eygpt, that will rule out common-law partner for the time being.

If there would be legitimate threats to your safety if your marriage was public, then yes, this may be considered. You will need to be prepared to show proof, however, such as laws stating the consquences. (Such as, if you married without your father's consent or laws that would require you to convert to Islam against your free will. If you do plan to convert or are considering it, then this would not apply.)

In your case, it may be best to consult with a lawyer that has experience with Conjugal sponsorship. You can communicate with a lawyer directly in Canada, instead of one in Egypt, which may be safer for you. If you do this, pretend you're broke and don't have money for a lawyer (regardless of whether or not you do). Lawyers will "exaggerate" the truth and their abilities to get cash from you, so if they think you're broke, they tend to be more honest. (You can say things like, "Well, if I can get a PR for my husband and bring him to Canada, then maybe my parents would give you the fee." The word IF when it comes to money scares lawyers.... I've had one promise me the money, took my cash, then I learned this was no legal backing for anything the lawyer told me.)

If none of the Family class will work, your boyfriend can also apply for PR on his own right in several other categories. There are many options to enter Canada from study permits, PR, and work permits. If he could enter Canada and live with you for a year under any conditions, you would be common-law.

 

[amikety]

Oh yeah, I forgot..... silly me.

Yes, if he was denied a TRV, it would help your case. However, the VO still may ask you why you didn't marry in a third country you could both enter with less strict rules or deny the application without asking because you didn't "exhaust all options." You would need to show a) you were under immediate danger/violations of human rights as recognized by Canadian law; b) your boyfriend was denied entry into Canada. (You would be able to appeal that ruling.)

I urge you to request a free consultation with an experience lawyer. I got a free half hour, planned my questions, wrote them down, and was able to get all my questions answered in 14 minutes

 

[mmle]

I am also wondering if he could get a TRV and we got married in Canada, would he be able to stay? If yes, then why do people say it is better to apply outland? Also, as he is entering Canada should he admit that he is here to get married? If he says he is just visiting and we get married, wouldn't this make the officer's angry or less likely to approve our application?

Again, thank you everyone so much. This site is really useful and everyone is so eager to help Especially Amikety Could you recommend a law firm/lawyer?

 

[Creampop]

Conjugal is usually used when there are immigration barriers... like... you can't get married because you are already married (to someone else) and your country doesn't acknowledge divorce, same sex couples that can't get married because the country doesn't acknowledge same sex marriage. The chances of conjugal are 1% to 2% approved. there is a thread here the girl applied conjugal and the officer reviewing her case actually emailed her and asked her why they just didn't go to a third place to get married. The thing is in Canada you do not have to have permission to get married as long as you are 18, Canada doesn't have religious barriers, woman have rights. if you are in love and want to be with this person you would do whatever it took to be with them, this is what the officer is looking for, if you can legally get married or live common law thats what they expect. here is the thread mentioned.... Good Luck!



http://www.canadavisa.com/canada-immigration-discussion-board/frustratedplease-help-leon-or-anybody-conjugal-partnership-email-t121376.0.html


modified to add: Yes he could stay but you would have to file for an extension, No they would not hold it against him if he came to visit and got married, just don't mention that on the TRV application most are denied if they think they will not leave Canada once the TRV expires. Outland process is usually faster then inland thats why most apply outland and you do not have to be out of the country to apply out-land.

 

[mmle]

Thanks! I still have a few more questions though:

Does that mean we could apply outland if we are both in Canada?
What would happen if he is called in for an interview?
How long is the extension if we were to be married while he is visiting and how likely is it that it would be approved?
Why would it matter that it takes longer to apply inland if he could stay in Canada while the application is pending?

 

[amikety]

I don't have a lawyer to recommend, unfortunately. You might want to search the forum using the bar at the top of the screen for Conjugal Sponsorship, Lawyers, and maybe do some internet research. Before you hire any lawyer, definitely ask for their case history which proves they have experience here (just before you pay, not before a free consultation). The Phillipines is one area where Conjugal partnership does get approved (because there is no divorce at all). The Manila family threads might offer some insight........ if you feel like reading hundreds of posts and digging through the Tagalog I recommend the Manila family thread to a lot of people because it has a lot of information on TRVs too as it's difficult for a Pinoy to obtain a TRV.

You techincally can apply Outland if you're both in Canada, however, if your husband is called for an interview, it will be in a country he has legal right to be in, meaning Egypt (unless he's a citizen or PR of another country as well.) I'm also inside Canada, but applying Outland because I'd only have to go to the USA for a potential interview. In your case, you might want to consider Inland if your boyfriend can get a TRV. If you can get the application in before his TRV expires, he can remain in Canada as long as the application is in process.

Also, he can apply for an open work permit with the Inland application. Once you're approved as a sponsor (call AIP, approved in principal), they will send him the OWP (open work permit) and he can start looking for a job with any employer. AIP will also allow him to get healthcare in most provinces if you're married. AIP takes about 8 months. He can apply for an extension of his TRV as well with the application if he would prefer to have paperwork. In your case, Inland might be the better option. Outland is recommended to a lot of people because they are from countries where the Outland process is as faster or equal to the first stage (AIP) of Inland and Canada asks people to apply Outland when possible. (If your husband would be under duress by returning home married, this would be complete justification for Inland application.)

As far as the TRV application, I told them I was coming to visit family. It just happened to be my boyfriend's family. They did want the address where I was staying when I went through customs at the airport.

You've probably seen the sticky spouse/common-law/conjugal thread, but here it is just in case. When you decide to apply and start applying, there's lots of help here. And you can prepare as much of the application as possible before the wedding. Read through the applications before you make any decisions - and make sure you find out how long it will take to get the police clearance. I sooo wish I'd known it took two months to get mine.... we'd have AIP by now if we had known!

http://www.canadavisa.com/canada-immigration-discussion-board/updated-topics/-t46995.0.html;topicseen

 

[Camelboy]

In your case i would suggest to marry him in Egypt, according to Islamic sharia' Muslims men can be married to Jews or Chrisitians ladies, you mentioned you can do that but what rights are you loosing? it is totally fine and as long as this happens you will receive the marriage certificate from the government.
Conjugal relationships are not possible in Muslim countries as non couples can not live together. So the best is to apply under the spousal class.
Beside getting a TRV to Canada is really difficult