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Fiance Visa, .. a better alternative

R151NG5UN

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Personally I think the options available at the moment are about right. What I will say is, CIC should hold your funds in a holding account until PR or a decision is made. That would certainly give incentive to CIC to process at a much faster speed. At the moment they take the money instantly before doing any work. Here in the U.K with various things we protect the customers and their money. CIC should not have the ability to deduct all funds without starting any form of processing.

I believe if the money was held and they could not touch it until DM (albeit positive or negative) was made then that would give huge incentive to them and I honestly believe that the processing times would speed up considerably. More accountability is what is needed.
 

Luckyman

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considering this is government......that process would yield more refusals in my opinion. As that takes less work. At the very least they should have a refund policy as to cover those that surpass processing times or situations applications get "lost". Consider that when you buy a TV, you pay for it, but you don't know it works until tested......that equals money up front, but with a return policy.

Having said that......I'm all for a streamlined fiancee visa process, that makes much more sense.
 

sunsun

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How about Canada adopt similar policies of the U.K and grant a work permit instead of P.R and the couple prove that they r still together in a legitimate relationship 2 years down the line and then apply for P.R, in the case of the U.K its called Indefinite leave to remain? I would much prefer my husband here with me on a work permit than waiting 15 months apart until he gets P.R.

In the U.S where the 2 year conditional P.R (temp greencard) is in effect, it takes 5-6 months for applicants to get their process completed. How about they try to meet those timelines??

I agree.... ;)
 

Merlyns_Tim

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Nov 14, 2012
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aerogurl87 said:
Not necessarily, since that would mean an increased amount of people going to different countries and finding someone they barely know and sponsoring said person. Which leads to an increase in the probability of fraudulent marriages.

You can apply inland in which case you don't have to leave your spouse. Or you can apply for them to get a visitor visa, in which case you don't have to be apart or they can get a work visa or a student visa. Lots of options for those who can figure out a solution to living together after getting married. Or you can apply as common law and don't have to get married (which is what my boyfriend and I are doing). And if you really love someone, do you really look at spending thousands to get to know them as a burden? I know when I met my boyfriend I was a broke college student making about $7.25 a hour and working part time. Yet I managed to scrounge up enough money to come see him for two weeks after talking online for 3 months. It was hard, but worth going through for the man I love. Plus, shouldn't you be getting to know them in person and meeting their friends and family before you marry them? I'd think most people would want to know what they were getting themselves into fully before tying the knot.

Appeal the decision in that case. CIC aren't psychics and are human, so they do make mistakes. That doesn't mean you have to give up though. And when someone moves to Canada they go through these exact situations anyway. So either way, someone is going to have to make a sacrifice and move to another country. I gave up two job offers for good jobs before I came here almost 2 years ago on a work visa. I gave up seeing my nephews grow up, being near my best friends and all of my family, to move to Canada.

So if she wouildn't have gotten through, you think your brother would have just given up on their relationship? Because if that's the case, then I think you should rethink if that person is worth it in the first place. The reason CIC wants to know you are married or common law or in a conjugal relationship, is because they want to know that you are fully committed to being with your spouse long term. A fiance shows a certain level of commitment, but not full commitment in their eyes. It's the same reasoning behind why the military doesn't consider fiances and girlfriends to be family. You aren't fully committed to each other yet in their eyes and may be just "testing the waters". So the possibility that you may up and leave them when you land, is greater.
Some of the points are well taken however there are certain parts of the world where they don't give out visas to come to Canada very easily. The Philippines is one of those. Unless you have a really good job to return to and lots of money in the bank, chances are Canada's not giving you a visa to come.
My biggest beef is having a wife and not being able to touch her until the CIC eventually get moving and process everything so we can be together. I realize some people have a lot of spare cash and can fly back and forth to where ever their spouse is several times a year. I'm not one of those.
After 20 month without my wife (and trust me, .. 20 months without intimacy makes Tim a grumpy guy) I know someone can come up with a better system than we have.
They come out with all kinds of other visas, .. let them come out with a spousal visa too, so a couple that have just been married don't have to face close to as 2 year wait before they can live together. I'm all for national security, cracking down on fraud and all, .. but lets face it if you wanted your significant other living on the opposite side of the planet you might just as well be pen-pals

Also for those who wonder I met my wife on a social site, talked with her for several hours a day for a year before going over and marrying her. Over that one year I knew her so much better than I did the domestic I'm divorced from. It's amazing what you can learn about someone, their family, their upbringing, what they've done with their lives and so on when all you can do is talk. When I met my wife in person I felt even better about my decision, and by the time I came back to Canada I knew without a doubt I found my perfect match. We had such a busy itinerary while I was there with traveling, meeting her family, and just having a good time in general that i have absolutely no doubts about her.

I get that a lot of Canadians, ... the CIC included feel that everybody just can't wait to get into Canada, but not everybody has a terrible life in their country of origin. Some move strictly for the reason that they married someone and couldn't care less where they live, .. as long as they get to live together. It's just too bad it takes so long for most peoples dreams to come true, due to the way CIC rules are set up right now.
 

PMM

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Hi


Merlyns_Tim said:
In all honesty I have no idea why the Fiance Visa was removed. They were just as strict (my brother and his wife had nightmares trying to get her approval to come over) and I'm sure had to go through similar scrutiny, but once they allowed it she came, and they married shortly after. It's been a good life for them both, and after 17 - 18 years of marriage I couldn't find fault with the way they were allowed Fiance Visa's back then. The other good thing about it was once you're married you don't have to live apart like the system we have now forces you to.
In my case it's been 20 months since I've been able to touch my wife, and no matter how you look at it that's just wrong.
1. Because the Fiance was given 90 days to marry after they "landed" and a high proportion didn't and CIC had to expend mucho dollars tracing them. If you are committed to a person, then you either marry or live together in a C/law relationship for a year. At least it shows some commitment to the relationship.
 

Merlyns_Tim

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I think another point I'd like to make about the way things are done now is the amount of money that leaves our own economy as we wait countless month and sometimes countless years (depending on what country your spouse is from) before they're finally approved.
Speaking for myself alone, from the time I met my wife until present probably $20,000.00 has gone into the Philippine economy that would have gone into the Canadian economy had my wife been allowed to come here and marry.
How many other Canadians are sending huge amounts of money (cause I know I'm not the only one) to other countries while they wait for the CIC to approve things when it could be better spent right here at home while the new spouse also earns an income and puts back into our own system?
Are we talking millions of dollars a year, ... maybe billions going into other economies that could be helping balance our own? I don't know the answer, .. I'm just raising the question.
 

Merlyns_Tim

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PMM said:
Hi


1. Because the Fiance was given 90 days to marry after they "landed" and a high proportion didn't and CIC had to expend mucho dollars tracing them. If you are committed to a person, then you either marry or live together in a C/law relationship for a year. At least it shows some commitment to the relationship.
Thank you for the answer as to why. It makes a lot of sense the way you put it, .. but they really have to come up with something better so husbands and wives don't have to spend such long periods of time apart when the marriage is still new.
The best and most exciting times a husband and wife can have are when they just get married, but the way things stand now they go right from getting married to all the stress and problems of trying to live together in one place or the other. No new couple should have to be apart for a year and a half or more. At least not from where I sit. ;)
 

lunas

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Merlyns_Tim said:
Thank you for the answer as to why. It makes a lot of sense the way you put it, .. but they really have to come up with something better so husbands and wives don't have to spend such long periods of time apart when the marriage is still new.
The best and most exciting times a husband and wife can have are when they just get married, but the way things stand now they go right from getting married to all the stress and problems of trying to live together in one place or the other. No new couple should have to be apart for a year and a half or more. At least not from where I sit. ;)
I agree. I would pay more for my application to be processed a little faster and I could even sign extra agrements that would protect Canada from potential scammers or our spouses for a lenght of time.
 

Merlyns_Tim

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lunas said:
I agree. I would pay more for my application to be processed a little faster and I could even sign extra agrements that would protect Canada from potential scammers or our spouses for a lenght of time.
Agree completely. When I think of how much most of us send each month to take care of our spouses, I bet a lot would agree to that.
 

Sweden

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One thing to consider is that not everybody wants to get married - but it doesn't mean that the couple is not genuine.... in most countries where there is a "fiance visa", then there is no possibility to apply as common-law... it would then pressure some couples ( that have been living together outside of Canada for some years, and are in a committed relationship etc) to get married just because they came to Canada on a fiance visa, without having the option of staying common-law...

I'm not saying that the current system is perfect, but it allows for quite a few different types of couples to apply, with the 3 categories (married, common-law and conjugal)... But I agree - the processing times should be much much much faster, so that couples don't have to stay apart for so long.

Good luck to all,
Sweden
 

aerogurl87

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Sweden said:
One thing to consider is that not everybody wants to get married - but it doesn't mean that the couple is not genuine.... in most countries where there is a "fiance visa", then there is no possibility to apply as common-law... it would then pressure some couples ( that have been living together outside of Canada for some years, and are in a committed relationship etc) to get married just because they came to Canada on a fiance visa, without having the option of staying common-law...

I'm not saying that the current system is perfect, but it allows for quite a few different types of couples to apply, with the 3 categories (married, common-law and conjugal)... But I agree - the processing times should be much much much faster, so that couples don't have to stay apart for so long.

Good luck to all,
Sweden
I agree with this as well. I want to live with my boyfriend but refuse to just get married so we can live in the same place. In fact my boyfriend refused to marry me until we had lived together. Why? Because although we knew each other well before I came to live with him, spending a few weeks together a few times a year is vastly different than everyday life. He wanted to know if we would be compatible when it came to day to day activities. Turns out we are, and thankfully we didn't have to just get married to figure that out.

But I stand by my previous thought. I do not think Canada needs a fiance visa and am happy that they got rid of it in the first place. They barely have enough staff to handle processing applications, so they definitely don't have enough to run around chasing people who have opted out of their relationships once in Canada. I mean Canada is a big country and not heavily populated. It could take months or even years to trace people who walked out on their "fiances" if they went that route. Which would mean less resources for processing applications and longer wait times.
 

steaky

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But there are always cases of marriage of convenience, fake marriage and fake common-law relationships.
 

sunsun

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Canada should follow USA by giving punishment $ 250000 and 5 year prison sentence if there is marriage of convenience....
So for those marriage is Genuine will get faster processing time...
I hope CIC and Immigration Minister ,Mr. Kenney read this post...
 

Merlyns_Tim

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sunsun said:
Canada should follow USA by giving punishment $ 250000 and 5 year prison sentence if there is marriage of convenience....
So for those marriage is Genuine will get faster processing time...
I hope CIC and Immigration Minister ,Mr. Kenney read this post...
I hope so too. There has to be some fair way to speed things up, and harsh punishments for those who are ruining it for everyone else right now would be a good start.
Everyone deserves to be able to live with their spouse really fast after marriage. IMO the new probationary PR card should make scrutinizing everyone's relationship so heavily a little less necessary, and allow the process to speed up.
Right now they have about every kind of visa under the sun, .. except a spousal visa. If I was making the rules one would be available very soon after a marriage (with a few quick background checks of course) a spouse could come to Canada maybe with a 3 year limit on the visa, and no PR card until the CIC approves of them. That way couples could work on their documents together, and when they were sent to Mississauga everything would be handled there. Anyone who skipped on their husband or wife wouldn't receive any government hand outs ever, and any service such as OHIP would be canceled.

Canada just has to be kinder with those who are genuine couples, and really nasty and swift with those who are frauds.