Getting married AFTER Exclusion order/applying for PR

[Cross Border Couple]

Hello all,
im on a 1 year exclusion order for overstaying.
I'll be getting married this summer to my long term partner of 10 years (who is also my cousin)
??? My worry is that although we have alot of relationship proof dating back to 2003 ( emails. love letters. travels to visit eachother between UK and Canada, travelling abroad to destinations ect , the fact that we will of got married after I was sent back to my home country for overstaying and applied for PR will cause them to question our reason for marrying. The exclusion order served as a major wake up call to sort out our relationship and take the next step once and for all.
what are your thoughts?

 

[rhcohen2014]

how would you have applied for PR if you weren't married? did you attemp to apply commonlaw and get denied? Did you withdraw an application?

It's perfectly normal for a couple to get married after being issued an exclusion order. I received one dec 2011- dec 2012 when i was dating my then husband. We got married in 2013 and applied for pr in 2014. I've been told exclusion orders on your record don't affect the application negatively since exclusion orders are handed out pretty regularly at the border. we shall see what happens. I'm also currently in canada as a visitor, and have been allowed in multiple times since my exclusion order ended 1.5 years ago.

 

[Cross Border Couple]

Hello, thank you for replying.

I am currently in the stage of gatthering and organising all our relationship evidence prior to submitting the PR application.
My long term partner and I have stayed with eachother for as long as our visa's would allow then I would return to my home country and re-enter canada. Because of these breaks in our living together, we never applied as common law before.
I always thought I would deal with pr (if we got to the stage where we were definetly getting married)

 

[Cross Border Couple]

Our relationship is valid as we have been together exclusively since summer 2003.
I only worry that cic will view our marriage (we will marry this summer) as "marriage of convenience" even though our relationship is valid.
I have reading the forums and feel so disheartened after hearing many spouse cases refused because of cic thinking they are not geniune

Any other thoughts?

 

[rhcohen2014]

Our relationship is valid as we have been together exclusively since summer 2003.
I only worry that cic will view our marriage (we will marry this summer) as "marriage of convenience" even though our relationship is valid.
I have reading the forums and feel so disheartened after hearing many spouse cases refused because of cic thinking they are not geniune

Any other thoughts?

yes. stop worrying. first of all you are from a visa exempt country, and UK is not on the list of countries where a marriage of convenience is a concern. Also, you have been in a relationship for over 10 years, and i'm sure can prove it some how in your application. generally speaking, marriages of conveniences don't last 10 years BEFORE trying to apply for sponsorship. MOC concerns are usually concerns for applicants who are from countries where a visa is required, and has a history of suspicious cases.

Stop reading the forum and trying to relate every story to your own. every situation is unique. exclusion orders are handed out like candy at the border. as the border agent described when i got one, "you tried to put the cart before the horse, so we are giving you time to straighten things out." That's it, that's all you did.

 

[Cross Border Couple]

Thank you so much rhcohen2014 , I feel so much better after reading your response.

The lady officer at the border told me something quite similar to your own...she said "your getting a 1 year exclusion for overstaying so you can sort out your affairs " Also telling me, this was I needed in order to take permanent residence matters seriously

Thank you again though, sure feels good to be apart of this forum

 

[rhcohen2014]

Thank you so much rhcohen2014 , I feel so much better after reading your response.

The lady officer at the border told me something quite similar to your own...she said "your getting a 1 year exclusion for overstaying so you can sort out your affairs " Also telling me, this was I needed in order to take permanent residence matters seriously

exactly, and for most people that means... GETTING MARRIED! completely normal!

 

[Cross Border Couple]

On a website relating to us immigration, I read this being a red flag...

All-too-convenient timing of marriage. A goodly number of marriages happen after an undocumented person in the U.S. is caught and placed into removal proceedings, or before someone on a nonimmigrant visa is reaching the date by which he or she must leave the United States. (One can apply for a green card based on marriage as a defense to deportation.) You will have to explain why you didn’t choose to marry until it became a matter of urgency.

Do you think I will be scrutinized for getting married in the Uk(this summer) given that I was refused entry to canada and they issued me a 1 year exclusion for overstaying my visa.

I do apologize if I annoy any members on the forum with my need for reassurance. Sorry for any repetition
I just feel I will be judged harshly by CIC especially since he is my cousin. I know most cousins get married almost immediately especially before living together. Well, our family expected us to get married alot sooner but we wanted to live life on our own terms and go with the flow testing the waters you could say before jumping in the deep end. We tested the waters for 10 years. We are not arranged marriage either, our attraction was spontaneous.


any other opinions?

 

[truesmile]

Here's the thing. All the opinions in the world don't amount to a hill of beans. If too many here post that it "WILL" raise a red flag with the CIC are you going to choose NOT to apply?? . . . I didn't think so. So, like RH says (in so many words) get on with it, and apply already.

 

[scylla]

The reality is that none of us can answer your question because we aren't the visa officer who is going to review your file. What happens is really up to that individual.

The short answer is the following: Yes - it's certainly possible your file will face more scrutiny because you married after the exclusion order. When it comes to CIC - anything is possible. This is why you want to provide strong evidence that your relationship is genuine. That way if the officer has any concerns about your relationship due to the exclusion order, the other evidence you provide will override this concern.

It's really not productive for you to keep asking this question since no one here can answer it definitively. The best way to spend your time is preparing your application and ensuring you have plenty of strong evidence to show that you've been in a relationship for 10 years and that this relationship is genuine and ongoing.

 

[Cross Border Couple]

thank you truesmile and scylla for your input