Hong Kong Marriage and Sponsorship for spouse.

[autoMatonXYZ]

My girlfriend and I have dated long distance for 2 years now. I reside in Ontario with Canadian + Hong Kong citizenship and she is permanently in Hong Kong. We want to know what is the best way for us to marry and apply for sponsorship.

We intend on living together in ~3 year. I was thinking of proposing to her next year when she comes to Canada. 1) During that time I am not sure if we should become legally married in Canada to speed up the process?
2) Would I be able to start the sponsorship application early? Or would I need to have a wedding?
3) Does it make a difference that we are legally married in Canada/Hong Kong and if it's 2 years before the wedding?

If getting married is the best idea next year when she is in Canada
4) Would it be possible to apply for marriage license while in Hong Kong? Is so, how early should i apply?
If not, how long would she have to stay in Canada for the marriage license to be approved and marry.

After we would have the wedding in Hong Kong in 2.5 - 3 years from now.

5) What will be the best action to take so that after we have the wedding, we can live together in Canada as soon as possible.
6) When will I be able to start the sponsorship application
7) How long will the application take

Thank you all for the input, I really appreciate it!

 

[wait_so_long]

Are most of your family and hers still living in Hong Kong? Wherever and whenever you decide to marry, it would be helpful to have lots of people attend, especially family from both sides. It is good that you are taking it slow; make sure you start collecting and organizing evidence now.

 

[autoMatonXYZ]

Is the wedding ceremony mandatory? If we have both sides of the family at the marriage chamber and 3 years of messages, would that be enough proof to start the sponsorship application

 

[carsonTO]

You can get married in HK and still recognised in Canada.

 

[wait_so_long]

Is the wedding ceremony mandatory? If we have both sides of the family at the marriage chamber and 3 years of messages, would that be enough proof to start the sponsorship application

No, it's not mandatory, in the sense that your marriage is still legal without it.

But, it's not just your day. Some girls dream of this day their whole lives, and it's not just the event itself, but all the excitement leading up to it. My wife and I agreed that we didn't want a big wedding, but after her sister, and then her brother both had big lavish weddings .... she won't admit to it, but you can see the regret in her eyes when her friends are talking about their big day, or flipping through their albums and reliving the big event. Did any of her siblings, relatives, or friends have big weddings? Is it a thing in her family, or her circle of friends? In her religion, or culture?

It's also a potential red flag, one that the VO may pull up when trying to build a case for refusing your application. I don't know about the new applications, but in the old application, there was a whole question devoted to the wedding ceremony, asking you to elaborate on where it was held, how many people attended, who attended, who didn't attend, and why, wedding rituals, etc.

 

[canuck_in_uk]

You can't apply for sponsorship until you are legally married or common-law. You can get married wherever you want. You need to get the marriage license in the country where you get married.

There is no need to have a big wedding. A small civil ceremony is perfectly acceptable. The lack of a big wedding is only a red flag when the cultural norm is a big flashy wedding.

There is no point in applying a few years before she's actually moving to Canada. You should plan for the sponsorship process to take a year.

 

[autoMatonXYZ]

Thanks for your replies everyone!

But, it's not just your day. Some girls dream of this day their whole lives, and it's not just the event itself, but all the excitement leading up to it. My wife and I agreed that we didn't want a big wedding, but after her sister, and then her brother both had big lavish weddings .... she won't admit to it, but you can see the regret in her eyes when her friends are talking about their big day, or flipping through their albums and reliving the big event. Did any of her siblings, relatives, or friends have big weddings? Is it a thing in her family, or her circle of friends? In her religion, or culture?

We plan on marrying before the actual wedding ceremony to speed the process. So that's why I want to know if I should/could submit the sponsoring application BEFORE wedding ceremony.

That way, she could move to Canada immediately after the wedding.

There is no point in applying a few years before she's actually moving to Canada. You should plan for the sponsorship process to take a year.

Good point, would it be possible to plan the sponsorship process so that she could be a citizen before or right after the wedding ceremony


Thanks !

 

[cheng9999]

Thanks for your replies everyone!




We plan on marrying before the actual wedding ceremony to speed the process. So that's why I want to know if I should/could submit the sponsoring application BEFORE wedding ceremony.

That way, she could move to Canada immediately after the wedding.



Good point, would it be possible to plan the sponsorship process so that she could be a citizen before or right after the wedding ceremony


Thanks !

It doesn't work that way. She has to become PR first, then apply for Canadian citizenship. Since you mentioned you also have HK citizenship, it is logical to conclude that you are a naturalized Canadian citizen yourself, and went through the same thing in the past on the path to Canadian citizenship.

Also, you cannot start the sponsorship process until she is legally married to you (or common law), so it will not be "immediate". For cases without red-flags, sponsorship of HK residents usually are pretty quick and get approved in less than 1 year for many people. On the other hand, your relationship and marriage history would affect how long it takes, even whether it'll be successful, if it is suspected or interpreted as marriage of convenience. You would benefit from reading accounts of other people on this subject in this forum, and then come to your own conclusion about what/how you want to do.

Good luck.

 

[canuck_in_uk]

We plan on marrying before the actual wedding ceremony to speed the process. So that's why I want to know if I should/could submit the sponsoring application BEFORE wedding ceremony.

That way, she could move to Canada immediately after the wedding.

Good point, would it be possible to plan the sponsorship process so that she could be a citizen before or right after the wedding ceremony

You will only have one wedding, the one where you become legally married. Anything after that is a reception or a celebration of the marriage, not the wedding. You need to be clear about this for the application.

You can apply as soon as you are legally married.

 

[autoMatonXYZ]

You will only have one wedding, the one where you become legally married. Anything after that is a reception or a celebration of the marriage, not the wedding. You need to be clear about this for the application.

You can apply as soon as you are legally married.

Thanks for the clarification. Sorry about my choice of words.

I'm concerned that without the celebration or reception of the marriage (ie. photos), there will not be enough evidence to prove that it's not a marriage of convenience.

I'm concerned that my application would be rejected.

In the checklist there is this following line
"photos of your wedding, customary celebrations, engagement, and/or outings. Provide maximum of 20 photos to support your relationship (taken at different times and places)"

In other words, if I have collected engagement photos, and outings in 3 years time (without the celebrations), would I be able to make a strong case? Or would it be futile?

 

[canuck_in_uk]

Thanks for the clarification. Sorry about my choice of words.

I'm concerned that without the celebration or reception of the marriage (ie. photos), there will not be enough evidence to prove that it's not a marriage of convenience.

I'm concerned that my application would be rejected.

As I said, a small civil wedding is a red flag in cultures where that is not the norm. It is common enough in Canada and Hong Kong to have a small wedding. Have your wedding, have some family/friends there, go out for dinner after, take some pictures. It will be fine.

 

[autoMatonXYZ]

So the problem is not that I can't have a normal sized wedding.

The thing is that I want to send the sponsoring application AFTER being legally married but BEFORE the wedding ceremony/celebration/reception to speed up the overall process.

We will have 3 years of outing photos including engagement photos. Will that be enough to have my sponsoring application processed.

In other words, is a wedding ceremony absolutely mandatory for the application to be processed.

 

[canuck_in_uk]

So the problem is not that I can't have a normal sized wedding.

The thing is that I want to send the sponsoring application AFTER being legally married but BEFORE the wedding ceremony/celebration/reception to speed up the overall process.

We will have 3 years of outing photos including engagement photos. Will that be enough to have my sponsoring application processed.

In other words, is a wedding ceremony absolutely mandatory for the application to be processed.

Again, have the legal wedding, have some people there, go for dinner, take pictures. It is fine.

 

[wait_so_long]

As I said, a small civil wedding is a red flag in cultures where that is not the norm. It is common enough in Canada and Hong Kong to have a small wedding. Have your wedding, have some family/friends there, go out for dinner after, take some pictures. It will be fine.

Except for Chinese families, I think big lavish weddings are still a thing. Every Chinese wedding that I have attended have been big elaborate affairs (with the exception of our own - but even there, we had one big dinner and three dim sum, with a total of 100 people attending between them). Even the OP hinted that he will be having a big wedding celebration, just that he wanted to get his application underway before that.

Looking through our GCMS notes, the Visa Officer made specific reference to the fact that we had a reception with only 20 people, and that we did not travel for a honeymoon. Although these were not singled out as refusal reasons, they could have been lumped under the general "not genuine" category.

It is true though, that Hong Kong is visa-exempt, and applications from Hong Kong may undergo much less scrutiny than applications from the mainland that are processed in the same visa office. And being from a visa-exempt "country", several other options are available to you and your future wife, that people more versed than me in this would be able to elaborate on.

 

[canadianwoman]

Again, you must be clear when filling out the application and at any interview: if you get married legally, that is your wedding ceremony. When you get married civilly, at the courthouse or wherever, that is just as valid as a big lavish wedding ceremony with hundreds of guests. When you get married legally, I suggest you do your best to make it look special: get dressed up, exchange rings, have a family members or friends there as witnesses, go out to dinner after, and definitely take photos. You should also go on a honeymoon, if possible.
If you want to have a 'big wedding', you can do that a couple of years after your legal wedding, but this 'big wedding' is not your real wedding: it would just be a reception, and that is what you should call it in the application and at any interview.
Once you are legally married, that is enough for you to sponsor your wife. Again, though, you should have photos of the legal ceremony, and should treat it as a special day - it is your wedding day, for example. On the forms the day you have the fancy big reception is not your wedding day.
In some countries, the visa officers expect a big, lavish wedding, and people from these countries should follow their customs or be prepared to explain why they did not. However, in Canada it is fine to have a small wedding, or just a legal wedding ceremony.