How thick your package is?

[Ponga]

I must say that skimming through this thread has me a bit intimidated as I planned to only included the following:

- Completed required IMM documents with letters by each of us detailing our relationship.
- Required additional documents (police check both in Canada and Japan, marriage certificate (married 8 years, no kids yet), her birth certificate (koseki touhon), current visa status in Canada, our passports, my Canadian birth certificate).
- About 100 photographs dated with details on the back in a smaller envelope (is that the best way?).
- Information about my employment status.


I am concerned that the above may not be nearly enough. Will this be an issue or sufficient?

Are you also including the required letters from friends/family (two of which must be notarized)?
Banking info, lease/mortgage in both names, utility bills (in both names), cell bill (in both names), life insurance listing each other as beneficiaries...etc.?

It's hard to know how much is enough, but I'd suggest you send them anything that you can find that proves your marriage is genuine. Do you need 600 pages of `proof', probably not, but I don't know how much creedence your `information on your employment status' will have with CIC, in terms of proving your relationship. Having the required documents, per the checklist is very important but the real `unknown' for all of us is what do we include as PROOF of our relationship. That's the scary part!

Good luck

 

[55way]

Are you also including the required letters from friends/family (two of which must be notarized)?
Banking info, lease/mortgage in both names, utility bills (in both names), cell bill (in both names), life insurance listing each other as beneficiaries...etc.?

Thank you for your reply. I thought the documents you mention above are only required for conjugal relationship, not in the case of marriage.

 

[hwanlj]

LOL size doesn't matter!

 

[Ponga]

Since some marriages are less than genuine, it's advisable that you send CIC anything and everything that you can to prove that yours is in fact genuine. Granted, being married is easier than common-law or conjugal partner, in terms of convincing CIC, but it's by no means a slam dunk in and of itself.

CIC has no idea who you are, so YOU have the burden of proof to convince them that you ARE in a genuine relationship/marriage.

Try searching this forum for the kind of evidence that other married couples have submitted and I believe that you will see that some (perhaps even most) have included the suggested pieces of evidence.

Remember, you only have one chance to get this right, as an Inland applicant has no right of appeal if your application is denied.

*edited*
Here's a thread with 149 pages from spouses that thought they'd be approved:
http://www.canadavisa.com/canada-immigration-discussion-board/all-spouse-appeal-cases-come-here-and-join-us-plz-t87619.0.html

 

[canuck_in_uk]

Are you also including the required letters from friends/family (two of which must be notarized)?

This requirement is only for common-law couples.

Thank you for your reply. I thought the documents you mention above are only required for conjugal relationship, not in the case of marriage.

Letters from friends and family are always good evidence, though they wouldn't have to be notarized because you are married.

As you've been married for 8 years and your spouse is visa-exempt, there is little chance of the VO suspecting a Marriage of Convenience. That said, you should include some more information to show your continuing genuine relationship. Letters from friends/family, lease/mortgage, joint insurance/bank/credit cards/utilities, matching e-tickets/boarding passes/passport stamps, mail in both names at the same address etc.

 

[browntrout]

My package was 5.4 kgs, and consisted of 616 pages and 206 photos.

wow, that's what you call organized!! i had around 26 pages myself

 

[JRPW]

I must say that skimming through this thread has me a bit intimidated as I planned to only included the following:

- Completed required IMM documents with letters by each of us detailing our relationship.
- Required additional documents (police check both in Canada and Japan, marriage certificate (married 8 years, no kids yet), her birth certificate (koseki touhon), current visa status in Canada, our passports, my Canadian birth certificate).
- About 100 photographs dated with details on the back in a smaller envelope (is that the best way?).
- Information about my employment status.


I am concerned that the above may not be nearly enough. Will this be an issue or sufficient?

I think you will be fine. My wife is also Japanese. We have not been married as long as you, though (five years, no kids). We included all the required docs and included essays/statements (two pages per essay) about how we met, our mutual friends, family outings, why we didn't have a formal marriage, etc. We also arranged our photos in chronological order in order to show how we have aged over time (two years dating, five years marriage). I had my parents, two cousins, a co-worker and a next door neighbor in Canada, who I babysat for, write letters of our intent of moving back to Canada. I think it is the quality of your documents/statements, not the quantity.

 

[55way]

I think you will be fine. My wife is also Japanese. We have not been married as long as you, though (five years, no kids). We included all the required docs and included essays/statements (two pages per essay) about how we met, our mutual friends, family outings, why we didn't have a formal marriage, etc. We also arranged our photos in chronological order in order to show how we have aged over time (two years dating, five years marriage). I had my parents, two cousins, a co-worker and a next door neighbor in Canada, who I babysat for, write letters of our intent of moving back to Canada. I think it is the quality of your documents/statements, not the quantity.

Thanks very much for your reply. If I may ask, did you arrange your photos in an album or simply loose in a smaller envelope? We have ~100 photos and they are dated with details on the back. We were thinking to simply keep them in the envelope provided when they were developed and to be used with IMM5285 (Spouse Questionnaire).

Good luck on completing your wife's PR!

 

[JRPW]

Thanks very much for your reply. If I may ask, did you arrange your photos in an album or simply loose in a smaller envelope? We have ~100 photos and they are dated with details on the back. We were thinking to simply keep them in the envelope provided when they were developed and to be used with IMM5285 (Spouse Questionnaire).

Good luck on completing your wife's PR!

Thanks!

We put our photos in two smaller envelopes. We also divided out application into three parts/envelopes: 1)Sponsor envelope, 2)Applicant envelope, 3)Envelope with supporting information/photos. It is really up to you. I was originally going to make a word document with our pictures with a caption below each pic. However, the wife went out and developed the photos without telling me.

Good luck.

J

 

[toronto27]

This would be the first non-p0rnographic forum where people can show off their thick and thin packages... lol ;D

 

[Ponga]

This requirement is only for common-law couples.

Ooopsie. ;D