Just Starting..

[lea1113]

Hello Again,

I find this forum so helpful and its actually answered a lot of my questions already!!! SO thank you all.

So I am a Canadian Citizen and marrying my Indian Boyfriend in the beginning of October. He will come here for 2 weeks and we will fly to India together. We want to then get everything together and apply outside of Canada once I return from India. We have been together for close to 2 years now. We met during our time working for a Cruise Line. Last year in August, we applied from the ship and he received a multiple entry visitor visa for 10 years. For most of this year, we have tossed around the idea of what to do to be together and not forever stuck on the ship (not a bad life compared to this cold winters haha) so we have finally settled on the idea of doing a marriage and applying from outside of Canada. I will stay in Canada and he will go back to the ships until we receive approval.

Now my concern is that we aren't actually engaged or posted as a relationship on facebook, will this be a red flag? I mean we post things and tag each other in photos and such on instragram and facebook but just aren't listed at a couple. I also won't change my last name right away and the wedding will be like an eloped style wedding in my back yard with my mom and step dad. Will all of this be a red flag or can it all be easily explained?? We talk every night on the phone, have thousands of messages, photos and plane tickets. We have a real relationship. We just aren't financially ready to do the big wedding in one country, let alone TWO! haha.

Please just give me some support or share your stories with me. I would love to have someone to talk to about this and share the process with someone.

 

[GreenAnia]

One thing I want to ask first is if you both lived together for 1 year on this ship? Like have proof of being in the same cabin?

 

[canuck78]

Is there a reason why you won't post about your engagement or get engaged? Same thing when it comes to changing your name right away if you are planning on changing your name? If you are trying to hide it from family members it would be better to have more people vouch for your marriage. Doesn't mean the sponsorship won't go through but it will raise some questions.

 

[Janchor]

Hello Again,

I find this forum so helpful and its actually answered a lot of my questions already!!! SO thank you all.

So I am a Canadian Citizen and marrying my Indian Boyfriend in the beginning of October. He will come here for 2 weeks and we will fly to India together. We want to then get everything together and apply outside of Canada once I return from India. We have been together for close to 2 years now. We met during our time working for a Cruise Line. Last year in August, we applied from the ship and he received a multiple entry visitor visa for 10 years. For most of this year, we have tossed around the idea of what to do to be together and not forever stuck on the ship (not a bad life compared to this cold winters haha) so we have finally settled on the idea of doing a marriage and applying from outside of Canada. I will stay in Canada and he will go back to the ships until we receive approval.

Now my concern is that we aren't actually engaged or posted as a relationship on facebook, will this be a red flag? I mean we post things and tag each other in photos and such on instragram and facebook but just aren't listed at a couple. I also won't change my last name right away and the wedding will be like an eloped style wedding in my back yard with my mom and step dad. Will all of this be a red flag or can it all be easily explained?? We talk every night on the phone, have thousands of messages, photos and plane tickets. We have a real relationship. We just aren't financially ready to do the big wedding in one country, let alone TWO! haha.

Please just give me some support or share your stories with me. I would love to have someone to talk to about this and share the process with someone.

Firstly take a look at the checklist so you know all the documentation and requirements for applying for sponsorship.

If your boyfriend is Indian, his application will be forwarded to New Delhi after CPC Mississauga is done with it. New Delhi like most Visa Offices will look for red flags and signs that do not conform to local culture (read big fat Indian wedding).I don't really know how familiar you are with Indian culture but a wedding in your backyard with just your mum and dad will raise doubts, I'm assuming his family will not be attending the wedding coz u haven't said so.

It's ok to not go public right now on social media but if you are hiding your relationship after marriage and are unable to provide proof that your relationship is public on social media, that would be another red flag. Kinda like you are trying to hide your relationship.

 

[lea1113]

One thing I want to ask first is if you both lived together for 1 year on this ship? Like have proof of being in the same cabin?

We only stayed in the same cabin for about 4 months and no we don't really have any proof of that. Thank you for your reply!

 

[lea1113]

Is there a reason why you won't post about your engagement or get engaged? Same thing when it comes to changing your name right away if you are planning on changing your name? If you are trying to hide it from family members it would be better to have more people vouch for your marriage. Doesn't mean the sponsorship won't go through but it will raise some questions.

Thank you for your reply!!! Yes, I do plan on eventually changing my name. In the next year my things are starting to expiry so I was planning on waiting for that time, is that okay to do? We aren't trying to hide it from family members, we just don't always post our whole relationship on social media. People know we are together, all my family and all his know, but we just choose what to share. My family is very nosey so the less I post, the less they know and stay out of my business, if you know what I mean?? haha.

 

[lea1113]

Firstly take a look at the checklist so you know all the documentation and requirements for applying for sponsorship.

If your boyfriend is Indian, his application will be forwarded to New Delhi after CPC Mississauga is done with it. New Delhi like most Visa Offices will look for red flags and signs that do not conform to local culture (read big fat Indian wedding).I don't really know how familiar you are with Indian culture but a wedding in your backyard with just your mum and dad will raise doubts, I'm assuming his family will not be attending the wedding coz u haven't said so.

It's ok to not go public right now on social media but if you are hiding your relationship after marriage and are unable to provide proof that your relationship is public on social media, that would be another red flag. Kinda like you are trying to hide your relationship.

Thank you for your response!! Yes, I printed off the checklist and the guideline so that I can start to get a handle on this process and have a better understanding of it all.

His family will not be attending the wedding as they are in India. We tried to look into doing a wedding in India but getting the marriage certificate is so much more complex there. So we settled on doing it here in Canada then once we go to India, we will do a celebration of some sort with his parents and sisters family. We are still trying to decide what to do in India. Any suggestions?? And yes, I am aware of the Indian culture, he is Hindu and I am learning about the culture more and more. I also know that a big wedding in India or one in Canada is a very pricey thing and with him working on the ships, they pay him next to nothing for the amount of hours he puts in. And I am settling into a new job and my wage isn't high either. So financially, we just cant afford the big thing in either Canada OR India at this time. So we are looking for options within our budget. I will look into this book that you recommend, thank you.

We have posts together on social media and tagged each other in various things throughout the last close to 2 years. So that part of the relationship isn't hidden at all. We just don't have is as so and so is in a relationship with so and so. That is our personal choice not have us tagged in a relationship because to us, we dont need to have it facebook official. You know?? We have so much proof in other ways besides social media. You know what I mean?

 

[Oldmacwright]

Sorry to butt in but what if you don't use social media?

As I (the sponsor) don't use facebook, my wife (principal applicant) does use facebook and her status is married and she has a ton of pictures of us together both before and after we got married. But obviously no actual link between 2 facebook accounts. I explained this in our application but seems like there is an assumption that EVERYONE uses facebook??

 

[Janchor]

Thank you for your response!! Yes, I printed off the checklist and the guideline so that I can start to get a handle on this process and have a better understanding of it all.

His family will not be attending the wedding as they are in India. We tried to look into doing a wedding in India but getting the marriage certificate is so much more complex there. So we settled on doing it here in Canada then once we go to India, we will do a celebration of some sort with his parents and sisters family. We are still trying to decide what to do in India. Any suggestions?? And yes, I am aware of the Indian culture, he is Hindu and I am learning about the culture more and more. I also know that a big wedding in India or one in Canada is a very pricey thing and with him working on the ships, they pay him next to nothing for the amount of hours he puts in. And I am settling into a new job and my wage isn't high either. So financially, we just cant afford the big thing in either Canada OR India at this time. So we are looking for options within our budget. I will look into this book that you recommend, thank you.

We have posts together on social media and tagged each other in various things throughout the last close to 2 years. So that part of the relationship isn't hidden at all. We just don't have is as so and so is in a relationship with so and so. That is our personal choice not have us tagged in a relationship because to us, we dont need to have it facebook official. You know?? We have so much proof in other ways besides social media. You know what I mean?

Sounds good, just get letters from his family and yours supporting the relationship, explain why they couldn't travel to Canada for the wedding, take photographs with both of your families and you should be fine. Have a small celebration in India just his immediate family and extended family is fine too. Capture almost all of the guests in the photographs. You should be fine.Good luck.

 

[canuck78]

Since you are dealing with immigration I would change my name rather than change it when IDs expire. It is just one more thing to show you are excited to be married. Same as engagement. You have said you are not engaged but plan on getting married. I would think they will ask you when you got engaged so why not just get engaged since you are getting married? Unfortunately when dealing with immigration following the norms and documenting makes things easier in the end. It does seem you have lots of proof and a backyard marriage is fine you don't have to have a big wedding.

 

[GreenAnia]

To go along with what someone said earlier, letters from family a friends will be a huge add in to your application. Have at least 3 people from both sides writing a letter reaffirming your relationship as genuine. Make sure they put their contact information on the letters. If they can only write it in their own language have a certified translator, translate the letters. Also yes I agree, if you can afford to fly to India and just have a small celebration for getting married that you can document it would be a huge boost. Changing your name is a plus in all provinces other then Quebec. They don't approve of women changing their maiden names. Social media doesn't really matter as long as you have proof of conversations and phone calls that you can show. My partner and I only go one facebook to follow game of thrones memes. Not much posting on both our ends. And if you can get your fiance to be in a joint bank account or add him to your insurance that would be a huge help too.

 

[canuck_in_uk]

We have posts together on social media and tagged each other in various things throughout the last close to 2 years. So that part of the relationship isn't hidden at all. We just don't have is as so and so is in a relationship with so and so. That is our personal choice not have us tagged in a relationship because to us, we dont need to have it facebook official. You know?? We have so much proof in other ways besides social media. You know what I mean?

That's perfectly fine and not something to stress over.

To go along with what someone said earlier, letters from family a friends will be a huge add in to your application. Have at least 3 people from both sides writing a letter reaffirming your relationship as genuine. Make sure they put their contact information on the letters. If they can only write it in their own language have a certified translator, translate the letters. Also yes I agree, if you can afford to fly to India and just have a small celebration for getting married that you can document it would be a huge boost. Changing your name is a plus in all provinces other then Quebec. They don't approve of women changing their maiden names. Social media doesn't really matter as long as you have proof of conversations and phone calls that you can show. My partner and I only go one facebook to follow game of thrones memes. Not much posting on both our ends. And if you can get your fiance to be in a joint bank account or add him to your insurance that would be a huge help too.

6 letters is a bit of overkill. There is also no need to have the letters formally translated if they are in another language; OP or spouse can translate them.

Changing her name is not a plus in the application; it doesn't make their relationship more genuine. Canada is not a country where a woman is seen as "less married" if she keeps her name.

 

[canuck78]

That's perfectly fine and not something to stress over.




6 letters is a bit of overkill. There is also no need to have the letters formally translated if they are in another language; OP or spouse can translate them.

Changing her name is not a plus in the application; it doesn't make their relationship more genuine. Canada is not a country where a woman is seen as "less married" if she keeps her name.

Only suggested she change her name earlier because she said she planned to change it later when it was more convenient when her documents expired.

 

[GreenAnia]

That's perfectly fine and not something to stress over.




6 letters is a bit of overkill. There is also no need to have the letters formally translated if they are in another language; OP or spouse can translate them.

Changing her name is not a plus in the application; it doesn't make their relationship more genuine. Canada is not a country where a woman is seen as "less married" if she keeps her name.

Yes its true that you don't need to have it formally translated, but they look at it more credibly if you do. The 6 letters in not a random amount I chose it is the amount that was recommended for me since I'm in a common-law not married so I had less assets in both our names. The person who recommended it was a former officer of Canada for CIC. And of course in Canada if you live here society doesn't deem you "less married" if you don't change your name but it is a criteria they look for especially dependant from which country the PA is from. They then put that into the notes before they transfer it to the PA's local Office. Then the local office judges how real the relationship and one of those criteria in India is changing your last name. It doesn't mean thats the reason an application may fail but it will be on the list they make of why the relationship is not authentic. These officers are not 20something liberal minded individuals. The person I spoke to had just retired recently. Most of their coworkers were over 40. You have to remember who this application is going to.

 

[canuck_in_uk]

Yes its true that you don't need to have it formally translated, but they look at it more credibly if you do. The 6 letters in not a random amount I chose it is the amount that was recommended for me since I'm in a common-law not married so I had less assets in both our names. The person who recommended it was a former officer of Canada for CIC. And of course in Canada if you live here society doesn't deem you "less married" if you don't change your name but it is a criteria they look for especially dependant from which country the PA is from. They then put that into the notes before they transfer it to the PA's local Office. Then the local office judges how real the relationship and one of those criteria in India is changing your last name. It doesn't mean thats the reason an application may fail but it will be on the list they make of why the relationship is not authentic. These officers are not 20something liberal minded individuals. The person I spoke to had just retired recently. Most of their coworkers were over 40. You have to remember who this application is going to.

Note that claims on here of "I know a CIC officer" are taken with about as much seriousness as saying "I am the Prime Minister". It is too easy to lie about such things on a public internet forum.


Formal translation doesn't make it more credible; it just makes it more expensive. Formal translation is only required for official documents. As I said, 6 letters is overkill. I, along with many others, applied as common-law with just a few letters without issue.

A woman changing her name is not "a criteria they look for". They have been together for 2 years, so there are not going to be any issues regarding the authenticity of the relationship.

You have no idea who will process their application.