Marriage certificate - Buku Nikah (Indonesia)

[TimS85]

Hi,

The immigrant guide says to provide a photocopy of marriage certificate. Does that mean just a regular photocopy or does the copy need to be certified?

 

[Decoy24601]

Re: Marriage certificates

Hi,

The immigrant guide says to provide a photocopy of marriage certificate. Does that mean just a regular photocopy or does the copy need to be certified?

As long as it's originally in English (or French) you only need a photocopy. If you need to have it or any other documents translated, that's when you would need to get it certified.

 

[TimS85]

Re: Marriage certificates

As long as it's originally in English (or French) you only need a photocopy. If you need to have it or any other documents translated, that's when you would need to get it certified.

My certificate is a "Buku Nikah" issued by the Indonesian "Office of Religious Affairs" known as the Kantor Urusan Agama or KUA. The "excerpt of marriage certificate" portion of the book which contains all the relevant information and documentation of the marriage is written in both Indonesian and English but there are other pages written only in Indonesian and there is also some Arabic writing as well, pretty sure it's a verse from the Quran. If all the relevant information concerning my marriage is there in English and the writing in another language doesn't pertain to my marriage in particular do you think it needs to be translated? I read on another forum that the US doesn't require the Buku Nikah to be translated but I have been unable to find anything about CIC and if they want it translated or not. I emailed the embassy in Jakarta but the response I recieved was unclear as well. I also tried to call the CIC call centre but after finally getting through to an agent, the agent was useless.

 

[Decoy24601]

Re: Marriage certificates

My certificate is a "Buku Nikah" issued by the Indonesian "Office of Religious Affairs" known as the Kantor Urusan Agama or KUA. The "excerpt of marriage certificate" portion of the book which contains all the relevant information and documentation of the marriage is written in both Indonesian and English but there are other pages written only in Indonesian and there is also some Arabic writing as well, pretty sure it's a verse from the Quran. If all the relevant information concerning my marriage is there in English and the writing in another language doesn't pertain to my marriage in particular do you think it needs to be translated? I read on another forum that the US doesn't require the Buku Nikah to be translated but I have been unable to find anything about CIC and if they want it translated or not. I emailed the embassy in Jakarta but the response I recieved was unclear as well. I also tried to call the CIC call centre but after finally getting through to an agent, the agent was useless.

Hmm, in that case I'm not quite sure if it would need to be translated, since the relevant information is also in English. You could always play it safe and have everything translated, have the translated copy certified and a photocopy of the original, but I don't know if that would actually be necessary. Hopefully, a member with hands-on experience with the Buku Nikah can give you more detailed advice.

 

[TimS85]

Re: Marriage certificates

Hopefully, a member with hands-on experience with the Buku Nikah can give you more detailed advice.

That would be ideal, although I appreciate your responses as well.

 

[faisalmohamed]

Hey there,

I'm in the same boat as you, I am sponsoring my Indonesian wife and so far we've gotten pretty far through the process. Our application has been approved and it is now in Singapore for further processing. The marriage book is considered to be bilingual enough for CIC. It does not need to be translated. In fact none of our Indonesian documents needed translation so you should be okay.

Let me know if you have any more questions, always happy to help

 

[TimS85]

Hey there,

I'm in the same boat as you, I am sponsoring my Indonesian wife and so far we've gotten pretty far through the process. Our application has been approved and it is now in Singapore for further processing. The marriage book is considered to be bilingual enough for CIC. It does not need to be translated. In fact none of our Indonesian documents needed translation so you should be okay.

Let me know if you have any more questions, always happy to help

Excellent news, thank you for your reply. So did you just provide a regular photocopy of the relevant pages of your marriage book or did you copy the entire thing?

Also with Singapore being one of the harder VO's how much proof of relationship did you submit?

 

[faisalmohamed]

A photocopy of both entire books, I know they are identical but the covers are different colours so I didn't take any chances. When I submitted my application to CIC in Mississauga, I provided everything. Medical, photos of the wedding, police checks etc. It is always better to have submitted everything to ensure smooth processing.

So far Singapore has said they've gotten the application. They will verify the provided Indonesian government documents with the Government of Indonesia and the local city government. If they require additional information they will let us know but so far they haven't asked for anything else from me.

Try to submit every possible thing that will strengthen your application and do it upfront. Its always better for the caseworkers to have a complete application. Worst case your medical may expire and you have to do another one but that's better than being denied and having to go through the appeal process.

Absolutely! Not many Indonesians or Indonesian-Canadian couples on these forums or in Canada in general for that matter. So I'm always happy to help out!

 

[Buletruck]

Also with Singapore being one of the harder VO's how much proof of relationship did you submit?

We were common-law, so our relationship proof was limited. The only thing they asked as far as further clarification was a police certificate from the RCMP, as she had been to Canada sufficient times (though not quite) to justify having been here for 6 months. Other than that the process was quick (5 1/2 months) from submission to landing.

 

[TimS85]

We were common-law, so our relationship proof was limited. The only thing they asked as far as further clarification was a police certificate from the RCMP, as she had been to Canada sufficient times (though not quite) to justify having been here for 6 months. Other than that the process was quick (5 1/2 months) from submission to landing.

Did you have minimal red flags?

Awesome name btw lol

 

[TimS85]

A photocopy of both entire books, I know they are identical but the covers are different colours so I didn't take any chances. When I submitted my application to CIC in Mississauga, I provided everything. Medical, photos of the wedding, police checks etc. It is always better to have submitted everything to ensure smooth processing.

So far Singapore has said they've gotten the application. They will verify the provided Indonesian government documents with the Government of Indonesia and the local city government. If they require additional information they will let us know but so far they haven't asked for anything else from me.

Try to submit every possible thing that will strengthen your application and do it upfront. Its always better for the caseworkers to have a complete application. Worst case your medical may expire and you have to do another one but that's better than being denied and having to go through the appeal process.

Absolutely! Not many Indonesians or Indonesian-Canadian couples on these forums or in Canada in general for that matter. So I'm always happy to help out!

I appreciate it! Did you have minimal red flags? I have what I guess CIC will consider a few. We married on my second visit and we were together for 10 months when we married. My parents didn't attend. She's 9 years younger than me. Neither of us think religion is overly important but I converted for the wedding. I did my best to explain all of these things but knowing Singapore is a difficult VO makes me weary.

 

[Buletruck]

Did you have minimal red flags?

From what I gathered on this forum and others, we were prepared for a rough ride with immigration. We had age difference, limited documentation, no fixed common address (the whole stigma of living together and not being married in Indonesia, plus work travel), common law....a whole shooting match full of red flags. All we had was extensive travel history for about 4 years, photos with my friends and family in Canada and a couple of support letters from friends and family in Canada (and I didn't bother getting them notarized). We were prepared for the worst case scenario and it never materialized......just the RCMP background check.

 

[TimS85]

From what I gathered on this forum and others, we were prepared for a rough ride with immigration. We had age difference, limited documentation, no fixed common address (the whole stigma of living together and not being married in Indonesia, plus work travel), common law....a whole shooting match full of red flags. All we had was extensive travel history for about 4 years, photos with my friends and family in Canada and a couple of support letters from friends and family in Canada (and I didn't bother getting them notarized). We were prepared for the worst case scenario and it never materialized......just the RCMP background check.

Well hopefully it goes as smooth for me as it seemed to have gone for you.. Although you do have a longer relationship history than I do and my wife can't seem to get a visa to come to Canada temporarily so pictures with my family and friends are simply not possible.

 

[Buletruck]

Yeah...the TRV can be a pain to get, especially if you have already submitted the PR application. We made sure she had a fairly significant travel history to other places (Australia, Singapore, Malaysia, Thailand) that provided a history of not overstaying her visa's before we applied to Canada. The other things that I feel made it easier was my being a non-resident Canadian and she was enrolled in University during most of the time in Indonesia. It's those ties to the home country they look for (AKA: Please get out when you finish visiting).

My personal advice....Don't overthink the application! I was at the point where if I kept thinking of possible problems or potential issues, we never would have submitted the damned thing. Be prepared for any reasonable problem that might come up. Expect an interview and rehearse the questions. English wasn't her first language, so there was a lot of subtle questions we prepared for in advance, just in case. All you can do is provide the information they request, tell the truth and be a genuine as possible if they request more information. Just be prepared. In all likelihood, there won't be any issues.

 

[boshetunmai]

I'm Canadian but of Indonesian background so this thread caught my eye. Agree with Buletruck's advice not to worry too much. Everyone's situation is different and most people probably have one red flag or another. If your relationship is genuine and you submit adequate proof, the chance of a refusal is relatively low. Despite 4 attempts over 3 years, my husband was never able to get a TRV to visit me in Canada. In order for him to meet my family before the wedding, we actually all travelled to Indonesia (btw he loved it there and loves Indonesian food!) The first day he set foot in Canada was the day he landed as a PR.