Married but separated for more than 10 years

[ShinLee]

Hi! My friend needs advise. He wants to marry his long time girlfriend living here in Canada. The problem is he is still married in the Philippines but separated to his wife for more than 10 years and his wife has a new partner now. You know, annulment in PH is too expensive and it's a long process so many won't file an annulment. Thanks in advance.

 

[cazrypr]

Hi! My friend needs advise. He wants to marry his long time girlfriend living here in Canada. The problem is he is still married in the Philippines but separated to his wife for more than 10 years and his wife has a new partner now. You know, annulment in PH is too expensive and it's a long process so many won't file an annulment. Thanks in advance.

I think he can do common law if they live together kindly wait for more expert advice. Best of luck

 

[Tonych76]

Nope, he/she has to be 100% divorced or his marriage annulled before sponsoring anyone else, or for that matter even before he/she gets married again.

 

[Buletruck]

Is he living in Canada or the Philippines?

 

[ShinLee]

There are a lot of successful applications where the sponsor and/or the principal applicant are still legally married to someone else other than the current partner.

Being that said, an affidavit explaining how the previous marriage broke down and why it was not legally annulled should suffice (I know applicants who did this and were successful). As for how he will be sponsored, he and his sponsor must live together for at least 12 months to qualify for the common law route.

As for getting married, if he gets a visitor visa and lives here for a year, he can file for divorce against his spouse in the Philippines and then get legally married in Canada but it will NOT be recognized in the Philippines.

Thanks Janangela. I know visit visa is valid only for 6 months and can be extended to another 6 months. Since the requirement to file a divorce here in Canada needs to live here for a year, can he apply to extend his visa for the third time? Or it is okay to stay here without a valid status while waiting for the divorce paper?

 

[ShinLee]

Is he living in Canada or the Philippines?

He lives in the Philippines. His GF is a permanent resident here.