married or engaged ? what to do ?

[Hana Diabas]

Hello everyone
i hope u guys are having an amazing Friday so far !

i got recently engaged to the Love of my life ! we are both Palestinians he lives in Dubai and i live in Canada !
i want to sponsor him to canada ASAP ! we are officially engaged with a marriage contract that is legal and approved !
we would like to start the sponsorship application now so that we can save time and get together sooner rather than later ! the only issue that im concerned about that we dont have any wedding photos since the actual wedding will take place at the end of this year ! is that a big problem ? how can we handle it ?

is it better to delay the sponsorship until after marriage ? but in that case can he come to canada as a visitor and wait for his PR inside the country ?

we had enough pain from being apart ! its the worst feeling ever u guys ! plz guide me through !

thank u ^^

 

[Sous02]

Hello everyone
i hope u guys are having an amazing Friday so far !

i got recently engaged to the Love of my life ! we are both Palestinians he lives in Dubai and i live in Canada !
i want to sponsor him to canada ASAP ! we are officially engaged with a marriage contract that is legal and approved !
we would like to start the sponsorship application now so that we can save time and get together sooner rather than later ! the only issue that im concerned about that we dont have any wedding photos since the actual wedding will take place at the end of this year ! is that a big problem ? how can we handle it ?

is it better to delay the sponsorship until after marriage ? but in that case can he come to canada as a visitor and wait for his PR inside the country ?

we had enough pain from being apart ! its the worst feeling ever u guys ! plz guide me through !

thank u ^^

Unless you lived together as common law for 12 consecutive months you will have to wait for the marriage before you can apply.

 

[canuck_in_uk]

i want to sponsor him to canada ASAP ! we are officially engaged with a marriage contract that is legal and approved !
we would like to start the sponsorship application now so that we can save time and get together sooner rather than later ! the only issue that im concerned about that we dont have any wedding photos since the actual wedding will take place at the end of this year ! is that a big problem ? how can we handle it ?

is it better to delay the sponsorship until after marriage ? but in that case can he come to canada as a visitor and wait for his PR inside the country ?

There is no fiance sponsorship. You must be either common-law or legally married.

He can apply for a TRV. He will need to show very strong ties to Dubai to be approved.

 

[Hana Diabas]

There is no fiance sponsorship. You must be either common-law or legally married.

He can apply for a TRV. He will need to show very strong ties to Dubai to be approved.

we are legally married ! but without the actual wedding party ! and they are asking for wedding photos !
the wedding party at the end of this year and the problem is we don't want to waste time and we want to apply now

 

[canuck_in_uk]

we are legally married ! but without the actual wedding party ! and they are asking for wedding photos !
the wedding party at the end of this year and the problem is we don't want to waste time and we want to apply now

If you are legally married, you can apply now.

Did you not take any pictures at the ceremony you had? Or have any sort of dinner/reception afterwards?

 

[Hana Diabas]

If you are legally married, you can apply now.

Did you not take any pictures at the ceremony you had? Or have any sort of dinner/reception afterwards?

yes we did ! we have pictures for a small party that we had at home , is that enough ?
we have videos as well . is it ok to send videos ? if yes how should i send them ? on a USB ?

your help is highly appreciated ! thank u kindly

 

[scylla]

CIC will not look at video evidence or anything on a USB. All evidence has to be printed.

 

[trikiliki]

yes we did ! we have pictures for a small party that we had at home , is that enough ?
we have videos as well . is it ok to send videos ? if yes how should i send them ? on a USB ?

your help is highly appreciated ! thank u kindly

You can not send videos but you could take some nice screen shots of your videos and print them and just write on the back the date and explain that they were taken from videos of your ceremony/dinner party, whatever. Keep in mind though they only want 20 pictures submitted upfront with your application nowadays so choose the best and most significant pictures you have. Keep the others in case they request more proof/pics later or to bring to an interview if you get called for one.

 

[Sous02]

we are legally married ! but without the actual wedding party ! and they are asking for wedding photos !
the wedding party at the end of this year and the problem is we don't want to waste time and we want to apply now

You really need to get your story organized before you apply. You clearly state in many places that you are not married. This kind of confusion will guarantee you a long and expensive application process.

 

[Hana Diabas]

thank u everyone for sharing ur thoughts !

so , based on my understanding to the whole process it will best for us to wait until we have an official wedding party !

the question arises now if we choose to postpone until after the wedding , would he be able to join me as a visitor and wait for his PR card inside canada ?

we can't bare it to be away from each other anymore ! it was a struggle to get each other from the first place !

 

[Bcboundboy]

the question arises now if we choose to postpone until after the wedding

You're not making this any clearer.

If you are married - whether you had a small civil ceremony, or a lavish feast with villages invited - then you can apply as a married couple.

Photos of the ceremony are good to have, but not the be all and end all. The marriage certificate, showing you are married, is the most important thing from that day.

If you have not yet had your legal wedding, then you cannot, unless you are common-law through having lived together as a couple for 12 months or more.

Whether or not you have had a big party is irrelevant - what matters is your legal status. If a large wedding celebration is culturally normal, then it would raise fewer questions to have had it. But the most important thing is being clear on whether or not your wedding has happened.

 

[wildemam]

Guys the confusion comes from the fact they never got intimate yet.

Look. CIC is not interested in this point at all. They jsut need to make sure you are no married so that he comes to Canada. He should want to come to Canada because you are there. That's all.

Never mention anything about "engagement" in this stage. As far as the law and your families and the world knows, you are a husband and a wife.

 

[chilkootcee]

Agree! Some of you are not understanding the cultural ways of Arabs when they get married.

Marriage is a contract...once the contract is signed, you are legally married even though sometimes this is called an "engagement". There is usually a delay between the signing of the contract (legally wed) and the wedding celebration - days to years!

So, please, be understanding of other people's cultures.

Hana, your issue will be proving the relationship is genuine. So include screenshots of your marriage ceremony video, any other pictures showing you spending time together, chat logs (whatsapp, skype, email, etc). You can also ask for letters from your friends and relatives stating how they know the both of you, their thoughts on your relationship and how you feel about each other. Some people get these notarized but we didn't.

All this having been said...it still might be better to wait for your celebration before submitting your application....that way you have more time to collect evidence of your relationship.

Good luck!

C.

 

[canadianwoman]

When you apply to sponsor your husband you cannot state that you are just engaged, because then your application will be refused. CIC and the visa officers take other cultures into account, but the question the visa officer is going to have is are you actually married? If you feel that you are just engaged, then that is what the visa officer is going to see.
In your and your husband's culture, is what you have already enough to be considered married? If it is, it is enough to sponsor your husband. However, if you have not done everything that a couple from your culture would normally do for a wedding, then you will have to explain it. It is certainly possible.
It would be easier and probably result in faster processing times if you waited until after the big celebration at the end of this year. Your husband can apply for a TRV to enter Canada while you wait, but to get a TRV he has to show evidence that he will leave Canada at the end of his stay. Things like a letter from his boss giving him time off, an apartment lease or house deed, money in the bank, investments, etc., are good proof of this. If he cannot get a TRV, you can try applying to sponsor him as your husband, before the big celebration. You would then have to use proof of the smaller celebration you have already done as your proof you got married.

 

[chilkootcee]

Unfortunately engagement means different things in different cultures. I was confused too when I first came to the middle east and learned of their marriage process. If their contract was executed in the courts of the country they were married in, then it is recognized by that country as a legal marriage and therefore is recognized in Canada. If it was a contract signed in a mosque or part of a religious ceremony, then this is likely NOT recognized as a legal marriage within the country and therefore Canada won't accept it as such. All marriages must be done in person can cannot be done by proxy.

Hana,

In Canada, "engagement" usually means you are betrothed to be married and have not undergone a legal ceremony or process of marriage. As people have said in this post, you will confuse the immigration officials by mentioned the word "engaged" if in reality you were legally married.

You may want to consider that seeing as many people have been confused by your post here, immigration officials may also be confused by your application - even if it is not your intention. So again, waiting until your marriage celebration is complete might be the best option for you.

C.