Marry In Canada, Apply Outside Canada?

[yakitori]

Hello,
I am Canadian and am planning to marry my fiance who is currently living in Malaysia. We have traveled together and have visited each other several times during the past few years. Our original plan was for me to go to Malaysia to get married but the process of getting the Registration of Marriage is cumbersome and takes a long time. I only get 2 weeks vacation so most likely we cannot get everything done and do a ceremony. Our other option was for her to get a visiting visa and we get married here in Canada then apply for sponsorship/PR. I understand she will have to keep renewing her status while the application process goes on and it is suggested she does not leave Canada during the application and the In Canada Application takes longer. I am 29 yrs old and make $40k-$45k. The problem is, during this time she cannot work and I must support her (which I have no problem doing) but we are also planning to have babies in the near future as she turns 38 this year. So that means I will be supporting her during her application here, then after get approved and have babies I will have to support both (which again, I don't have a problem doing). But I found that some people have married in Canada, then apply for Outside Canada Application, which usually is faster than In Canada Application. After we get married and she goes back to Malaysia, she can keep working and saving up until the application is approved which would help a lot financially considering our baby planning. The reason why we want to have babies so soon is because as she grows older there are higher risks in pregnancy which can lead to miscarriage or birth defects especially if you are over 40.
Does anyone have any experience doing this or any info?
Is this the best way to do thing in my situation or should we just get married here and apply in Canada?
If there is a better more efficient way then please let me know.

Your help is greatly appreciated.
Andy

 

[Leon]

You may have a problem getting her a visit visa for you two to get married. They have to believe she is planning to leave again. If she shows that she has a job and has to return to her job after the wedding, that would help. Otherwise, maybe you can marry in a 3rd country?

In Kuala Lumpur, see http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/information/times/international/05-fc-spouses.asp#asia the average spousal application is taking 3 months. Add to that a month for sponsorship processing in Canada in the beginning.

She also does not have to go back to make an outland application. She can stay with you in Canada on a visit visa and still apply to have her file processed in Malaysia. She would only have to go back there if they ask for an interview.

 

[yakitori]

Thank you for your quick reply.
Yes, I was a bit worried about her getting a visiting visa to visit me. A little history about us. She has visited me once in Dec 2006 for about 3 weeks with her 2 sisters and then I went to visit her in Feb 2008 and on my way back I brought her back with me to Vancouver to stay with me for a year after successfully extending her visiting visa. She went back to Malaysia last month as her visa and passport were expiring and we were originally planning to apply for common law outside of Canada. But our planning was poor and although we have a lot of proof of our relationship, we don't have much strong proof of cohabitation. So we decided the best option would be to get married since we would eventually get married anyway (originally thought of applying for common law to delay our marriage so we have time to save up for it). And now here we are today, trying to find the best way for us to be together and get her her PR.
I read online in another forum that having successful issuing of visiting visas in the past will improve her chances of getting another one. Is that correct?

In Feb 2008, when I brought her over the immigration officer asked her why she was visiting. Her response was that she liked Vancouver since she came last time and that she wanted to tour around some more. But I don't know whether she hesitated or what since I already passed immigration but she said he asked her to be honest so she told him that she was here to visit her boyfriend (me). The officer told her that there's nothing wrong with that and no need to lie and stamped her passport. I'm wondering would they have that on file? I mean the part that I am her boyfriend and that I live in Vancouver.
My fiance is planning to come later in the year with her mother and sister for the wedding but they plan on telling the immigration officer that they are here purely to get to know my family instead of telling them about our planned marriage. Do you think that would increase their chance of coming in? I figure that since the previous immigration officer said that there's nothing wrong with visiting her boyfriend, this is the next logical step (her family meeting my family) before a marriage and they would see no problem with letting them in. Of course by then she will have a job and a return ticket to strengthen her case of returning to Malaysia.

Sorry about the long entry. One last question. You said it usually takes only 3 months for the average spousal application in Kuala Lumpur. I did check the site and you are correct. So if she does get her visiting visa and we get married here in Vancouver, we can still apply for an outland application with her Kuala Lumpur address and still be able to stay in Canada with me. And if the application is still processing and her visiting visa is about to expire then she must extend it. And only if they require an interview she is required to go back to Kuala Lumpur, correct?
Would the fact that she had a visa extension her last stay here affect her chances of getting another extension?
We really love each other and are eager to live our lives together.
Your help is greatly appreciated.

Andy

 

[Leon]

Well, it's not a good idea to announce that you are coming to get married because they are not supposed to let ppl visit unless they believe they are planning on leaving. She is coming to visit boyfriend and introduce mom to boyfriends mom so they can do some gardening together or share recipes or whatever. Sounds completely plausible.

And yes, if you get married in Canada and she stays with you, you can still apply for her file to be processed in Kuala Lumpur. When you go to http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/immigrate/sponsor/spouse-apply-how.asp#step1 you can pick "my spouse lives with me in Canada" or "my spouse lives abroad". Pick the latter and you will end up with the right forms. She can do her medical in Canada but you have to let them know that you are filing an outland application and make sure they have the right forms for that.

She will not have to go back unless there is an interview and when she gets her PR, she just has to go to the border to "land". She may also be able to "land" in the local CIC office, you can check that out too. Hopefully she will not need another visa extension but if she does, I doubt she would be denied when she has a PR application in process.

 

[yakitori]

Thanks again Leon for your knowledgeable reply.
Since we were originally thinking of applying for common law outland application my fiance has already done her medical in Kuala Lumpur a few weeks ago and has also received the Police certificate stating she has not committed any crimes. Do those have an expiry date?
And say I we get married and apply outbound in about 6 months. Do those documents have to be valid during the entire application process or when the immigration office initially receives it?

Thanks again,
Andy

 

[Leon]

They do have an expiry date but I am not sure exactly what that is. I am sure somebody else on here can tell you.

 

[PMM]

Hi

Thanks again Leon for your knowledgeable reply.
Since we were originally thinking of applying for common law outland application my fiance has already done her medical in Kuala Lumpur a few weeks ago and has also received the Police certificate stating she has not committed any crimes. Do those have an expiry date?
And say I we get married and apply outbound in about 6 months. Do those documents have to be valid during the entire application process or when the immigration office initially receives it?

Thanks again,
Andy

1. The medical is valid for 1 year.
2. The Police Certificates can't be older than 3 months when submitted.

PMM

 

[Lia]

Andy,

I did like Leon said. We got married in a 3rd country (U.S.A.). Then, after a while, we applied for my visitor visa at the Consulate in Brazil (I left USA and went back to my country after getting married), and the visa was approved although they said at first they wanted the copy of the approval letter from CPC-Mississauga (but we hadn't applied for sponsorship yet), so I sent a copy of my IMM 1017 showing that I wasn't lying and my husband was going to apply for sure - we also sent a letter from me explaining my reasons to come to Canada and an invitation letter from my husband.

Now, we are together in Canada and he filled an outside Canada application for me. It was received at the CPC-M on February 13th, they started working and approved on March 4th, forwarded to my home country, and there they are processing our application since March 10th. I would only need to go there if I were called for an interview, but the interviews in this Visa Office are not very common.

 

[yakitori]

Thank you everyone for your help and info.
My fiance and I are really excited! My sisters are helping me plan the wedding since we're aiming for this September which is only 5 months away. Now I just hope my fiance will get her visiting visa approved and pass customs with no problem.

I have a question about the PR Application form. Page 2 is a section for "Details of Family Members".
It asks for all the details of her family members including passport, education, occupation, height, and photo. It will only be my fiance who is immigrating to Canada and we do not have any kids. Does she still need to ask all her family members (Mother, Father, 1 Brother, 6 Sisters) all the details and get them to get a photo? It's confusing because I've read on some posts that it is required for all her family members and on other posts it says I don't need to fill it out.

Thanks in advance,
Andy

 

[yakitori]

Hello,

I have another question. Since immigration Canada does not want you to come here to get married with a visiting visa, would it hurt our case if we had a planned marriage where we had a ceremony and reception with 80 guests? Or would it be better to just a simple civil marriage with 2 witnesses or does that not matter?

 

[Lia]

Hi Andy!

About the "Details of Family Members": I am on the same situation of your fiance. No children of any age, only parents and a brother, and none of them is imigrating. This part I left it blank. But I added my parents on the "Additional Family Information". I didn't add my brother because he is only 16 years old, and in the guide it was told that only brothers/sisters 18 years old or older should be added.

About the wedding: once she gets her visitor visa and is in Canada, it doesn't matter if there are 80 guests or only 2 witnesses, the important is that it is a genuine relationship. Some of my friends had their wedding in Canada with 5, 30, 50, and 100 guests, and they were all on visitor visas. It didn't hurt their case at all. In my case it was only me, my husband and two witnesses at my wedding in the US, but only because both of our families and friends were in different countries.

 

[MARLENA]

Actually I just got married 2 months ago in Canada and there was only 6 people during the wedding. The only problem I found is receiving the marriage certificate which takes between 10 to 12 weeks.
Another question I have what kind of documentation should I provide as a proof that our marriage is genuine.
I don't have lots of pictures other than the wedding, my husband have a proof that he came to Canada and left, we have a few emails, I added him as well on most of my home bills, we opened a joint account and I have long distance phone cards that we used to call each other.
Would that be sufficient.
Also when he was granted his Visa Case officer asked us the same question why is he here??? his answer to visit me as a friend, I don't think they record all this because I didn't see him writing anything. Hopefully it won't affect his application!!!!!

 

[Lia]

Also when he was granted his Visa Case officer asked us the same question why is he here??? his answer to visit me as a friend, I don't think they record all this because I didn't see him writing anything. Hopefully it won't affect his application!!!!!

Marlena, this officer was the one at the port of entry? I didn't understand well this part.

When I was here in Canada for the first time, all the questions they asked me were recorded and they had all my answers. I found it out when I came back to Canada later, after getting married and getting another visa. The officer at the airport asked me the exact same questions the other one did almost a year before (and in another port of entry) and was matching my answers. Also, he asked when we got married, because when I first entered the country I was "single", and the second time I was already "married" to the friend I said I was visiting when I came to Vancouver last year.

 

[Leon]

It's not that there's any rules against marrying in Canada on a visit visa, it is just the criteria that they can't let a person in on a visit visa unless they believe they are planning to leave. If they know somebody is coming to get married, they may assume that this person is planning to stay in Canada for good and if so, they should not let them in on a temporary visa.

 

[MARLENA]

Lia, thanks for your reply.
My story that my fiancee came from Lebanon. When they stamped his Visa they asked him why he is here and he told them I'm visiting a friend. I had invited him and sent my invitation. The next question they asked how much money is he bringing and told them exactly the amount. I was waiting for him for almost 3 hours and thought he missed his flight from London. All of the sudden 2 officers came out directly to me don't ask me since it was so obvious that I was the only one still waiting and they took me inside and asked me to translate every time they ask him a question which i did. I was so confident and didn't let the officer suspect anything other than he is coming for a visit and he is staying for 3 months. They looked at every picture he has with him, they took everything for his luggage and had many questions. I mean they have the right to do that and finally the officer asked me again is there a possibility to marry him at the end of the visit and I told him if it happened I'll be more happy to come back and let you know. He smiled and told my fiancee welcome to Ottawa and we hope you enjoy your visit. They only grant him 3 full months on his visa but stamped 4 months by mistake. Also they asked me when he leaves to go back to the custom and let them know. At the time when I was translating I didn't see they recorded anything. Perhaps at the time of the entry when I wasn't there they may asked him questions but he told them he couldn't speak very well English and I was waiting for him outside. So that's my story. We got married since January and he is back to Lebanon and I'm sending my sponsorship application by next week. I'm praying that he would be accepted. The funny part I work with CBSA which they didn't know and when I mentioned to them they were in disbelief and at that point they smiled and stamped his passport right away so I don't know if that helped him to accept him but I don't think so. I believe it's when they see you are scared and confused that's when they suspect something.