Marrying a Canadian citizen on a Visitor Visa

[sultan1]

Hi, I am a non-Canadian citizen and not currently residing in Canada.
I'm from Iraq, and I want to visit and marry my girlfriend. We have a long distance relationship and haven't met yet. we are both very much in love with each other and the relationship is very genuine.

According to online sources, it is completely fine to get married on a visitor visa. (important question, Should I let Immigration Officers know that my intention is marriage?, I don't intend to stay for more than a week or two, I just want to marry her so we can apply for a family sponsorship PR) I don't want to lie.

After that, I plan to return to Jordan (where I live and work) while we apply for a spousal sponsorship visa, which apparently takes around 12-24 months before I can move back to be with her.
Alternatively, it seems there’s a possibility of staying in Canada after marriage if my future wife sponsors me for permanent residence through Canada's family sponsorship program.
Apparently, if I apply for permanent residence and a work permit at the same time, it could take about 5–6 months to process the work permit application.

So, wouldn't it just be better if I visited her, got married, went back to Jordan for 12-24 months, and then moved back in with her once everything is approved?

I'm just looking for opinions or advice. Has anyone here done something similar before? I would love to hear from you, especially if you’re from a third-world country.

We have thought of other options such as marriage outside of Canada but I want to do what is most convenient for her.

Thank you all

 

[armoured]

According to online sources, it is completely fine to get married on a visitor visa.

Before we waste time answering hypotheticals: do you already have a visitor visa or not?

 

[sultan1]

Before we waste time answering hypotheticals: do you already have a visitor visa or not?

Hey, I don't. We only just recently talked about this and I've been researching online etc

 

[armoured]

Hey, I don't. We only just recently talked about this and I've been researching online etc

Apply for a visa first and see if you get approved.

Honestly would not suggest getting married on first meet/visit either.

 

[sultan1]

Apply for a visa first and see if you get approved.

Honestly would not suggest getting married on first meet/visit either.

We've known each other for 3 years. thank you for your suggestion and I'm really not trying to be rude but I'm asking for guidance about the process, not marriage advice.

 

[scylla]

Hi, I am a non-Canadian citizen and not currently residing in Canada.
I'm from Iraq, and I want to visit and marry my girlfriend. We have a long distance relationship and haven't met yet. we are both very much in love with each other and the relationship is very genuine.

According to online sources, it is completely fine to get married on a visitor visa. (important question, Should I let Immigration Officers know that my intention is marriage?, I don't intend to stay for more than a week or two, I just want to marry her so we can apply for a family sponsorship PR) I don't want to lie.

After that, I plan to return to Jordan (where I live and work) while we apply for a spousal sponsorship visa, which apparently takes around 12-24 months before I can move back to be with her.
Alternatively, it seems there’s a possibility of staying in Canada after marriage if my future wife sponsors me for permanent residence through Canada's family sponsorship program.
Apparently, if I apply for permanent residence and a work permit at the same time, it could take about 5–6 months to process the work permit application.

So, wouldn't it just be better if I visited her, got married, went back to Jordan for 12-24 months, and then moved back in with her once everything is approved?

I'm just looking for opinions or advice. Has anyone here done something similar before? I would love to hear from you, especially if you’re from a third-world country.

We have thought of other options such as marriage outside of Canada but I want to do what is most convenient for her.

Thank you all

To get a TRV approved, you want to show strong ties to your home country / country of residency and demonstrate you have no plans on remaining in Canada long term. I would not recommend mentioning in your TRV application that you paln to get married in Canada. That will almost certainly reduce the chances of approval. In your application, you want to show ties such as employment, property ownership, assets, etc. It can be more difficult to be approved and demonstrate ties if you are living in a country other than your home country. It will benefit you if you have visited countries requiring visas in the past (e.g., UK, US, Europe).

Ideally you do not want to get married during the first trip to meet her in person. This generally can cause IRCC to be concerned it's a marriage of convenience vs. a genuine marriage - and potentially create problems for your application. You would be better off visiting her once, returning to your country of residency, and then coming back for another visit to get married. The exception to this is if it's purely an arranged marriage. Then it may make sense to get married on the first visit to see each other.

Yes, once you are married, there is a decision you will need to make about whether you are sponsored outland or inland. Inland will allow you to remain in Canada and be granted a work permit after a wait of a few months. However if you pick inland, you need to be prepared to remain in Canada with only short trips outside of Canada until PR is approved.

However first step is to get the TRV approved which can be quite challenging on its own. I would focus on that for now and then figure out the rest once you know if you have an approved TRV or not.

 

[scylla]

We've known each other for 3 years. thank you for your suggestion and I'm really not trying to be rude but I'm asking for guidance about the process, not marriage advice.

The advice you were provided is in fact guidance about the process (not marriage / relationship advice). It can create issues for your application if you get married on the first visit and make IRCC concerned it's a MOC. It's very strongly recommended not to get married during the first visit for that reason.

 

[armoured]

We've known each other for 3 years. thank you for your suggestion and I'm really not trying to be rude but I'm asking for guidance about the process, not marriage advice.

As noted by @scylla, my point was as much about the likelihood of having issues with demonstrating the relationship is genuine.

Bluntly, I'd suggest you and your partner consider travelling and meeting in other locations, and begin looking at what would be needed to get married either where you reside, or some third country. While I don't know much about your situation, the chances of the visitor visa getting refused are significant.

 

[canuck78]

Would personally have a plan B because getting approved for a TRV is likely going to be very difficult. There is a high chance you will need to get married outside of Canada. Living in an 3rd country can make TRV approval difficult but the fact that you’re an Iraqi citizen living in Jordan will likely make it even more difficult. IRCC will likely suspect that your visit is not purely tourism unless you have close family in Canada and there also can be concerns that you may claim asylum. As an fyi in cases where there has been little in person contact IRCC traditionally expects people to follow religious and cultural traditions when it comes to marriage.