Marrying a Canadian Citizen Please Help!!!

[danihartnett]

Hello there
I'm a Macedonian Citizen who is in a relationship with a Canadian Citizen.We both met while working on a 6 months contract for a cruise ship and since then we are in a relationship.After we finished our contracts we still stay in touch trough every day internet communication.Our further plans is to get married so i was wondering if someone can please advise me what is the best option.In this time he already has a job in Canada and apartment ready for the 2 of us and my current plan is to go on another contract for the cruise line and once i finished the 6 months contract to go in Canada to visit him on my B1/B2 visa as i found out i can stay for up to 30 days in Canada.Now while my entry in Canada should i tell the immigration officer that i'm going to visit my boyfriend or should i not mention that?In meantime my plan is for that 1 month visit to get married with him and apply from there for PR so i was wondering if after 6 months of the application i can get a open work permit or is it better to go in Canada for one month visiting him and then come in my country together and married here.I know it sound too complicated but i just wanted to know which is the fastest way and the better option inland or out land application as for me it's not a big problem if i wait 2 years for the PR as long as after 6 months i can get a open work permit and start working there.
If someone has the similar experience would be much appreciate your help
Looking forward for any kind of advice
Tnx

 

[truesmile]

Welcome to the forum! Well I'm not sure if you need to, but if you want to tone it down a bit you could say you're visiting friends that you used to work with. While the 'inland' process may take longer, once your future husband has been approved as a sponsor (Stage 1 Approval) you may then apply for an 'open work permit', which would allow to work from that point on. Bear in mind, that even if you stay in Canada you can still submit an 'outland' application which would permit you to leave Canada (I'll suggest in case of emergency), without putting your application at risk.

 

[tuyen]

Now while my entry in Canada should i tell the immigration officer that i'm going to visit my boyfriend or should i not mention that?

You can mention it, but it's not necessary. If you already have a visa which ALLOWS you to be in Canada, it doesn't matter what you will be doing.

In meantime my plan is for that 1 month visit to get married with him and apply from there for PR so i was wondering if after 6 months of the application i can get a open work permit or is it better to go in Canada for one month visiting him and then come in my country together and married here.I know it sound too complicated but i just wanted to know which is the fastest way and the better option inland or out land application as for me it's not a big problem if i wait 2 years for the PR as long as after 6 months i can get a open work permit and start working there.

If you're both going to be in Canada, you should definitely get married here because it's a very easy process. You can go down to your local City Hall, get your marriage license, and be married the same day. If you get married in Europe, it will be more complicated.

After you're married, you should file your PR application OUTSIDE of Canada, for two main reasons:
1) it will have a shorter processing time
2) it will give you the chance to appeal if they deny the application for some reason

 

[Sweden]

Also - be aware that if you apply inland, you're not allowed to leave the country anymore - so the first stage, you would have no work permit, and not allowed to go anywhere. In most cases outland is better, especially if you can come and visit your husband when waiting for your outland application to be completed.
Good luck!
Sweden

 

[danihartnett]

Thank you all so much for your answers i really appreciate your help however i have one more question regarding outland application so if lets say i get married with him while i'm in Canada visiting him for the time while the outland application is in process can i stay with him the whole time or the outland application means that i need to be in my country?
Once again thank you so much

 

[ou812]

Hi!.
B1/B2 visa is for the USA only.
Macedonian citizens need a Canadian visa to visit Canada.

 

[danihartnett]

I've read that if i'm in US on my B1/B2 visa i can make an entry to Canada but only for 30 days or maybe i'm wrong i need to check for sure tnx

 

[Camelboy]

Your are correct According to US customs website you are allowed to stay for 30 days.
This is a US customs info source but it is good that you also double check this with Canadian border agency before you leave.

Inland takes longer so outlandish is much faster the standard processing time is 6 months and even shorter for some offices such as Beijing and New Delhi , which both has a very short processing time around 4-5 month for 80% of the applications.

 

[amikety]

You can mention it, but it's not necessary. If you already have a visa which ALLOWS you to be in Canada, it doesn't matter what you will be doing.
If you're both going to be in Canada, you should definitely get married here because it's a very easy process. You can go down to your local City Hall, get your marriage license, and be married the same day. If you get married in Europe, it will be more complicated.

After you're married, you should file your PR application OUTSIDE of Canada, for two main reasons:
1) it will have a shorter processing time
2) it will give you the chance to appeal if they deny the application for some reason

I've always been ask who I'm visiting when entering Canada. They've also requested the address of where I'm staying and want to know if it's a hotel and if not, who owns the home. My answer is always family... my husband's family.

If you wish to work on the cruise ship, Outland is probably the best option for you. Once you apply for an Inland application, if you leave Canada and are denied entry when you return, your application can be considered "abandoned." This doesn't happen with Outland.

First, I'm making some assumptions here, so I apologize in advance if I'm totally wrong. From Macedonia, you would probably apply through Vienna or Bucharest. They are 8-9 months processing time, meaning 80% of applications are processed within 8-9 months and some are faster. Inland gives stage 1 approval in about 8 months. Basically, it doesn't matter which route you use to apply, your ability to work legally in Canada will be about the same. (All times are based on a complete application.)

http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/information/times/perm-fc.asp

 

[tuyen]

Thank you all so much for your answers i really appreciate your help however i have one more question regarding outland application so if lets say i get married with him while i'm in Canada visiting him for the time while the outland application is in process can i stay with him the whole time or the outland application means that i need to be in my country?
Once again thank you so much

Staying with him in Canada does not depend on your inland or outland application. The amount of time you're allowed to stay in Canada will be based solely on your visa. If your visa is for 3 months, then you can stay with him for 3 months, regardless if you're doing an inland or outland application.

However, one very important thing to keep in mind: if you're inside Canada while your outland application is being processed, you will have to go back to Macedonia if they request an interview, which is almost a certainty.

 

[amikety]

Staying with him in Canada does not depend on your inland or outland application. The amount of time you're allowed to stay in Canada will be based solely on your visa. If your visa is for 3 months, then you can stay with him for 3 months, regardless if you're doing an inland or outland application.

However, one very important thing to keep in mind: if you're inside Canada while your outland application is being processed, you will have to go back to Macedonia if they request an interview, which is almost a certainty.

Actually, Inland applicants give implied status. You can remain as a visitor until a decision is made. Still, you can't work under visitor or implied status.

Here is a guide. Page 27 deals with Implied Status.

http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/e-services/mycic.asp?utm_source=immigration.gc.ca%2FMyCIC&utm_medium=URL_direct&utm_campaign=form-help

 

[tuyen]

Actually, Inland applicants give implied status. You can remain as a visitor until a decision is made. Still, you can't work under visitor or implied status.

That's news to me. I would've thought that if your visitor visa expires while you're waiting for your decision, and you overstay the visa, you will have a very difficult time getting permanent resident status.

Here is a guide. Page 27 deals with Implied Status.

http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/e-services/mycic.asp?utm_source=immigration.gc.ca%2FMyCIC&utm_medium=URL_direct&utm_campaign=form-help

Unfortunately I can't access the link because it says you need to have a "My CIC" account.

 

[Creampop]

Yes as long as the application is submitted before the expiration of the current Visa. When you file inland application they consider that like the extension so they have implied status until the completion of they PR application.

http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/visit/extend-stay.asp

Implied status
If your temporary resident visa expires after you have submitted your application for an extension of your authorization to remain in Canada, you will be considered in status as a temporary resident until a decision is made on the application. This is known as an Implied Status.

 

[amikety]

That's news to me. I would've thought that if your visitor visa expires while you're waiting for your decision, and you overstay the visa, you will have a very difficult time getting permanent resident status.


Unfortunately I can't access the link because it says you need to have a "My CIC" account.

There are times when you "think" that it's better to not reply. It's sometimes hard to know when to step back, but if you're not 110% sure of the rules, it's better to bookmark the thread and see what others have to say. I do this all the time... and reading is how I've learned.

 

[danihartnett]

Ok guys so I've decided on going to Canada on a tourist visa and getting married while i'm there....My biggest concern at the moment is after i enter in Canada on a tourist visa and have booked a hotel for 2 weeks and tell the IO i came to visit Canada and meet with some friends that i used to work on the ships, would it work against me later on after 4 months of staying there with my boyfriend and get married,how it will look then the fact that i said I was just visiting friends would that be a lie, would that come back to haunt me when we applied for sponsorship?What if they say why didn't mention the fact that one of your friends is actually your bf??My bf is really afraid that after we married on my tourist visa that we might cause some problems from hiding the fact that we were in a relationship??? All advice would be much appreciated!!