Marrying while on visit.

[ikkocs]

Hello,

I am Canadian a citizen and my fiance is European (Lithuanian citizen). We are currently in a long distance relationship. Our relationship might not as seem as long as the others, however, I have met her in person (we both flew to Paris to meet each other) and we both get along really well. We plan to close the gap and plan to have her come over to Canada this September and get married around November/December. Is it okay to apply right away for inland sponsorship? What are the requirements to be eligible to apply for inland sponsorship? Another thing, We have Skype chat/call logs for over a year, whats app text messages/voice messages, photos over Paris, we might as well add photos when she comes over to Canada and our wedding photo together with friends and family, only exception is, her family won't be able to come, so It would be only be my side of family and friends, add in marriage certificate. Would that be enough to prove of our relationship as genuine? Please help, We really need guidance.

 

[Ponga]

You cannot submit your application until you are married.

You can, however, start gathering evidence to prove that your relationship is genuine...and familiarize yourself with the forms and documents that you will [eventually] submit.

You will find many helpful threads here on what is suggested as supporting evidence of your relationship, but it sounds like you already have a good idea of what you will need.

Good luck!

 

[ikkocs]

Before she comes for a visit, I would just like to ask a few more questions...

1. What are the documents should she need to carry along with her before she enters Canada?

2. If the IO at the port of entry asks her if she knows anyone in Canada. Should she say yes or no?

3.When she enters Canada, if the IO at the port of entry asks if she has any plan to get married in Canada. What should she say?

4. What are the documentation should she carry with her when getting married?

5. Her parents will not be present for the marriage, would that be alright?

6. Once our marriage is complete what are the docs that we need to apply for spousal sponsor for her?

7. If I apply her inland sponsorship while she still visiting and after marriage, would she be able to extend her stay?

Really need advice, thanks for reading.

 

[bigredmoose]

Before she comes for a visit, I would just like to ask a few more questions...

1. What are the documents should she need to carry along with her before she enters Canada?
Passport, birth certificate plus whatever ID she usually carries

2. If the IO at the port of entry asks her if she knows anyone in Canada. Should she say yes or no?
She should tell the truth

3.When she enters Canada, if the IO at the port of entry asks if she has any plan to get married in Canada. What should she say?
She should tell the truth

4. What are the documentation should she carry with her when getting married?
Marriage license. Be careful - Some provinces require a document from certain countries that confirm foreigners are free to marry -Edit: I think I was wrong with this one.

5. Her parents will not be present for the marriage, would that be alright?
Yes. Just explain in your application why this was the case

6. Once our marriage is complete what are the docs that we need to apply for spousal sponsor for her?

7. If I apply her inland sponsorship while she still visiting and after marriage, would she be able to extend her stay?
Yes. But there's no guarantee she'll get it. If she leaves the country, that puts the application at risk. Best to go outland. And before you ask, you can apply outland while she's in Canada.

Really need advice, thanks for reading.

 

[bigredmoose]

Sorry - I missed an important point. If she turns up at the border looking like she intends to stay, she will likely get refused entry. Best bet is to have a return ticket and a home and job to return to. She has to look like a visitor and therefore look and act like one.

 

[ikkocs]

She has already a return ticket, plus her family is back at her home country. We plan that after marriage she'll just stay and try to go to school here, and thus why I wanted to know if its possible just to extend her stay, We just want to be together and outland seems to make us separated a bit more and she lives far away and that is why Id try and avoid going outland. What other recommendation could be suggested on how to act like a visitor?

 

[Rob_TO]

She has already a return ticket, plus her family is back at her home country. We plan that after marriage she'll just stay and try to go to school here, and thus why I wanted to know if its possible just to extend her stay, We just want to be together and outland seems to make us separated a bit more and she lives far away and that is why Id try and avoid going outland. What other recommendation could be suggested on how to act like a visitor?

As long as she holds the Lithuania biometric e-passport, she is visa-exempt to Canada and should be very simple to get a visitor status extension after she enters Canada.

However when first entering Canada, she needs to act like a visitor as CBSA will only give out a max of 6 months status to her, so want to see she will leave after that time if her status runs out. If she tells CBSA she is moving to Canada, or intends to stay forever, there is a chance they could deny her entry. Things you can consider:
- have a return airplane ticket dated for less than 6 months later
- have proof of funds to support herself, or info saying you will support her (so they don't think she will work illegally)
- show any ties to home country
- never use the words "moving" or "living". Just VISITING.
- don't bring goodbye letters from friends/family, or have goodbye notes on her phone, as CBSA can search all this and use it to claim she intends to move to Canada permanently
- don't lie to direct questions. If they ask if she intends to get married, she can honestly answer 'yes'. It's not illegal to get married in Canada.

Once you are in Canada, then applying for visitor status extensions from CIC is much easier, as they don't really care about living in Canada. Or if you submit an INLAND PR app with an Open Work Permit app, then she will have implied status so can stay here for the entire duration of PR processing (2+ years)

If you apply OUTLAND then she will probably get PR much quicker, but since there is no implied status with an outland app would just need to continue extending visitor status during the process to stay in Canada.

Also if she intends to study in a university or college here before getting PR, she needs to first get a study permit. Also she will need to pay international student fees which can be pretty expensive. The only courses she can study without a study permit are non-degree classes less than 6 months (so something like an ESL class).