my future russian wife- PLEASE- read

[islandersergiu]

Hello everyone...I really need an advice so please read this..
so here is my story... I'm a Canadian citizen who recently met a Russian woman. So far everything went very well between us, we've been chatting & talking for more than 2 months and we are going in a vacation together in October for 2 weeks in Europe. Now ..I was reading a lot of topics on the internet and I finished by being more confused than I was at the beginning.
My questions are:
Which is the best and fastest way to bring her next to me?
Is it better for her to apply first for a visitor visa and while she's here I will apply as sponsor and she will apply for a PR?
Is it better to get married outside or when she gets in Canada?
If she applies for a tourist visa is there a way to help her getting it (besides the invitation) ?

I hope for an answer
Thank you for your time

 

[mikeymyke]

The fastest way to bring her physically next to you would be for her to apply for a visitor visa. The chances of her getting it depends on her travel history, family ties back home, assets/property, finances, and employment.

Personally, I don't think it's a good idea to marry while in Canada, since the processing time for inland is quite long and the spouse will not be allowed to leave Canada for any reason. For a straight forward case with minimal relationship red flags, outland will get her the PR visa in under a year. In my opinion, applying outland, then applying for a visitor visa afterwards, which is what my wife and I did, is the best way to go: you benefit from the faster processing time + ability to leave Canada any time + the spouse can be with you due to the visitor visa.

You've only known this girl for about 2 months and have never met in person. Although it's pretty early to start talking about marriage due to your situation, the good thing is at least if you do decide to sponsor her, you will know how to do it properly as to reduce the amount of time for her to immigrate here and avoid delays.

Important things to note that will help make your application go smoothly:

-Do not marry her at the first meeting, I wouldn't recommend even proposing at the first meeting. Relationships that develop too quickly are red flags.
-When you do marry, avoid quick court weddings if possible, try to marry the same way that's done traditionally in her country.
-Try to invite as many of your close family members or friends to your wedding as you can, and have your spouse do the same.
-Take lots of photos of not only you guys together, but also you with her family/friends, and her with yours if possible.
-Keep copies of any flight tickets/hotel receipts, that shows you guys spent time together.
-Keep proof of any communication between the two of you.

Things that will cause some scrutiny in your application:

-Large age, cultural, educational difference between the two of you
-Your spouse has relatives living in Canada or has tried to enter Canada as a student/visitor in the past
-Your spouse has married before/has kids, but you're not/don't, or vice versa

Because you're still very early in the relationship, please take my advice and take your relationship SLOWLY. Let it develop, see what kind of person she is. Not only will this help your future PR application go smoothly, but it will help you to see if she's really into you, or just simply wants to immigrate here.

Be wary if during the early stages of your relationship, she seems extremely motivated and interested in immigrating here, if her parents express great interest in immigrating here, asking if their daughter would be able to sponsor them if she becomes a PR, or has had relationships with other Canadians before. I only say this just because you've only known her for such a short period of time and are contemplating marriage.

 

[Aquakitty]

Mikeymyke has some great suggestions you should take to heart. Another thing you might want to consider is if she is willing to live in Russia with you if it came to that. Someone who is not willing to live in their own country might have ulterior motives besides just love. 2 months is a very short time and I think this would throw all sorts of red flags, since you aren't engaging in an arranged marriage.

 

[mikeymyke]

Yes that's a good point too. If someone really wants to marry you because they love you, it shouldn't be a problem for her to live in her own country with you. If she seems very unhappy at the notion that living in Russia would be a possibility, then be cautious about that. Although yes it's true, I'm sure a large majority of people would prefer living in Canada over most other countries, the point is being able to see if in her eyes, is it a "Canada or bust" situation for her.

You should also ask yourself the same question: if for some reason your spouse cannot immigrate here, would you be willing to live with her in Russia? If you could look into the future and see that she can never come here, would you have married her in the first place?

 

[granol]

I am also a Canadian citizen born in Canada and married to a Russian. Our story sound a bit like your, we met on internet and Skype for 2 months before we decided to meet in person in Turkey. After this trip everything went so well that we wanted to see each other again so I would advice to do what I did first... go to Russia to visit her first than try for a visiting visa to Canada. If your girl doesn't have kids or a house (apartment/flat) and if she lives with her parents the chance that she receive a visiting visa are low. My wife had over 10 Europe countries travel history with a good job as economist but because she had not enough ties to her country like her own apartment or a kid that would have wait for her she got her visa denied a week after applying... a girl that want to visit a guy with no ties make it almost impossible to come.

So I suggest you read carefully all the good informations above... if you marry too quick you risk her of never coming here with sponsorship. I know Russian women are very endearing... most of them dream of "their man" and the wedding that come with the culture. Just take your time it's so tempting to do everything in a rush.

 

[islandersergiu]

First of all I would like to THANK YOU all for your comments.Your suggestions are more than welcome and just FYI I'm a realistic person and I'm not a blind man jumping into a game with unknown "rules".
So anyway from all this info I build up a scenario which sound like this: we are spending our vacation in Turkey, then I have to travel to Russia to get married there. After that, I will return to Canada and she will apply for PR and I have to apply as a sponsor. Soon after that she will ask for a visitor visa (is the PR application will help her getting the tourist visa?).Hopefully, she will get it and she comes to Canada, where she lives with me while her file is being processed.
Is this a realistic scenario?

If I understood correctly, with visitor visa she can stay like 6 months then after ask for another 3 months?
The PR application will be processed faster due to the fact that she's already married with me?
Is the fact that I live Quebec will change anything?

One more time thank you for your advice & time

 

[Monna]

Hello, I am Canadian citizen, born in Russia and I am currently sponsoring my husband from Russia to come to Canada.
From what I learned in the process - it is quite rare that sponsored person is approved for tourist visa. If anything, there is more chance for her to get it refused while she is on PR process.
I would advise to slowly build up a strong relationship - and this should be valid not just for CIC, but for your personal best.
Give it some time. Spend a vacation, then come to visit her a couple of times. If you get trouble with russian visa, keep refusal for a record. If you get it, try leaving together for at least a month in Russia. Take lots of photos. Keep all receipts, flight tickets and stubs.
So option 1 is to take is slowly, get married and then apply for PR. Tourist visa is not recommended.
Second option is that you may come to live to Russia while PR is in process. As canadian citizen you may sponsor and reside abroad. But in this case, you have to show strong intent to return to Canada once your spouse gets her PR.

Good luck

 

[Rob_TO]

Soon after that she will ask for a visitor visa (is the PR application will help her getting the tourist visa?).Hopefully, she will get it and she comes to Canada, where she lives with me while her file is being processed.

Her being married to you will make any travel visa more difficult to get, not easier. CIC would feel that her strongest tie is her spouse in Canada, so she will not leave after her visit visa expires and even if she's rejected for an extension. She would need to show extremely strong ties to Russia that would convince CIC she would return there.

If I understood correctly, with visitor visa she can stay like 6 months then after ask for another 3 months?

Initial visa validity and any extensions are always at the discretion of CIC/CBSA. It could be more or less what you are expecting.

The PR application will be processed faster due to the fact that she's already married with me?

No, as being married or common-law is a basic requirement before applying for PR.

In your specific case, if you just know each online, take a 2-week trip together, then get married and immediately apply for her PR, you should expect a very long and difficult processing. CIC will have a very strong suspicion that she is marrying you just to get PR status. You should expect she will be called for an interview at the outland visa office (Warsaw for Russian citizens), with no guarantee they will approve her PR in the end.

To do a safer application with more chance of success, you should try to spend more time together in person before getting married and/or applying for PR. Any relationship less than around 1 yr in duration, is a huge red flag on it's own not even taking into account other possible red flags.

 

[scylla]

So anyway from all this info I build up a scenario which sound like this: we are spending our vacation in Turkey, then I have to travel to Russia to get married there. After that, I will return to Canada and she will apply for PR and I have to apply as a sponsor. Soon after that she will ask for a visitor visa (is the PR application will help her getting the tourist visa?).Hopefully, she will get it and she comes to Canada, where she lives with me while her file is being processed.
Is this a realistic scenario?

If I understood correctly, with visitor visa she can stay like 6 months then after ask for another 3 months?
The PR application will be processed faster due to the fact that she's already married with me?
Is the fact that I live Quebec will change anything?

My comments:
- I would assume that she will not be approved for a visitor visa since this is the most likely outcome. However you should try applying all the same - you might get lucky.
- I would expect longer processing times for your application since your relationship developed so quickly. CIC may review your application more closely to ensure your relationship is genuine.
- If possible, I would take two separate vacations together before you travel to Russia to get married.

 

[keesio]

So anyway from all this info I build up a scenario which sound like this: we are spending our vacation in Turkey, then I have to travel to Russia to get married there.

You are basically looking to get married on first in-person visit. This is normally a "red flag" to CIC and will cause suspicion. The only cases where it is not a big red-flag is if both sponsor and applicant are from a culture where arranged marriages are common (like Pakistan for example). So a Pakistani couple in an arranged marriage set up by parents can get away with this... but a Canadian/Russian couple will have issues.

 

[mikeymyke]

So anyway from all this info I build up a scenario which sound like this: we are spending our vacation in Turkey, then I have to travel to Russia to get married there. After that, I will return to Canada and she will apply for PR and I have to apply as a sponsor. Soon after that she will ask for a visitor visa (is the PR application will help her getting the tourist visa?).Hopefully, she will get it and she comes to Canada, where she lives with me while her file is being processed.
Is this a realistic scenario?

No this is a bad idea, assuming you mean shortly after the vacation, you will go get married.

Would you rather take it slow and have your application processed fast? Or take your relationship too quickly, only to have many many delays, putting further strain on your relationship?

Here's a better idea:

Go on your vacation, then go to Russia to meet her folks and her friends. Return to Canada, continue communicating with her, save up money for your next trip to Russia and a possible engagement ring (if you feel the relationship is progressing well).

Return to Russia, meet her folks and friends again, propose when you feel the moment is right. Return to Canada.

Tell your family you're happily engaged, and that you would love it if they could come to the wedding. Hopefully you will give them enough time to save up money and book time off work. If they cannot make it to the wedding, you will have to provide an explanation on your application.

Return to Russia, get married, take lots of photos, have a honeymoon, gather the appropriate documents for the PR application, return to Canada.

Congrats, now you have a bulletproof relationship profile for your PR application, expect her to get the PR visa in under a year, assuming you guys don't have any other major red flags.

More important than having a fast processing time, during this entire time, you will get a good idea of how genuine your girlfriend is, and if she truly loves you or not. So by going slowly with your relationship, you will benefit in both ways.