Need some advice - Spousal Sponsorship route, not yet married

[Mo_Ho]

Hello Folks,

I am sort of confronted with a lot of information and different decisions with regards to getting someone over to Canada. So here is the situation. I immigrated to Canada from South African in 2008 and have been a citizen for 1 year now. I go back to South Africa to visit a particular girl who I have know for over 10 years. I have got to that point in life where I know what it is I want out of life and that is to be united with her forever. We talk everyday and have decided to bring her here to get married and start our life together.

The issue is that she has very little money, assets or ties to South Africa that would convince an immigration official that she will return to South Africa after visiting Canada. So my plan is as such:

Apply to a visitor Visa for 3 weeks to visit me in Canada (Increase the likelihood of visitor Visa being approved). I will draft a letter of invitation which will include (Full financial support, travel itinerary and date she will return). Once she is here then make a paper application to extend her visa to the local Canadian office and then in that time we get married and file for Spousal Sponsor. Now when it comes to "marriages of convenience" this is most definitely not what we intend, though could this creep back to bite us down the line? We do not want to mislead anyone or do anything wrong, though from reading the horror stories of what people have encountered; I am fully prepared to put up a fight to keep her here if it leads to a declined Spousal Sponsorship Application and having to go through an appeal process.

Does anyone have experience with what I am intending on doing and could shed some light?

 

[scylla]

If you have known her for over 10 years and can show this, I doubt that the marriage of convenience issue is going to be a problem.

I think the bigger concern is the visitor visa. Make sure you have a Plan B in the event the visitor visa is refused.

 

[Mo_Ho]

So lets say that the visitor visa is approved then if I go forward with the plan and get to the part of spousal sponsorship. Will they not investigate the application as there was intent that was not disclosed when she initially came over. I have read enough to know that if you do disclose that the person is coming over to get married it is basically going to lead to a denied visa.

I do not want to me faced with my spousal application being denied due to something like "misrepresentation".

 

[tink23]

Things come up. People change their mind be and decide things last minute. You won't get in trouble for not telling them on a TRV application that you are going too et married while in Canada as a visitor.

 

[Mo_Ho]

Any advice on the initial application for a Tourist Visa?

It will include everything they need (Police clearance, letter of invitation); though any advice would be appreciated seen as how she is young and few finances to support an application. I would be fully supporting her while she is here. Does she need to show travel insurance with the application?

 

[Mo_Ho]

If anyone has experience with what I am proposing, please shed some light for me.

 

[MilesAway]

For the tourist visa, I'd recommend posting in the Visitors section of the forum. You can find all kinds of information about that side of the process.

Have you ever lived with her?

If the visa is refused, you can get married in any country, it doesn't have to be Canada. My wife and I went to a third country to get married, because it wasn't possible in either of ours.

 

[Mo_Ho]

We have not lived together before. I have thought about marriage in my home country though would that not be the same circumstances to apply for her to come over to Canada as a visitor? Would they not deny a travel visa based on that fact that they know she will not go back at the end of her stay?

 

[tink23]

We have not lived together before. I have thought about marriage in my home country though would that not be the same circumstances to apply for her to come over to Canada as a visitor? Would they not deny a travel visa based on that fact that they know she will not go back at the end of her stay?

she will still face barriers to getting the visitor visa, but if she has ties to South Africa (does she own property? A car? Large savings in the bank to support her stay? A job to return to?) If she doesn't have these things and has no intention of returning to SA, then it will be difficult. If she is well travelled to other countries similar economically to Canada and has savings and can show ownership in SA then it shouldn't be as difficult.

All you can do is try. If she is denied a TRV the first time and you get married, you could show proof that you have submitted the spousal sponsorship application and are doing things the correct way for her to live legally as a PR in Canada, that could help.

It is not a very difficult application to fill out (TRV) nor is it overly expensive, so it is worth a shot.