not married yet. planning to sponsor. Where to marry?

[hurric]

My gf and I have known each other for 4 years but she lives in Taiwan for 2 years because her work visa expired and her PR application was denied because her work was not professional grade A/B. Before I can even start the sponsor application we need to be married. I feel this will take AT LEAST 2 more years before we even have a chance to be together.

I am now just realizing what my options are:
1. Go to Taiwan (without any of my accompanying family members and only 2 weeks vacation) to marry her with a few of her family members and provide pictures of a small ceremony (VERY afraid they will think this is a marriage of convenience or fraud)
2. Ask her to come as visitor, we marry here without a ceremony (can't plan a wedding) then she has to go back again and we start the application process

After marriage (both of them are not ideal), then we have to put an application package OUTLAND together which will probably take 3-4 months and all the documentations, translations (etc) which I don't know about. plus the health check and whatever else needed.. She lives in Taiwan.

Then I have to send in the application package and wait 8-12 months before can get a response. I am working full time and am afraid if we have a wedding there, Immigration will not believe why we didn't have a proper wedding and none of my family members have attended.

In addition to that, there's family pressure that are not approving of this since I'm canadian and she's not even here. What's the best course of action? Do we even have a chance? What should we do?

Thanks for any advice if you have any info or experience.

 

[innosense]

Why can't you do both 1 and 2. Marry in Canada and have a small reception / get together with family members in Taiwan. So both ur families are present for one of the events and this will sound very real to CIC. you can explain why you had to do this. I hope you have all ur proof for the first 4 years. take lots of pics. go for honeymoon. and right now save all ur skype converstions. chat history. phone bills. each n every minute proof adds value.

Since her pr was once rejected, it may seem like this is to gain PR. but wth, things don't work out perfectly for some.
Atleast you are doing the legitimate thing each time. she left the country without overstaying. she did apply for PR as skilled worker.

it is a long road ahead. you better get started soon. All the Best !

 

[CdnandTrini]

My gf and I have known each other for 4 years but she lives in Taiwan for 2 years because her work visa expired and her PR application was denied because her work was not professional grade A/B. Before I can even start the sponsor application we need to be married. I feel this will take AT LEAST 2 more years before we even have a chance to be together.

I am now just realizing what my options are:
1. Go to Taiwan (without any of my accompanying family members and only 2 weeks vacation) to marry her with a few of her family members and provide pictures of a small ceremony (VERY afraid they will think this is a marriage of convenience or fraud)
2. Ask her to come as visitor, we marry here without a ceremony (can't plan a wedding) then she has to go back again and we start the application process

After marriage (both of them are not ideal), then we have to put an application package OUTLAND together which will probably take 3-4 months and all the documentations, translations (etc) which I don't know about. plus the health check and whatever else needed.. She lives in Taiwan.

Then I have to send in the application package and wait 8-12 months before can get a response. I am working full time and am afraid if we have a wedding there, Immigration will not believe why we didn't have a proper wedding and none of my family members have attended.

In addition to that, there's family pressure that are not approving of this since I'm canadian and she's not even here. What's the best course of action? Do we even have a chance? What should we do?

Thanks for any advice if you have any info or experience.

Hello hurric and yes it is all a bit overwhelming when you first start this process, but take heart - this forum will provide a lot of support and encouragement and usually some great advice. You most certainly stand a chance and being very realistic off the bat will help you and your girlfriend to better prepare for the challenges ahead.

I am sure there will be other members chiming in with more specific knowledge of the way your Visa Office (VO) overseas (they will be the ones processing the biggest part of the application) operates so I will try to focus on answering some of your more general questions.

Getting married in Taiwan (or any other country) with a small ceremony is very common for "sponsorship" couples for many reasons that immigration is very familiar with. In our case my fiancé (now husband) was refused TRVs 4 times so we had no choice other than to get married in his country. This happens A LOT . Immigration takes into account the circumstances of each couple's situation and they really do read the explanations and review the proof and photos. In my case I ordered our notes (written by the visa officers that worked on our file) and was surprised at how detailed their notes were in evaluating and summarizing our package.

Financially we could not afford to pay for other guests, nor were any of my family members or friends able to attend due to their own financial constraints and other family obligations of their own, like jobs, children, eldercare etc. You simply explain all of this in the application when you are preparing it. We are also simply more private people and would still have had a small wedding by choice. Just take photos as you normally would (make sure to get 3 sets of all photos - one for you, one for your gf and one for immigration). Write on the back of each of them "who's who". It is also good to ensure you include other photos from other times you have spent together over the course of your relationship with details from other visits, trips and activities etc. There are a lot of threads on this forum with great information and details on what kind of packages immigration prefers and how to do a good job with organizing your application. (just happened to find the link for you below):
http://www.canadavisa.com/canada-immigration-discussion-board/how-i-organized-our-applcation-and-a-summary-of-all-helpful-tips-i-have-learned-t92449.0.html

You will only be able to get married here if your gf can travel here - can she? If she requires a TRV, she may be refused due to her prior denied PR application. If she can't come here your decision will be made for you as to where the ceremony will occur. If she can come here, my advice would be to consider whose family will be the most upset if you do not get married in their country, which family will provide the most emotional support to you as a married couple (and on your wedding day) and where will it be overall more economical? If she can come here can she stay longer? That is a big factor as well. Most newlyweds need some time together if possible to connect and "become one" before they get separated by this process. Many folks can go months or years before they are reunited so any quality time that can be spent together before having to be apart will strengthen both of you to manage the journey ahead.

And start your application package as soon as possible!!! My husband and I started working on it many months before I travelled and I am thankful we did as I was not aware of how extensive it would be and how much turnaround time we would need to gather all of the documents and ensure we did not overlook anything. Some countries have very specific guidelines and if document translations are required that adds time and money. Security checks can also add time and money so make sure you are very familiar with what is needed.

After we married we completed my husband's medical (actually the day I flew home but I do not recommend this !) and when I got home I slipped all of his signed forms, copy of our marriage license, medical, police check and all other documents, photos etc., required into the package - made a complete duplicate photocopy of the entire package (please, please make sure you do this - immigration loses things) and couriered it off with a tracking number (this is critical) to ensure I would get a signed proof of receipt that it had in fact, actually arrived at its destination!!

Then the fun began. We were blessed, and I truly believe our well documented proof/package allowed us to be processed relatively quickly (8 months start to finish) by a VO that was quoting at least 20 months on the CIC website.

Do not worry about family opinions, brace yourselves for them. I always say there's nothing like a wedding to bring out the best and the worst of families. :-\ If you and your gf both truly love each other, the ones that want to stay in your lives will all come around over time. You cannot please all of the people all of the time so do not stress over them, make sure you and your gf are pleased. One of the things that mostly all married couples go through is to teach the rest of the family that you two are now united as your own new family and you will both be making decisions as a couple going forward. And support each other on this so the respective families of origin cannot divide and conquer. Oh yes, some of them will stomp and cry and use guilt and huff and puff, but they will get over it. ;D

Best wishes and many blessings for you both to enjoy a happy future together as a married couple.

 

[hurric]

thank you for the great responses. all the pressure of dealing with this and making both families happy is already a lot on top of all the CIC work. very good responses. Appreciate it a lot. Looks like right now we can marry in either country but now comes a matter of whose family will be happy to marry where.

 

[CdnandTrini]

thank you for the great responses. all the pressure of dealing with this and making both families happy is already a lot on top of all the CIC work. very good responses. Appreciate it a lot. Looks like right now we can marry in either country but now comes a matter of whose family will be happy to marry where.

You are most welcome Make yourselves happy first and the idea of 2 celebrations and/or marriages is a good one too.

 

[janice27]

Hello hurric and yes it is all a bit overwhelming when you first start this process, but take heart - this forum will provide a lot of support and encouragement and usually some great advice. You most certainly stand a chance and being very realistic off the bat will help you and your girlfriend to better prepare for the challenges ahead.

I am sure there will be other members chiming in with more specific knowledge of the way your Visa Office (VO) overseas (they will be the ones processing the biggest part of the application) operates so I will try to focus on answering some of your more general questions.

Getting married in Taiwan (or any other country) with a small ceremony is very common for "sponsorship" couples for many reasons that immigration is very familiar with. In our case my fiancé (now husband) was refused TRVs 4 times so we had no choice other than to get married in his country. This happens A LOT . Immigration takes into account the circumstances of each couple's situation and they really do read the explanations and review the proof and photos. In my case I ordered our notes (written by the visa officers that worked on our file) and was surprised at how detailed their notes were in evaluating and summarizing our package.

Financially we could not afford to pay for other guests, nor were any of my family members or friends able to attend due to their own financial constraints and other family obligations of their own, like jobs, children, eldercare etc. You simply explain all of this in the application when you are preparing it. We are also simply more private people and would still have had a small wedding by choice. Just take photos as you normally would (make sure to get 3 sets of all photos - one for you, one for your gf and one for immigration. Write on the back of each of them "who's who". It is also good to ensure you include other photos from other times you have spent together over the course of your relationship with details from other visits, trips and activities etc. There are a lot of threads on this forum with great information and details on what kind of packages immigration prefers and how to do a good job with organizing your application. (just happened to find the link for you below):
http://www.canadavisa.com/canada-immigration-discussion-board/how-i-organized-our-applcation-and-a-summary-of-all-helpful-tips-i-have-learned-t92449.0.html

You will only be able to get married here if your gf can travel here - can she? If she requires a TRV, she may be refused due to her prior denied PR application. If she can't come here your decision will be made for you as to where the ceremony will occur. If she can come here, my advice would be to consider whose family will be the most upset if you do not get married in their country, which family will provide the most emotional support to you as a married couple (and on your wedding day) and where will it be overall more economical? If she can come here can she stay longer? That is a big factor as well. Most newlyweds need some time together if possible to connect and "become one" before they get separated by this process. Many folks can go months or years before they are reunited so any quality time that can be spent together before having to be apart will strengthen both of you to manage the journey ahead.

And start your application package as soon as possible!!! My husband and I started working on it many months before I travelled and I am thankful we did as I was not aware of how extensive it would be and how much turnaround time we would need to gather all of the documents and ensure we did not overlook anything. Some countries have very specific guidelines and if document translations are required that adds time and money. Security checks can also add time and money so make sure you are very familiar with what is needed.

After we married we completed my husband's medical (actually the day I flew home but I do not recommend this !) and when I got home I slipped all of his signed forms, copy of our marriage license, medical, police check and all other documents, photos etc., required into the package - made a complete duplicate photocopy of the entire package (please, please make sure you do this - immigration loses things) and couriered it off with a tracking number (this is critical) to ensure I would get a signed proof of receipt that it had in fact, actually arrived at its destination!!

Then the fun began. We were blessed, and I truly believe our well documented proof/package allowed us to be processed relatively quickly (8 months start to finish) by a VO that was quoting at least 20 months on the CIC website.

Do not worry about family opinions, brace yourselves for them. I always say there's nothing like a wedding to bring out the best and the worst of families. :-\ If you and your gf both truly love each other, the ones that want to stay in your lives will all come around over time. You cannot please all of the people all of the time so do not stress over them, make sure you and your gf are pleased. One of the things that mostly all married couples go through is to teach the rest of the family that you two are now united as your own new family and you will both be making decisions as a couple going forward. And support each other on this so the respective families of origin cannot divide and conquer. Oh yes, some of them will stomp and cry and use guilt and huff and puff, but they will get over it. ;D

Best wishes and many blessings for you both to enjoy a happy future together as a married couple.

Wow nice advice. Can i also ask a question? I just have my annulment and it would take 6 months more or less to annotate it with the statistics office. I plan to remarry after the annotation is done, do i need to inform the visa office of the said plan even if i dont know yet the definite date of the wedding? Or is it better to get married after landing? My fsw application is now pending. Thanks.

 

[canadianwoman]

Have you been living with the person you plan to marry?

 

[innosense]

Wow nice advice. Can i also ask a question? I just have my annulment and it would take 6 months more or less to annotate it with the statistics office. I plan to remarry after the annotation is done, do i need to inform the visa office of the said plan even if i dont know yet the definite date of the wedding? Or is it better to get married after landing? My fsw application is now pending. Thanks.

The moment you inform CIC about ur plans of marriage meaning a change in ur status, they will put ur FSW application on hold.
U have to inform them again after u r married with ur marriage certificate and additional forms. no need to send any proof of relationship as in spousal sponsorship. they do not scrutinize the genuineness of ur marriage in FSW or any other skilled worker category. this is about u as a skilled worker and ur spouse is guaranteed pr if u r getting it.
this will add slight delay to ur fsw process. it will be a bearable delay of few months ( 2 -3 months ) plus the time u take to update them again.
but this is the best option in the long run.

you will be saving lots of money and time and of course frustration updating ur application now. marriage will not negatively impact the approval of ur application except for the time delay.

 

[janice27]

The moment you inform CIC about ur plans of marriage meaning a change in ur status, they will put ur FSW application on hold.
U have to inform them again after u r married with ur marriage certificate and additional forms. no need to send any proof of relationship as in spousal sponsorship. they do not scrutinize the genuineness of ur marriage in FSW or any other skilled worker category. this is about u as a skilled worker and ur spouse is guaranteed pr if u r getting it.
this will add slight delay to ur fsw process. it will be a bearable delay of few months ( 2 -3 months ) plus the time u take to update them again.
but this is the best option in the long run.

you will be saving lots of money and time and of course frustration updating ur application now. marriage will not negatively impact the approval of ur application except for the time delay.

Wow...thanks for the great advice..

 

[CdnandTrini]

Wow nice advice. Can i also ask a question? I just have my annulment and it would take 6 months more or less to annotate it with the statistics office. I plan to remarry after the annotation is done, do i need to inform the visa office of the said plan even if i dont know yet the definite date of the wedding? Or is it better to get married after landing? My fsw application is now pending. Thanks.

Thank you janice27 and I am glad that the member innosense replied to you because I have no idea :-[ about categories other than spousal sponsorship. Blessings and best wishes for you.

Thanks innosense and +1 for you!

 

[canadianwoman]

If you have been living for one year or more with the person you plan to marry, CIC considers that common law and you should include him on your FSW application. Or marry him before you land, and include him in the application. If you land as single, then marry him and try to sponsor him, if CIC finds out about the common-law relationship you will not be able to sponsor him.

 

[janice27]

If you have been living for one year or more with the person you plan to marry, CIC considers that common law and you should include him on your FSW application. Or marry him before you land, and include him in the application. If you land as single, then marry him and try to sponsor him, if CIC finds out about the common-law relationship you will not be able to sponsor him.

Thanks, we are not yet considered common-law as we just live together after the granting of the annulment.

 

[badpusacat]

Hello hurric and yes it is all a bit overwhelming when you first start this process, but take heart - this forum will provide a lot of support and encouragement and usually some great advice. You most certainly stand a chance and being very realistic off the bat will help you and your girlfriend to better prepare for the challenges ahead.

I am sure there will be other members chiming in with more specific knowledge of the way your Visa Office (VO) overseas (they will be the ones processing the biggest part of the application) operates so I will try to focus on answering some of your more general questions.

Getting married in Taiwan (or any other country) with a small ceremony is very common for "sponsorship" couples for many reasons that immigration is very familiar with. In our case my fiancé (now husband) was refused TRVs 4 times so we had no choice other than to get married in his country. This happens A LOT . Immigration takes into account the circumstances of each couple's situation and they really do read the explanations and review the proof and photos. In my case I ordered our notes (written by the visa officers that worked on our file) and was surprised at how detailed their notes were in evaluating and summarizing our package.

Financially we could not afford to pay for other guests, nor were any of my family members or friends able to attend due to their own financial constraints and other family obligations of their own, like jobs, children, eldercare etc. You simply explain all of this in the application when you are preparing it. We are also simply more private people and would still have had a small wedding by choice. Just take photos as you normally would (make sure to get 3 sets of all photos - one for you, one for your gf and one for immigration). Write on the back of each of them "who's who". It is also good to ensure you include other photos from other times you have spent together over the course of your relationship with details from other visits, trips and activities etc. There are a lot of threads on this forum with great information and details on what kind of packages immigration prefers and how to do a good job with organizing your application. (just happened to find the link for you below):
http://www.canadavisa.com/canada-immigration-discussion-board/how-i-organized-our-applcation-and-a-summary-of-all-helpful-tips-i-have-learned-t92449.0.html

You will only be able to get married here if your gf can travel here - can she? If she requires a TRV, she may be refused due to her prior denied PR application. If she can't come here your decision will be made for you as to where the ceremony will occur. If she can come here, my advice would be to consider whose family will be the most upset if you do not get married in their country, which family will provide the most emotional support to you as a married couple (and on your wedding day) and where will it be overall more economical? If she can come here can she stay longer? That is a big factor as well. Most newlyweds need some time together if possible to connect and "become one" before they get separated by this process. Many folks can go months or years before they are reunited so any quality time that can be spent together before having to be apart will strengthen both of you to manage the journey ahead.

And start your application package as soon as possible!!! My husband and I started working on it many months before I travelled and I am thankful we did as I was not aware of how extensive it would be and how much turnaround time we would need to gather all of the documents and ensure we did not overlook anything. Some countries have very specific guidelines and if document translations are required that adds time and money. Security checks can also add time and money so make sure you are very familiar with what is needed.

After we married we completed my husband's medical (actually the day I flew home but I do not recommend this !) and when I got home I slipped all of his signed forms, copy of our marriage license, medical, police check and all other documents, photos etc., required into the package - made a complete duplicate photocopy of the entire package (please, please make sure you do this - immigration loses things) and couriered it off with a tracking number (this is critical) to ensure I would get a signed proof of receipt that it had in fact, actually arrived at its destination!!

Then the fun began. We were blessed, and I truly believe our well documented proof/package allowed us to be processed relatively quickly (8 months start to finish) by a VO that was quoting at least 20 months on the CIC website.

Do not worry about family opinions, brace yourselves for them. I always say there's nothing like a wedding to bring out the best and the worst of families. :-\ If you and your gf both truly love each other, the ones that want to stay in your lives will all come around over time. You cannot please all of the people all of the time so do not stress over them, make sure you and your gf are pleased. One of the things that mostly all married couples go through is to teach the rest of the family that you two are now united as your own new family and you will both be making decisions as a couple going forward. And support each other on this so the respective families of origin cannot divide and conquer. Oh yes, some of them will stomp and cry and use guilt and huff and puff, but they will get over it. ;D

Best wishes and many blessings for you both to enjoy a happy future together as a married couple.

two thumbs up for this, CdnandTrini! Wow! I haven't posted my question yet but I was able to get an idea of "what to do" by just reading the replies here!

 

[CdnandTrini]

two thumbs up for this, CdnandTrini! Wow! I haven't posted my question yet but I was able to get an idea of "what to do" by just reading the replies here!

Thanks for the compliment badpusacat, cute user name btw . I'm happy to be of service and support to anyone going through this process. Many others helped me along the way and if not for them, !!!

Hopefully someone will be able to answer any questions you do post. Blessings.

 

[Coldstream63]

My wife and I married in Singapore, under a civil marriage, as we are different faiths. No muss, no fuss. The only condition is that one person must be in Singapore 15 days before the ceremony.