Planning on getting married to my Finnish girlfriend, could use some advice.

[prototype02]

Hello Everyone,

I just joined this forum as it looks like there may be some people out there who can help shed some light on my situation.
The government websites have info scattered all over the place and I am having a hard time making coherent sense out of it all.

My girlfriend lives in Finland and we are planning to get married soon once we understand the process of things. I am a Canadian resident and lived here all my life, she is Finnish and lived there all her life.
I have visited her there and she has come here to visit me as well. We wish to live here and are trying to figure out what needs to be done in order for her to be able to permanently live here and then be able to
work as well.

Due too our current living / financial situations she will just be visiting me from time to time, so she will be back and forth from Finland and Canada. Is this going to cause any issues?

Thanks All!

 

[parker24]

Hello Everyone,

I just joined this forum as it looks like there may be some people out there who can help shed some light on my situation.
The government websites have info scattered all over the place and I am having a hard time making coherent sense out of it all.

My girlfriend lives in Finland and we are planning to get married soon once we understand the process of things. I am a Canadian resident and lived here all my life, she is Finnish and lived there all her life.
I have visited her there and she has come here to visit me as well. We wish to live here and are trying to figure out what needs to be done in order for her to be able to permanently live here and then be able to
work as well.

Due too our current living / financial situations she will just be visiting me from time to time, so she will be back and forth from Finland and Canada. Is this going to cause any issues?

Thanks All!

The only way you can apply to sponsor her is if you live together for 12 months (can be 6 months there and 6 months here, that's fine) OR if you get married. Until that time, she can visit yes, that's not an issue. As long as she can prove it's just a visit (letter from employer stating she is due back at work, return ticket, rental lease etc)

 

[Rob_TO]

If you apply "outland" through the London visa office (which processes Finland apps), then you and your gf can visit back and forth as many times as you want during the application process (after you get married). Finland citizens are visa exempt to Canada.

 

[fandv]

Hello Everyone,

I just joined this forum as it looks like there may be some people out there who can help shed some light on my situation.
The government websites have info scattered all over the place and I am having a hard time making coherent sense out of it all.

My girlfriend lives in Finland and we are planning to get married soon once we understand the process of things. I am a Canadian resident and lived here all my life, she is Finnish and lived there all her life.
I have visited her there and she has come here to visit me as well. We wish to live here and are trying to figure out what needs to be done in order for her to be able to permanently live here and then be able to
work as well.

Due too our current living / financial situations she will just be visiting me from time to time, so she will be back and forth from Finland and Canada. Is this going to cause any issues?

Thanks All!

You can start by reading this very thoroughly =P

http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/information/applications/fc.asp

 

[Fencesitter]

*I only read the title*

So what are ya waiting for? Just finnish it....

FS

 

[godisFin]

Hello Everyone,

I just joined this forum as it looks like there may be some people out there who can help shed some light on my situation.
The government websites have info scattered all over the place and I am having a hard time making coherent sense out of it all.

My girlfriend lives in Finland and we are planning to get married soon once we understand the process of things. I am a Canadian resident and lived here all my life, she is Finnish and lived there all her life.
I have visited her there and she has come here to visit me as well. We wish to live here and are trying to figure out what needs to be done in order for her to be able to permanently live here and then be able to
work as well.

Due too our current living / financial situations she will just be visiting me from time to time, so she will be back and forth from Finland and Canada. Is this going to cause any issues?

Thanks All!

Hi there!
I was in exact same situation as you guys.. I'm from Finland and my hubby is Canadian. We got married in Canada.
I've been traveling back and forth a lot and there has never been any issues. Of course they want to see that she still have ties in Finland and is not staying in Canada for good without a visa.

If you have questions about anything else, you can always PM me too!! I'm happy to help.

 

[prototype02]

Hi there!
I was in exact same situation as you guys.. I'm from Finland and my hubby is Canadian. We got married in Canada.
I've been traveling back and forth a lot and there has never been any issues. Of course they want to see that she still have ties in Finland and is not staying in Canada for good without a visa.

If you have questions about anything else, you can always PM me too!! I'm happy to help.

Hey thanks for the replys!. godisFin, I cant send you any PMs for some reason (maybe because I am a new member?). I am currently finishing up my schooling. Once I am done school; I want to make sure I have everything set, so once I get a job and a place for us she can move in. Can we get married first, then apply for permanent residency say 3-6 months later? So once I am done school she can just head this way?

Also if you are aware of what documents that would be needed for marriage in Canada, that wold be a great help .

Thanks

 

[canadianwoman]

godisFin, I cant send you any PMs for some reason (maybe because I am a new member?).

You need 10 posts before you can send PMs.

I am currently finishing up my schooling. Once I am done school; I want to make sure I have everything set, so once I get a job and a place for us she can move in. Can we get married first, then apply for permanent residency say 3-6 months later? So once I am done school she can just head this way?

Yes. If you move back to Canada before applying, then you won't have to send in proof with the application that you will go back to Canada. If you are a Canadian citizen, you can apply to sponsor while you are living abroad, but would have to include proof of your return.
Try applying about a year before she actually wants to immigrate to Canada, because the processing can take a while. If she gets her visa early, she can always come to Canada, 'land', then go back to finish school. The medicals expire a year after they are done, so take that into consideration as well.

 

[godisFin]

Hey thanks for the replys!. godisFin, I cant send you any PMs for some reason (maybe because I am a new member?). I am currently finishing up my schooling. Once I am done school; I want to make sure I have everything set, so once I get a job and a place for us she can move in. Can we get married first, then apply for permanent residency say 3-6 months later? So once I am done school she can just head this way?

Also if you are aware of what documents that would be needed for marriage in Canada, that wold be a great help .

Thanks

If you want to get married in Canada and your girlfriend wants to change her last name after your wedding I suggest her to do it before you send out the PR stuff. It makes everything easier!! I did it too and we sent our stuff 3 months after the marriage (you said you want to send it in 3-6 months after, so it would fit in the schedule). This requires the marriage to be registered in Finland too, I can tell you how to do that later if you need the info. BUT if she is not changing her last name then you guys just need to Canadian marriage certificate and you are good to apply for PR. She can always register the marriage in Finland later too (if there is no name change)..

For getting the marriage license in Canada she needs 2 pieces of ID. I used my finnish drivers license and passport. Those worked well. Then I got the finnish "birth certificate".. we don't have one but it's called vaestorekisteriote. I also got the paper stating that I am not married in Finland. They didn't ask for that in Canada, but I asked in Finland and they said it's good to have anyways if you are planning on registering the marriage in Finland. It only cost 5 euros, so there is no harm asking for one. It takes a week to get. Then, I wasn't asked for any but I know a girl from Finland who got married in Canada who needed, to prove that she is living in Finland. That girl had shown a bill that was sent to her address in Finland. So I also brought with me a current bill that had my finnish address on it. And that should be it. With those I went to the City Hall in Toronto with my hubby and we got the license in 20 minutes.