Questions about sponsoring spouse from Austalia

[mlallany]

I am getting married in November. .. and I am needing some information on sponsorship.
So I live in Canada, Alberta.. Citizen here. My to be wife is in Australia on student visa, she's been living there for 2 years now and is a Pakistani citizen.

I needed some info on what's the best way to sponsor her here to Canada. She's planning to apply for Temp Residence (TR) in Australia so she can extend her stay as her visa expires in Dec 2012. The idea was to put an application from here to Australia, and hopefully can sponsor her thru Australia.

Is this possible to sponsor her from Australia once she gets her TR?
I will be going to Pakistan for the wedding.. are Nikkah pictures compulsory?
Is the Rukhsati ceremony compulsory?
Is a honeymoon compulsory?
Any other information I should know?

Also I've been hearing that Canadian embassy in Australia, for no reason, would send applications to the countries the person belongs to, so in this case Pakistan... is this true? And if this is true, am I realistically still looking at the 26 months that it usually takes from Pakistan?

I know they are lots of links here, but if someone could re-link some important topics and useful how-to posts, that would be greatly appreciated.

Thanks...

 

[CharlieD10]

Congratulations on your impending nuptials.

1) If your fiancee was originally admitted to Australia for at least a year (and with her student visa, possibly she was) then she qualifies to be processed through Sydney, Australia. However, remember she should expect that if she has to attend an interview, she should be able to attend it in Australia.

2,3) You should provide as many photos of your wedding ceremonies as possible, both Nikkah and Rukhsati. If you have a traditional wedding ceremony, there is no reason you shouldn't provide as many photos as you can, remember photos are not just for Immigration, they are important mementos of one of the most celebrated occasions in life.

4) If you don't have a honeymoon, be prepared to explain why not. We delayed our honeymoon by 2 months, and clearly explained that we had to move the wedding date up due to circumstances outside our control and my employer did not allow for changes of date for vacation periods so we had to wait until we originally scheduled the time to take our honeymoon.

Additional information? Even if you only have a simple ceremony, make sure it is special, accords with your cultural traditions and it should be personal and joyous.

Read the guide before you fill in any information, and take your time and do it properly. Read Leon's first post in the first thread at the top. The forms and guide are here: http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/information/applications/fc.asp

The embassy does not transfer applications "for no reason". Files are transferred to maintain the integrity of the immigration process. If it is clear because of operation protocol that an application is best processed by Islamabad, it will be sent there. The timelines are averages. From what I have read, it takes longer for husbands than for wives, and it often takes more than a year for most wives, at the least.

 

[mlallany]

Thanks Charlie.. Could you explain #1? I don't seem to understand you.. ..

As for a file transfer.. so, say fiancee applies for temporary residence there, is there still a chance of her file getting transferred to Islamabad?

Appreciate the response.

 

[CharlieD10]

If a person is initially/originally admitted to a country for at least a year, then they qualify to have their application processed by the visa office responsible for that country. In your case, you said your fiance was admitted to Australia as a student, and generally a student visa allows for admission of a year on original entry to the country (as opposed to the 6 months or whatever the default is for visitors/tourists).

However, you also stated that her visa expires in Dec 2012, and she will be applying for a temporary resident permit. If she is successful in getting this temporary resident permit, and you submit her application and it goes to Sydney, she must maintain her legal status until the processing is completed. If she is convoked to an interview, she must attend it in Sydney and should therefore ensure she is in compliance with all the terms of her temporary residence permit so that she is free to attend the interview and does not face any difficulties in returning to Australia if she leaves for any reason.

Yes, even then there is a chance of the file being transferred to Islamabad. It is CIC who will decide how the integrity of the immigration is best served by where her application is processed and that is an option open to them (transferring the file). You should always be prepared for whatever scenarios are possible when it comes to dealing with immigration and CIC and it is possible for them to transfer it.

 

[mlallany]

Thanks again sir.. well yea she came on student visa in Australia, and her visa expires Dec 2012 as it's her last semester, her results come out in Nov and she plans to then apply for TR, was told it takes a month for an answer. She also has her brother and close family living there who are at least as a Permanent residence or higher... so lot of backing..

I do believe you for the pics of ceremonies.. as that's also what 90% of people here say.. However, my parents are die hard to that you don't need it, we didn't provide Nikkah pics (just after they came out of the prayer hall, all the way out) was the only pics we gave, and it worked.. And this was 3 years ago, so obviously, processes change.. So with that, any where on CIC's website it says that you need Nikkah and Rukhsati pics?

Also honeymoon is not possible, she will need to return to Australia by Nov 9, as that's when her results are out and she can then apply for TR.

Thanks..

 

[CharlieD10]

There isn't anywhere on the CIC website that says you need photos for a Nikkah or Rukhsati or any type of wedding ceremony. The reason you need to provide these is because you are asking them to accept that you performed these ceremonies as part of your culture/traditions/beliefs/preferences, that the ceremonies were not meaningless and merely performed to facilitate the purported spouse gaining status under IRPA.

Lack of photographs of a first wedding for a couple from a traditional culture which celebrates such events with much pomp and ceremony is a HUGE red flag to an immigration officer, as well it should be. If you don't take pictures of these ceremonies and record them for memories, what purpose are the ceremonies? You might as well stamp your application with "This is a marriage of convenience because as you can see we don't really care about getting married, we just want her to qualify as my spouse so I can sponsor her"! How would you explain NOT taking pictures to an immigration officer?

As for not having a honeymoon immediately, you should explain what you plan to do otherwise in your application or why you have no honeymoon plans at all. My husband and I had to move up our wedding ceremony from its original date and then delay our honeymoon until two months later, and then a year later we had a second "proper" honeymoon where we went off without family and stayed in a resort by ourselves. We explained why all of this happened the way it did, because that really isn't "normal" and it is best to explain things that don't happen in the "normal" way and not wait for CIC to ask you questions.