second marriage, divorced outside of canada

[lulukin]

I have my wedding date set and my fiancee and i are working on the immigration paperwork and getting things together, and I noticed that if you were divorced outside of Canada theres a whole laundry list of things needed to get a marriage license in Ontario. My question is, as an american, do I have to send those things in? or does it just apply to Canadians?

 

[PMM]

Hi

I have my wedding date set and my fiancee and i are working on the immigration paperwork and getting things together, and I noticed that if you were divorced outside of Canada theres a whole laundry list of things needed to get a marriage license in Ontario. My question is, as an american, do I have to send those things in? or does it just apply to Canadians?

1. If you are divorced and are marrying in Ontario, it doesn't matter what your citizenship, you have to comply. https://www.ontario.ca/government/get-married-ontario

 

[scylla]

Hi


1. If you are divorced and are marrying in Ontario, it doesn't matter what your citizenship, you have to comply. https://www.ontario.ca/government/get-married-ontario

Agreed. My husband was a divorced American and he had to follow the process. It's mandatory if you want to get married in Ontario. It doesn't matter where you're from.

 

[scylla]

Just to add, getting everything done does take some extra time. So start now if your wedding date is soon.

 

[blujewel]

Hey what if a person has 2 wives and both are legal in the country, can he apply sponsorship for both wives at a time?

 

[scylla]

Hey what if a person has 2 wives and both are legal in the country, can he apply sponsorship for both wives at a time?

No - he can't. He can sponsor his first wife only. Canada does not recognize his second marriage.

 

[blujewel]

Why is that so? why Canada wants to impose her rules on all the religions,countries, and cultures
Is there any possibility that other wives too join in Canada

 

[scylla]

Why is that so? why Canada wants to impose her rules on all the religions,countries, and cultures
Is there any possibility that other wives too join in Canada

Individuals immigrating to Canada have to obey Canada's laws. Canada does not recognize polygamy. I'm not sure why it comes as a surprise to you that you have to follow Canada's laws if you want to live in Canada. It's no different in any other country. If you find this law unacceptable, you may wish to reconsider your plans to immigrate here.

If the other wives want to immigrate to Canada, they will have to each qualify to immigrate independently (e.g. apply as a skilled worker through Express Entry). They cannot be sponsored through family class.

 

[blujewel]

Off course I understand but you know it is not only about a single country,culture, religion etc where people are coming from to Canada, so I all I want to say it that it should put some flexibility to serve, I hope you are getting what I want to say.
Okay that is a great option, wont it be illegal then to live with more than one legal wife in Canada?

 

[dominokitty]

The whole point in immigrating to Canada is to become part of our society/culture, not to bring your own here. There is no reason whatsoever that you should expect Canada to bend the laws because of "your culture" when you are immigrating here to be a part of Canadian culture in the first place. Canada is a very accepting place but you have no right to disobey the law. You have freedom of religion here but the law takes precedence over religious rules 100% of the time. Canada is a secular country.

Polygamy is illegal in Canada, end of story. You can't be legally married to multiple people in Canada. Those laws are in place to protect women from exploitation and to protect Canadian citizens from people who would use multiple marriages to game the tax system. If you're not ok with that you should seriously reconsider your plans to immigrate here, because we do not want people who disobey the law here in Canada.

That said, you can still be polyamorous in Canada (meaning 3 or more adults living in the same home in a relationship paying taxes separately). It's not illegal in that sense but you absolutely can not be legally married to more than one person here.

 

[lulukin]

thank you all very much for the replies I really appreciate it, time to find an attorney that wont charge a ton for the letter /sighs

 

[zardoz]

The whole point in immigrating to Canada is to become part of our society/culture, not to bring your own here. There is no reason whatsoever that you should expect Canada to bend the laws because of "your culture" when you are immigrating here to be a part of Canadian culture in the first place. Canada is a very accepting place but you have no right to disobey the law. You have freedom of religion here but the law takes precedence over religious rules 100% of the time. Canada is a secular country.

Polygamy is illegal in Canada, end of story. You can't be legally married to multiple people in Canada. Those laws are in place to protect women from exploitation and to protect Canadian citizens from people who would use multiple marriages to game the tax system. If you're not ok with that you should seriously reconsider your plans to immigrate here, because we do not want people who disobey the law here in Canada.

That said, you can still be polyamorous in Canada (meaning 3 or more adults living in the same home in a relationship paying taxes separately). It's not illegal in that sense but you absolutely can not be legally married to more than one person here.

Be careful here.. Even this can be illegal in Canada. http://yourlaws.ca/criminal-code-canada/293-polygamy

293. Polygamy

293. (1) Every one who

(a) practises or enters into or in any manner agrees or consents to practise or enter into

(i) any form of polygamy, or

(ii) any kind of conjugal union with more than one person at the same time,

whether or not it is by law recognized as a binding form of marriage, or

(b) celebrates, assists or is a party to a rite, ceremony, contract or consent that purports to sanction a relationship mentioned in subparagraph (a)(i) or (ii),

is guilty of an indictable offence and liable to imprisonment for a term not exceeding five years.

Evidence in case of polygamy

(2) Where an accused is charged with an offence under this section, no averment or proof of the method by which the alleged relationship was entered into, agreed to or consented to is necessary in the indictment or on the trial of the accused, nor is it necessary on the trial to prove that the persons who are alleged to have entered into the relationship had or intended to have sexual intercourse.

Moreover, it is my understanding that it is either the intent of CIC, or actually in operation, to actively take action where there are multiple "wives". See http://news.gc.ca/web/article-en.do?nid=900399

 

[dominokitty]

There was a supreme court ruling back in 2011 that I found reference to that said,

B.C. Supreme Court Justice Bauman's 335-page decision says the Criminal Code section that prohibits polygamy does not cover the various forms of consensual, non-monogamous relationships known as polyamory. - See more at: http://www.vancourier.com/news/court-ruling-mixed-blessing-for-polyamorists-1.377874#sthash.yxG0EOQz.dpuf

I also found this link from a bit more recently: http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/polyamorists-hope-for-future-legal-recognition-1.1403864

So it's a legally grey area but as long as you're living in an equal, fully consensual relationship without a binding ceremony then you shouldn't have issues with the government. Something tells me the poster above doesn't qualify for this definition.

 

[scylla]

thank you all very much for the replies I really appreciate it, time to find an attorney that wont charge a ton for the letter /sighs

I'm going to try to find the name of the lawyer we used who was located in Scarborough. It was a few years ago, but he only charged around $125 which was cheap based on our comparison shopping and he was also fast. I don't know if I still have his name. But I'll do my best to find it.

 

[zardoz]

There was a supreme court ruling back in 2011 that I found reference to that said,
I also found this link from a bit more recently: http://www.cbc.ca/news/canada/british-columbia/polyamorists-hope-for-future-legal-recognition-1.1403864

So it's a legally grey area but as long as you're living in an equal, fully consensual relationship without a binding ceremony then you shouldn't have issues with the government. Something tells me the poster above doesn't qualify for this definition.

See http://news.gc.ca/web/article-en.do?nid=900399

Creating a new inadmissibility under IRPA that would render permanent residents and temporary residents inadmissible if they practise polygamy in Canada;