I am a male Canadian citizen currently in a long distance relationship with a woman in South Africa. I will be travelling down there in December at which point we hope to get engaged, with the idea of getting married in Canada in June 2019. I've been doing a lot of reading both on this site and on the government site, and I think I have an idea of how the process works but want to make sure I'm understanding correctly.
The only way to bring her into Canada seems to be on a visitors visa, unless we can convince her employer to apply for a work visa? She works for a very large global company with offices all over the world and she is able to live anywhere in the world without having to give up her existing job. I know that visitors are not allowed to work for Canadian companies, but can they work remotely for their employer in their home country while "visiting" Canada?
There seems to be a variety of advice about what to tell Canada Customs upon entry into Canada, from "just visiting friends" to "marrying my fiance". After weighing all the advice, the conclusion I'm getting is that honesty is the best policy, but don't volunteer too much information? One thing that most people seem to agree on is that she should have a refundable return flight already booked. I've already told her that if she decides to buy a wedding dress in South Africa (where everything is much cheaper), that she would need to FedEx it to my office rather than transport it herself.
I've seen some people talk about starting the permanent residency process prior to moving. I'm guessing in those situations, the couple is already married outside of Canada, because from what I've read you can't apply for permanent residency before residing in Canada unless you're doing a spousal sponsorship, but we won't be married yet when she comes here. For our particular situation, my understanding is that we could apply for spousal sponsorship immediately after we receive the marriage certificate, at which point we can also apply to extend her visitors visa?
Outland seems to be the preferred application type, even if she's already in Canada, because the processing times are shorter and it would give her the freedom to travel outside of Canada. We have friends in the United States that we would like to visit together, and we are hoping to make annual trips to South Africa to visit her parents and friends.
I would really like to be able to bring her here a few months before the wedding and for her to be able to stay here with me after we are married, because travelling between Canada and South Africa is VERY expensive. I don't have the flexibility of being able to work remotely, and it would be very difficult to live apart from her after we are married.
The only way to bring her into Canada seems to be on a visitors visa, unless we can convince her employer to apply for a work visa? She works for a very large global company with offices all over the world and she is able to live anywhere in the world without having to give up her existing job. I know that visitors are not allowed to work for Canadian companies, but can they work remotely for their employer in their home country while "visiting" Canada?
There seems to be a variety of advice about what to tell Canada Customs upon entry into Canada, from "just visiting friends" to "marrying my fiance". After weighing all the advice, the conclusion I'm getting is that honesty is the best policy, but don't volunteer too much information? One thing that most people seem to agree on is that she should have a refundable return flight already booked. I've already told her that if she decides to buy a wedding dress in South Africa (where everything is much cheaper), that she would need to FedEx it to my office rather than transport it herself.
I've seen some people talk about starting the permanent residency process prior to moving. I'm guessing in those situations, the couple is already married outside of Canada, because from what I've read you can't apply for permanent residency before residing in Canada unless you're doing a spousal sponsorship, but we won't be married yet when she comes here. For our particular situation, my understanding is that we could apply for spousal sponsorship immediately after we receive the marriage certificate, at which point we can also apply to extend her visitors visa?
Outland seems to be the preferred application type, even if she's already in Canada, because the processing times are shorter and it would give her the freedom to travel outside of Canada. We have friends in the United States that we would like to visit together, and we are hoping to make annual trips to South Africa to visit her parents and friends.
I would really like to be able to bring her here a few months before the wedding and for her to be able to stay here with me after we are married, because travelling between Canada and South Africa is VERY expensive. I don't have the flexibility of being able to work remotely, and it would be very difficult to live apart from her after we are married.
