Sponsor my fiancé

[bloewen4]

Hello everyone

This will be my first post here. I signed up to this site after realizing the information I was seeking was too specific to find on the internet so decided to try this forum as it looks very helpful and informative.

First off my name is Bill Im 27 years old. I was born and raised in Ontario Canada. I have never applied for a visa or residence for myself or never sponsored anyone before.

I have been talking to my girlfriend for 4 months almost daily by video and throughout every day since we met on Filipino cupid.

After I felt she was the right girl for me genuine and serious about this I proposed to get married.

Now this is where things get complicated..

Originally we were going to get married in Canada while on a visitor visa but she suggested we marry in the Philippines as we have no proof of her returning to Phillipines and didnt want to do this dishonestly by not informing the government of our engagement and risk refusal to canada.

our plan currently is for me to go there in spring to get married and send the sponsorship forms in when I return with oir wedding photos receipts and everything else.

my questions are will the government deny the sponsorship because we met in person and got married all on the first trip to see her?

Is there a better way of doing this? Is there such thing as a fiance visa so the government knows shes coming to get married then return home while waiting for papers to process or even remain in Canada would be better while papers process as I know visitor pass extentions work this way you may remain in Canada while papers process.

If she applies for a work visa can she work anywhere? We could get married while she's in Canada and on a work visa as that is our preference so we have more time in person before getting married but the immigration laws and visa passes are leaving us little choice.

If we got married in the Phillipines and they deny our sponsorship what happens? She is willing to spend time with me in Canada before we marry to know each other more personally, this helped convince me it is genuine. But dont know how to do it honestly and without waiting years and years.

We are more than willing to provide everything from our wedding in the Philippines but will the government deny it based on lack of evidence for relationship? Should she apply anyways for a visitors pass and try to come here? Should I try to visit her in the Philippines before getting married in july 2016. Would only be for about a week around Christmas as Im on a tight budget to save for our wedding while paying my mortgage amd everything else.

I own my home and have a decent job for ford motor company. Do I need to have a certain amount in bank for sponsorship? I have a mortgage for my house will that look good or bad? It is technically a debt but shows Im working amd paying bills..

Last I have 2 impaired charges nothing of any violence or family issues but the impaired was pretty recent. Will this stop me for sponsorship? Visa?

Am I going about this all wrong? Any new recomendadtions greatly appreciated thank you

 

[Aquakitty]

IMO, I think there is going to be a lot of red flags if the only time you meet is when you marry (and you are not from arranged-marriage cultures). The first step you need to do is go visit her and meet her family or she come meet yours. 4 months is barely any time to begin with.

There is no such thing as a fiance visa in Canada. I suggest reading the sticky in this forum, it gives a lot of good information (some of it is a little outdated though but not concerning your situation).

http://www.canadavisa.com/canada-immigration-discussion-board/spousal-sponsorship-t46995.0.html

The debt thing has no bearing on your sponsoring her though.

 

[scylla]

Don't marry her the first time you go to see her. As Aquakitty has explained, that's a huge red flag for a relationship that potentially isn't genuine. If you go ahead and do as planned, expect complications with your application including a potential refusal and needing to appeal - adding years to your processing time.

Make a couple of trips to visit her first and get to know her in person - then marry her.

As for obtaining a work permit, in order to do so she would need to find an employer who is willing to offer her a full time job in Canada. That employer must then obtain an approved LMIA (permission to hire her) - this process takes months and costs the employer $1000. If the LMIA is aproved, she can then apply for a work permit tied to that specific employer (i.e. the work permit only allows her to work for the employer who obtained the LMIA). It is typically very difficult to find employers willing to go through this process.

 

[bloewen4]

Thank you for the responses.

I know it is quick now after 4 months but our plan isnt to get married until next year in july 2016. We want to do everything necessary so there is no complications when applying her sponsorship. So we will have been in a relationship for 1 year 3 months when getting married. Will going there during my Christmas break for a week increase my chances? We both would rather put our money towards the wedding... seems ridiculous to make a trip just so they view us as a legitimate marriage when this IS a legitimate marriage

 

[CANzanillo]

I'll try to address a few of your questions;

First of all, welcome to the forums!

Second, if you haven't already read as much as possible in the 2 Manila Visa Office threads in the forums. there is a wealth of information, experience and people to answer your questions specific to the Philippines.

Third, if you haven't already done so, download and read the guidelines for Family class sponsorship in the CIC government website.

There are no fiancé visas.

In order to apply for a TRV visitor visa your fiancé will need to prove STRONG ties back to the Philippines, for example, a good job, lease for a residence, attending university, strong family ties like caring for elderly family member, proof of assets in her country, proof of round trip tickets purchased, proof of travel history, evidence of finances sufficient to pay for a trip to Canada. In a nutshell, lots of Evidence that will convince Canada Immigration that she will definitely return to her home country at the end of the visit. I suggest you read the guidelines or TRV as well.

Regarding a family Class sponsorship/PR visa application, in a nutshell, you have to prove a genuine and continuing relationship. So providing plenty of evidence is key. There is nothing like an established, reasonably lengthy relationship to be able to provide that evidence.

There is no minimum financial requirement in order for you to sponsor a member of the family class.

A trip at Christmas time for a week would good additional evidence of the development of your relationship. Evidence of communication, letters, Skype transcripts (no videos), text messages, emails, evidence of phone calls, whatsapp etc is very important. As many photos together as possible. Photos together with her family members, your family members, evolution of your relationship together. Copies of air travel boarding passes. Letters from family members and friends acknowledging your genuine and continuing. Etc, etc, etc.

I completely understand your desire to be together, but you need to understand that this process will likely take a year or two. You can get married whenever you see fit as a couple. Document everything!

I can't comment on your DUIs and how CIC will consider those relative to you sponsoring your fiancé/wife.

I think you need to be prepared in the short term for either a long distance relationship, unless you want to move to the Philippines to be with your loved one and wait for the Outland PR application to process.

You can also try a dual-intent application where you apply for PR status and TRV visitor Visa at the same time or wait a month after your PR application to apply for the TRV. This way CIC sees the PR application and feels there is less chance that she will overstay her visitor visa. Strong ties back to the Philippines still apply.

Your good job and mortgage benefit your sponsorship application but are not crucial to it.

Hope this helps.

Ps I agree with the other comments. You need to be realistic that this relationship and PR application will take time to do correctly.

 

[CANzanillo]

Thank you for the responses.

I know it is quick now after 4 months but our plan isnt to get married until next year in july 2016. We want to do everything necessary so there is no complications when applying her sponsorship. So we will have been in a relationship for 1 year 3 months when getting married. Will going there during my Christmas break for a week increase my chances? We both would rather put our money towards the wedding... seems ridiculous to make a trip just so they view us as a legitimate marriage when this IS a legitimate marriage

You and I both know it is legitimate. Canadian immigration scrutinizes things differently. They want to be sure that it is a genuine and continuing relationship. You need to be able to prove it to a complete stranger beyond a shadow of a doubt!

Read read read here in these forums!

 

[bloewen4]

I read alot of the information on the Canada's web site but haven't seen the cic government site. I will look for it thanks!

I understand proving the genuieity of our relationship is crucial to the ccic.how can I provide previous pictures of us together when there are none?

When we get married I will spend 3 or 4 weeks there to have a trip together as for a honeymoon so we will have lots of pictures from that but obviously cant provide old pictures of a progressing relationship when this is our first time meeting.
We have no problem showing evidence that we did marry and spend time together and all of our previous conversations online leading to our engagement receipts from our wedding pictires rings previous skype video calls every that is genuine to this case.

We are wonder why, if we are allowed start an online relationship, are we not allowed to follow up with marriage and sponsor her based on the truth that we just met. If Im allowed to do this why cant the cic allow this without evidence of a previous relationship in person instead of being online.

I understand that it will take time about 8 months to process it when Im back in Canada IF everything goes well with the application. Neither of us want a long distant relationship that will go for years without being with each other

 

[Aquakitty]

I read alot of the information on the Canada's web site but haven't seen the cic government site. I will look for it thanks!

I understand proving the genuieity of our relationship is crucial to the ccic.how can I provide previous pictures of us together when there are none?

When we get married I will spend 3 or 4 weeks there to have a trip together as for a honeymoon so we will have lots of pictures from that but obviously cant provide old pictures of a progressing relationship when this is our first time meeting.
We have no problem showing evidence that we did marry and spend time together and all of our previous conversations online leading to our engagement receipts from our wedding pictires rings previous skype video calls every that is genuine to this case.

We are wonder why, if we are allowed start an online relationship, are we not allowed to follow up with marriage and sponsor her based on the truth that we just met. If Im allowed to do this why cant the cic allow this without evidence of a previous relationship in person instead of being online.

I understand that it will take time about 8 months to process it when Im back in Canada IF everything goes well with the application. Neither of us want a long distant relationship that will go for years without being with each other

I missed the part about the DUI's, but I don't think that affects you, they look for violent or sexual offences. I have to say though, please don't drink and drive. As a cyclist this is just not forgivable to me. I know people killed because of this, and it should not be an issue in this day and age. Sorry, I can't help but say that. If you have a drinking issue maybe get that taken care of asap.

On the other side of it, I know it is hard, the hoops we have to go through to be with our loved ones. As a control freak myself, I didn't like having to prove to some faceless being that we were in love. But that is just the red tape that has to be done, because there are sociopathic people out there with bad intentions who only want to marry someone for the PR and will do or say anything, even have relationships with someone, to get it. And there are Canadians who will take money just to create fake relationships so someone can get a PR. So, they have to vett those out somehow. And unfortunately it's a lot easier to lie about things online than it is in person.

I really think the trip will not be a waste of money, if it were me, meeting would be high on my agenda.

 

[bloewen4]

I agree Aquakitty that drinking and driving is completely wrong. I can only change my future not my past. Im not here to rationalize my drinking I donot feel I have a problem drinking too often its that when I do drink Its too much and make poor decisions. Regardless Ive stopped drinkin all together and am currently seeking counseling as I dont want to drink amd my fiancé to think of me that way Im ready to take this comitment serious and willing to do anything to prove it to her. I realize I wont get much credibility for not drinking until a few years have passed but let my actions speak for me not my words.

I realize why the need to scan these applications so carefully to avoid the people who are abusing the system via accepting money as a canadian or for her to make this up for PR.

I want to meet her in person but this will cost time and money that we would both rather put into getting married.

Would going there just for a week this Christmas really be worth it if planning to back in july to get married? Maybe its a good idea for myself so even though I love and trust her I can see for myself in person her and her family are genuine with my own eyes. But will me sponsoring her depend on that? Previous in person experience? Is one week enough?

 

[canuck_in_uk]

As scylla said, if you go ahead with your plan as is, you have a good chance of refusal. Marrying on the first visit is a HUGE red flag for CIC and really increases your risk of refusal, no matter how long the online relationship is. The fact that you've gotten engaged after a 4 month online relationship without having even met in person is also a red flag. I suggest you have a look at the appeals thread; those people have been waiting years and paid thousands and thousands of dollars appealing their refusals to CIC. Do the smart thing and spend that money on visits and building your relationship before you marry.

CIC is charged with preventing people from immigrating to Canada based on a fraudulent Marriage of Convenience. Your situation, i.e. a completely online relationship with someone from a less developed country and marriage on a first visit, is a situation that CIC has seen many times before with MOCs. You need to step back and try to look at this objectively.

We both would rather put our money towards the wedding... seems ridiculous to make a trip just so they view us as a legitimate marriage when this IS a legitimate marriage

CIC doesn't really consider it legitimate to not be with your partner because of financial reasons. They expect that people in a genuine relationship would make every effort to actually be with each other as much as possible. For example, an officer might wonder why you saved all of that money for a wedding when you could have instead spent that money to actually go be with the person that you say you love. If it were a choice between saving for a wedding and actually being with my partner, I would choose the latter and make do with a small and cheap court wedding.

 

[mikeymyke]

Yes it's true, if you get married on the first meeting, your application will be heavily scrutinized, and you will face long delays from having to wait for the interview, then getting a possible refusal, then an appeal, etc. Additionally, it could possibly put further stress on your marriage during this long wait.

I think definitely, you should take this relationship slowly for 2 reasons. It will make your application less likely to be scrutinized and you will benefit from being able to know your spouse a bit more. Take it from me, I met my spouse online as well. We did not discuss marriage at all while we were online, as it's far too early to even be talking about it, we were just simply getting to know each other. When we met in person in her country, we spent a good couple months getting to know each other, then after I felt sure she was the one for me, I proposed. Then I spent an entire year working 2 jobs to save up for our wedding, then brought my entire family over to her country to meet her family as well as having her family meet mine.

End result? Our application was finished in under 6 months rather than the posted 30 month processing time for her visa office. Also, I got to know my wife a full 2 years before we got married, so I had plenty of time to assess our relationship and discuss our plans for the future, and also after both our families met, it allowed me to get a good sense of how strong the connection between our two families are.

I'm not going to judge your personal decision making, but I personally feel you should try to get to know your girl a bit more before you make a big decision such as marriage. Talking online is far different than being next to someone physically, and getting to know how they react and feel around you. After I met my at-the-time girlfriend in person for the first time, it was definitely different than online. She does have a bit of a short-temper at times whenever I do small things to annoy her, like forgetting things or spacing out (it's a bad habit of mine). She is a little bit more assertive than I thought. Whenever I do something she doesn't like, she would keep quiet to herself pretending everything is fine, making a grumpy face all the way until the next day when she would finally tell me what was wrong. And all those things, I would not have been able to see them if we just talked online exclusively. When I saw all these little annoyances from her, and spent time with her in person, I found that I could easily tolerate those things from her, and she was able to tolerate a lot of things from me, and we had great chemistry in person, way more than we thought online.

However, for yourself, if your girl had some traits that you could absolutely not tolerate and you didn't realize that until you've met in person (but you've already gotten married by then), don't you think you've already made a mistake and rushed your decision to marry?

Also, there are countries with high rates of marriage fraud, and some people there will prey upon a sponsor's naivety (not saying that your girl is one of those people). You should look into things such as:

-Does she express great interest into immigrating to Canada?
-Does she have any relatives living in Canada?
-Does her relatives constantly ask you if you guys are able to sponsor them after your wife gets her permanent residency?
-Has she ever married or been in a relationship with a Canadian or someone else from a developed country?
-Does she constantly state how much she hates living in her own country and wishes she could go somewhere else?
-Is she willing to live in the Philippines with you should her PR application fail?

For my wife, her answers would be:

-No, in fact she asked me if I would be willing to live in Vietnam with her after I proposed because this is her home and all her family is here. Never even applied for a visitor to Canada as well.
-No
-No, her parents aren't interested in immigrating here anyway because they can't speak English and they don't like the winter weather.
-No
-No, she loves her country, just hates the government, but wants to stay to be with her family.
-Yes absolutely, as mentioned above, she initially wanted me to live with her in Vietnam. But I wanted her to live in Canada because I would have very poor employment prospects in Vietnam and would be unable to support her as well as a man should.

Being with my wife in person for a long period of time, as well as knowing these things about her, gave me the confidence that I absolutely married the right person. And I think that confidence showed in our application when the officer was reviewing our file and gave her the visa waayyyyyyyyyyyy faster than normal.

And yes I know that it will cost time and money, but it's time and money well worth spent. I had a mortgage and a job that was an OK salary at the time, I spent 2 months in Vietnam on the first meeting, and another 2 months on the wedding. I paid for a $5000 engagement ring and also had to save for the wedding. Yeah it was a pretty big financial burden for me, but I worked 2 jobs for about 10 months and those efforts were well rewarded. Not only did my wife get here early, but she's currently working and helping us pay off the debts from the past 2 years. You know the old saying, "you can't have a rainbow without a little rain".

Not saying that you have to go through great lengths to get approved, but you should definitely take this relationship slowly and everything else will fall in place.

 

[bloewen4]

Mikeymyke I apreciate this advice more than you know and the time your putting into yqour responses.

I now understand now. Our plan may not get denied. But since we are giving little evidence that our marriage will last because we met online and planned to marry upon meeting for the first time not Illegal but raises suspicions and will male for a lengthy process or possible refusal and appeals until we can prove its true.

Definitely I agree about the little things not being able to be noticed until in person. You cannot figure these things out online. She tells me similar things and Ive learned alot about her and her traits. If she is upset she is quiet and pretends everything is ok unless I really press her to tell me. She puts everyone before herself everyone needs to be taken care of before herself which I respect but can be frustrating when trying to plan this. All of these things good and bad Ive accepted as I can tolerate but I know there will be more as I meet her in person. We do video chat often and I feel as if im talkong to my best friend Im absolutely comfortable talking with her as myself.

I will answer your questions in the order posted cant figure put the quote option lol.

She had no expressed specific interest to Canada could have been anywhere she wanted love in a more fortunate country to raise a family.

She has relatives in USA not canada so I thought it was a good thing she wants to come here knowing her family is still another country has some credibility to the first question.

She has never or her family members asked me to sponsor after were married although they could ask her without me knowing but her mother is sick and not moving and her husband will stay also. Siblings have no intention to come here as far as I know.

She has been in an online relationship for 3 years previouly sje explained how after 3 years he did not want to come meet her to start the process and he met a local girl and it finished.

She has mentioned only once or twice how she is sick of being there alone and just working always no happiness some comments about the heat but nothing to raise any alarms

Actually this is what I found interesting. While we were discussing plans to be together she asked me to move to the Philippines permanently. This could have been a ritorical question where she knew the answer but ot felt like a legitimate offer amd she did not know me very well when asking so dont know how she would know it was a ritorical question when she doesnt know me and what Id say but I understand that generally north americans will turn that down.

I am going to suggest we meet this Christmas before we marry in july. How should I approach her without her thinking Im coming to scope things out and to have the best end result as I want to get there with her not knowing Im being cautious about this so of she is hiding something Ill catch it as she wont be expecting Im looking

 

[CANzanillo]

Yes it's true, if you get married on the first meeting, your application will be heavily scrutinized, and you will face long delays from having to wait for the interview, then getting a possible refusal, then an appeal, etc. Additionally, it could possibly put further stress on your marriage during this long wait.

I think definitely, you should take this relationship slowly for 2 reasons. It will make your application less likely to be scrutinized and you will benefit from being able to know your spouse a bit more. Take it from me, I met my spouse online as well. We did not discuss marriage at all while we were online, as it's far too early to even be talking about it, we were just simply getting to know each other. When we met in person in her country, we spent a good couple months getting to know each other, then after I felt sure she was the one for me, I proposed. Then I spent an entire year working 2 jobs to save up for our wedding, then brought my entire family over to her country to meet her family as well as having her family meet mine.

End result? Our application was finished in under 6 months rather than the posted 30 month processing time for her visa office. Also, I got to know my wife a full 2 years before we got married, so I had plenty of time to assess our relationship and discuss our plans for the future, and also after both our families met, it allowed me to get a good sense of how strong the connection between our two families are.

I'm not going to judge your personal decision making, but I personally feel you should try to get to know your girl a bit more before you make a big decision such as marriage. Talking online is far different than being next to someone physically, and getting to know how they react and feel around you. After I met my at-the-time girlfriend in person for the first time, it was definitely different than online. She does have a bit of a short-temper at times whenever I do small things to annoy her, like forgetting things or spacing out (it's a bad habit of mine). She is a little bit more assertive than I thought. Whenever I do something she doesn't like, she would keep quiet to herself pretending everything is fine, making a grumpy face all the way until the next day when she would finally tell me what was wrong. And all those things, I would not have been able to see them if we just talked online exclusively. When I saw all these little annoyances from her, and spent time with her in person, I found that I could easily tolerate those things from her, and she was able to tolerate a lot of things from me, and we had great chemistry in person, way more than we thought online.

However, for yourself, if your girl had some traits that you could absolutely not tolerate and you didn't realize that until you've met in person (but you've already gotten married by then), don't you think you've already made a mistake and rushed your decision to marry?

Also, there are countries with high rates of marriage fraud, and some people there will prey upon a sponsor's naivety (not saying that your girl is one of those people). You should look into things such as:

-Does she express great interest into immigrating to Canada?
-Does she have any relatives living in Canada?
-Does her relatives constantly ask you if you guys are able to sponsor them after your wife gets her permanent residency?
-Has she ever married or been in a relationship with a Canadian or someone else from a developed country?
-Does she constantly state how much she hates living in her own country and wishes she could go somewhere else?
-Is she willing to live in the Philippines with you should her PR application fail?

For my wife, her answers would be:

-No, in fact she asked me if I would be willing to live in Vietnam with her after I proposed because this is her home and all her family is here. Never even applied for a visitor to Canada as well.
-No
-No, her parents aren't interested in immigrating here anyway because they can't speak English and they don't like the winter weather.
-No
-No, she loves her country, just hates the government, but wants to stay to be with her family.
-Yes absolutely, as mentioned above, she initially wanted me to live with her in Vietnam. But I wanted her to live in Canada because I would have very poor employment prospects in Vietnam and would be unable to support her as well as a man should.

Being with my wife in person for a long period of time, as well as knowing these things about her, gave me the confidence that I absolutely married the right person. And I think that confidence showed in our application when the officer was reviewing our file and gave her the visa waayyyyyyyyyyyy faster than normal.

And yes I know that it will cost time and money, but it's time and money well worth spent. I had a mortgage and a job that was an OK salary at the time, I spent 2 months in Vietnam on the first meeting, and another 2 months on the wedding. I paid for a $5000 engagement ring and also had to save for the wedding. Yeah it was a pretty big financial burden for me, but I worked 2 jobs for about 10 months and those efforts were well rewarded. Not only did my wife get here early, but she's currently working and helping us pay off the debts from the past 2 years. You know the old saying, "you can't have a rainbow without a little rain".

Not saying that you have to go through great lengths to get approved, but you should definitely take this relationship slowly and everything else will fall in place.

This is an excellent post Mikeymike. I agree with your comments.

 

[CANzanillo]

Mikeymyke I apreciate this advice more than you know and the time your putting into yqour responses.

I now understand now. Our plan may not get denied. But since we are giving little evidence that our marriage will last because we met online and planned to marry upon meeting for the first time not Illegal but raises suspicions and will male for a lengthy process or possible refusal and appeals until we can prove its true.

Definitely I agree about the little things not being able to be noticed until in person. You cannot figure these things out online. She tells me similar things and Ive learned alot about her and her traits. If she is upset she is quiet and pretends everything is ok unless I really press her to tell me. She puts everyone before herself everyone needs to be taken care of before herself which I respect but can be frustrating when trying to plan this. All of these things good and bad Ive accepted as I can tolerate but I know there will be more as I meet her in person. We do video chat often and I feel as if im talkong to my best friend Im absolutely comfortable talking with her as myself.

I will answer your questions in the order posted cant figure put the quote option lol.

She had no expressed specific interest to Canada could have been anywhere she wanted love in a more fortunate country to raise a family.

She has relatives in USA not canada so I thought it was a good thing she wants to come here knowing her family is still another country has some credibility to the first question.

She has never or her family members asked me to sponsor after were married although they could ask her without me knowing but her mother is sick and not moving and her husband will stay also. Siblings have no intention to come here as far as I know.

She has been in an online relationship for 3 years previouly sje explained how after 3 years he did not want to come meet her to start the process and he met a local girl and it finished.

She has mentioned only once or twice how she is sick of being there alone and just working always no happiness some comments about the heat but nothing to raise any alarms

Actually this is what I found interesting. While we were discussing plans to be together she asked me to move to the Philippines permanently. This could have been a ritorical question where she knew the answer but ot felt like a legitimate offer amd she did not know me very well when asking so dont know how she would know it was a ritorical question when she doesnt know me and what Id say but I understand that generally north americans will turn that down.

I am going to suggest we meet this Christmas before we marry in july. How should I approach her without her thinking Im coming to scope things out and to have the best end result as I want to get there with her not knowing Im being cautious about this so of she is hiding something Ill catch it as she wont be expecting Im looking

There doesn't need to be any other pretext except for wanting to visit her at Christmas. One would suppose that she would be tickled pink by the idea of you going there. I am sure you will both be scoping each other out to some degree. Just be conscious of potential red flags as you get to know each other more in person.

 

[CANzanillo]

http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/information/applications/guides/3900ETOC.asp

http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/information/applications/guides/5256ETOC.asp

Here are the CIC guidelines for Family class application and TRV application.

http://www.canadavisa.com/canada-immigration-discussion-board/new-manila-visa-office-philippines-spousefamily-timeline-t325837.0.html

http://www.canadavisa.com/canada-immigration-discussion-board/spouse-family-class-timeline-manila-visa-office-philippines-t40680.0.html

and the 2 Manila Visa Office Threads