Sponsoring my Korean wife for permanent residency

[Korea2Canada]

Document # 20 (on the checklist): "If you are a Canadian Citizen living exclusively outside Canada, you must include proof that you intend to live in Canada with your spouse, common-law partner or conjugal partner and/or dependant children once they become permanent residents of Canada."


Sponsorship Questionnaire IMM5540: For section 11, Give details of your plans to re-establish yourself in Canada, I typed a letter covering areas such as; where we will live, financial, plans for employment, etc.


Are they asking for the same information for both? Thanks.

 

[bartjones]

Document # 20 (on the checklist): "If you are a Canadian Citizen living exclusively outside Canada, you must include proof that you intend to live in Canada with your spouse, common-law partnet or conjugal partnet and/or dependant children once they become permanent residents of Canada."


Sponsorship Questionnaire IMM5540: For section 11, Give details of your plans to re-establish yourself in Canada, I typed a letter covering areas such as; where we will live, financial, plans for employment, etc.


Are they asking for the same information for both? Thanks.

Yes. They are slightly different questions but the letter you wrote will cover both.

 

[Korea2Canada]

Question to the people here married in Korea... as Canadians what was the process and what info did you require to get your marriage license/marriage certificate in Korea?

I'll be heading there with my fiancee this summer to get married in Seoul. I'm assuming all i need to bring is my Canadian passport and birth certificate and that will be enough to register the marriage there at the appropriate government office before we do the actual ceremony.

One of my friends got married last year in Japan, and he said he required his original long-form birth certificate (I currently only have a laminated card sized birth certificate), as well as some declaration of being single that he had to get from Canadian embassy there. Anyone know if these things are needed in Korea also?

Thanks!

​

Getting married in Korea





"Introduction

If you wish to get married while in Korea you can obtain a civil marriage under Korean law. Marriage is a civil procedure in Korea, and performing a religious ceremony only does not constitute a legal marriage. For your marriage to be legally recognized in Korea and hence, legally recognised in Canada, you and your fiancé (e) must be free to marry, must report and register your marriage to the appropriate civil authorities. While consular officials are not authorized to perform marriage ceremonies, we can, however, notarize necessary documents for a civil marriage in Korea.

Procedures
You must take the following steps to get married in Korea.

Step 1 – Canadians are required to appear in person at the Embassy of Canada in Seoul or the Consulate of Canada in Busan with two copies of the Affidavit of Eligibility of Marriage. You should also provide a piece of identification (i.e. passport and/or birth certificate).

Step 2 – You will be required to bring the notarized copies of the Affidavit of Eligibility of Marriage to your local district office (Gu Cheong) to report and register your marriage. The Korean district office will issue the following:

•a filing receipt on the day of report;
•a verification certificate, which has similar effect as the Korean marriage certificate(3~5 days required); or
•marriage certificate (family register), issued when the marriage is between a Korean citizen and a foreign resident alien (7 days required).
** Please note: For a marriage between two foreigners, the verification certificate will be issued on the same day.

Required documents
•Affidavit of Eligibility of Marriage (2 copies) l PDF * (159 KB) ,
•Canadian passport ,
•Proof of termination of any prior marriage(s) such as an original or certified divorce certificate, annulment or death certificate of your previous spouse (when applicable).
*Please note that if your fiancé(e) is not Korean they should contact their embassy in Korea and seek advice on requirements on getting married in Korea.

Fee: Canadian $50.00 or equivalent Korean won, please click here for exchange rate (Only cash is accepted)."

http://www.canadainternational.gc.ca/korea-coree/consular_services_consulaires/marriage-mariage.aspx?lang=eng&view=d

 

[Korea2Canada]

Yes. They are slightly different questions but the letter you wrote will cover both.

Okay, thanks!

I now have all of the forms done with all required additional explanations, etc. Waiting for Option C to arrive.

 

[Rob_TO]

​

Getting married in Korea

•a verification certificate, which has similar effect as the Korean marriage certificate(3~5 days required); or
•marriage certificate (family register), issued when the marriage is between a Korean citizen and a foreign resident alien (7 days required).

Awesome, thanks!! I'm arriving 2 weeks before the wedding, so should be lots of time.

I'm wondering then since my fiancée is Korean and i'm Canadian, would we be getting the verification certificate or the marriage certificate? I'm not sure what it means by "foreign resident alien".

 

[Korea2Canada]

Document #25 (on the checklist): Proof of relationship to sponsor.

Is this the same as Section 9, Development of your relatsionship on IMM5940? This is the section where my wife typed a letter (from first meeting to now) referencing photos.


We have included both, Proof of Intent & Development of your relationship in sequence with the forms. Should it or another copy be placed according to the document checklist order as well?


Thanks!

Forms all done not at the tweeking stage.

 

[Korea2Canada]

Awesome, thanks!! I'm arriving 2 weeks before the wedding, so should be lots of time.

I'm wondering then since my fiancée is Korean and i'm Canadian, would we be getting the verification certificate or the marriage certificate? I'm not sure what it means by "foreign resident alien".

I would go with the Family Registration document since you just go to the dong/gu office and get a print out. I believe the 7 days indicated is how long it takes to have that document in the system from the date of marriage.

Foreign Resident Alien just means a non-Korean citizen.

 

[Rob_TO]

Document #25 (on the checklist): Proof of relationship to sponsor.

Is this the same as Section 9, Development of your relatsionship on IMM5940? This is the section where my wife typed a letter (from first meeting to now) referencing photos.

Yes it's the same thing. Basically all the photos, testimonial letters etc, fall under the "proof" part of your package which is what's referenced in #25 on checklist.

Your application will be split into 3 parts. Sponsor apps, applicant apps, and relationship proofs.

You don't really need to state "this corresponds to #25 on checklist". As long as you are submitting proofs, just check off #25 that it's all included, and that should be fine.

 

[costaudjoe]

Question to the people here married in Korea... as Canadians what was the process and what info did you require to get your marriage license/marriage certificate in Korea?

I'll be heading there with my fiancee this summer to get married in Seoul. I'm assuming all i need to bring is my Canadian passport and birth certificate and that will be enough to register the marriage there at the appropriate government office before we do the actual ceremony.

One of my friends got married last year in Japan, and he said he required his original long-form birth certificate (I currently only have a laminated card sized birth certificate), as well as some declaration of being single that he had to get from Canadian embassy there. Anyone know if these things are needed in Korea also?

Thanks!

Did you apply as common-law with your fiancé? I was reading this case here: http://www.canlii.org/eliisa/highlight.do?text=Family+Class+Korea+%2420%2C000&language=en&searchTitle=Search+all+CanLII+Databases&path=/en/ca/irb/doc/2007/2007canlii69137/2007canlii69137.html&searchUrlHash=AAAAAQAaRmFtaWx5IENsYXNzIEtvcmVhICQyMCwwMDAAAAAAAAAB

And it seems that common law is an uphill battle given that Koreans don't recognize it and only recognize marriage. How did you overcome this?

PS I applied common-law and upon reading this case had shivers run up my spine.

 

[Korea2Canada]

Interesting article to read. The crux of the situation is that a conjugal relationship had not been established prior to applying for PR (the 1 year minimum had not been met).

"[20] In following the reasoning from that case, I conclude that it is necessary for the one-year period to have preceded the date of the application of September 27, 2005."


Funny... how he advertised for a roommate and then the vacant room became storage since they slept in the same room together!

 

[costaudjoe]

Interesting article to read. The crux of the situation is that a conjugal relationship had not been established prior to applying for PR (the 1 year minimum had not been met).

"[20] In following the reasoning from that case, I conclude that it is necessary for the one-year period to have preceded the date of the application of September 27, 2005."


Funny... how he advertised for a room mate and then the vacant room became storage since they selpt in the same room together!

Ya you're right it all hinged on that. It seemed that the panel was willing to consider them as conjugal. But the fact that he slept in a separate room while visiting her family and that he signed a lease with his common-law partner sunk their case.

In addition they lived together for less than 6 months and then went back and forth between Korea and Canada. In my case, we did the opposite, we went back and forth and then lived in Canada for about 14 months. We did a border run every 6 months, which needless to say was VERY stressful. Now my common law partner is in Seoul and I was there at Xmas and hope to go again in June. I am just not sure how all of this is going to be read by the VO.

 

[Korea2Canada]

Ya you're right it all hinged on that. It seemed that the panel was willing to consider them as conjugal. But the fact that he slept in a separate room while visiting her family and that he signed a lease with his common-law partner sunk their case.

In addition they lived together for less than 6 months and then went back and forth between Korea and Canada. In my case, we did the opposite, we went back and forth and then lived in Canada for about 14 months. We did a border run every 6 months, which needless to say was VERY stressful. Now my common law partner is in Seoul and I was there at Xmas and hope to go again in June. I am just not sure how all of this is going to be read by the VO.

Have you filed your PR application yet? I guess the proof of relationship will be important for your case.

 

[Rob_TO]

Did you apply as common-law with your fiancé? I was reading this case here: http://www.canlii.org/eliisa/highlight.do?text=Family+Class+Korea+%2420%2C000&language=en&searchTitle=Search+all+CanLII+Databases&path=/en/ca/irb/doc/2007/2007canlii69137/2007canlii69137.html&searchUrlHash=AAAAAQAaRmFtaWx5IENsYXNzIEtvcmVhICQyMCwwMDAAAAAAAAAB

And it seems that common law is an uphill battle given that Koreans don't recognize it and only recognize marriage. How did you overcome this?

PS I applied common-law and upon reading this case had shivers run up my spine.

Yes, we applied common-law. For us it was incredibly easy, as you can see by our timeline. Only minimal proof was enclosed, and there were no concerns or questions from the VO.

It only matters what CIC thinks, it doesn't matter what Koreans think. It's the same as if people are applying as a same-sex couple from a country where same-sex relationships are not recognized or allowed, or looked down upon in society. It doesn't matter what the country thinks about the relationship, it only matters on satisfying Canadian rules and conditions.

So for common-law, it shouldn't matter whatsoever what Korea rules are. 1-year = common-law is a CIC definition for PR purposes. Plus the apps are now processed in Manila, so no Korean person will probably ever even look at the application!

 

[costaudjoe]

Have you filed your PR application yet? I guess the proof of relationship will be important for your case.

Ya, we filed on October 2nd. We gave 7 letters attesting to our relationship (4 from my side, 3 from hers), pictures with all of my family and me with hers, and pictures with our two families together last summer, all the documents we had while living together, and more. If the spreadsheet given earlier in the thread is an indication, they wont be looking at our file until July-ish.

 

[costaudjoe]

Yes, we applied common-law. For us it was incredibly easy, as you can see by our timeline. Only minimal proof was enclosed, and there were no concerns or questions from the VO.

It only matters what CIC thinks, it doesn't matter what Koreans think. It's the same as if people are applying as a same-sex couple from a country where same-sex relationships are not recognized or allowed, or looked down upon in society. It doesn't matter what the country thinks about the relationship, it only matters on satisfying Canadian rules and conditions.

So for common-law, it shouldn't matter whatsoever what Korea rules are. 1-year = common-law is a CIC definition for PR purposes. Plus the apps are now processed in Manila, so no Korean person will probably ever even look at the application!

Yes, I was very impressed with your timeline!

I don't remember if you revealed the information (and if it isn't too personal), how long did you know each other, how long were you common-law and where?