Sponsoring spouse, marriage w/o wedding ceremony yet, staying in canada visitor

[mikeymyke]

One thing you got going for you is that south Korea is one of the wealthiest nations in Asia, very high standard of living, there's little reason for most Koreans to want to immigrate to Canada, either by fraud or legitimately. Therefore, the CIC will not look at your application too closely compared to other countries.

 

[Rob_TO]

One thing you got going for you is that south Korea is one of the wealthiest nations in Asia, very high standard of living, there's little reason for most Koreans to want to immigrate to Canada, either by fraud or legitimately. Therefore, the CIC will not look at your application too closely compared to other countries.

Not sure if you're familiar with Korean culture, but it's a very male dominated society and very far behind other western nations when it comes to equality in the workplace and society in general. There are tons of Koreans, especially women, that would jump at the chance to immigrate to another country to live and raise a family if given the chance.

However you are right that in general for a visa-exempt applicant, they are often given a bit more leniency than those from other countries.

 

[Sejong]

I agree. Many Korean women in my circle of acquaintances, especially those who can speak English, would love to leave Korea for Canada. They know that their careers are more limited in Korea in comparison to their female counterparts in Canada. My wife can't wait to move to Canada and her friends are envious of her.

I also agree that in general an application from China would receive greater scrutiny than one from Korea.

 

[automaton82]

Out of curiosity, does anyone actually know an example where a spouse from a visa-exempt first-world nation (such as South Korea) were denied PR on grounds of a convenience marriage? I looked through the threads here on appeals and denials, and none of them were in that situation.

So I sort of feel like it doesn't really matter what you do when you're in this situation, unless it's really severe (like 20 year age difference, online only relationship). But that's just my opinion .

 

[Rob_TO]

Out of curiosity, does anyone actually know an example where a spouse from a visa-exempt first-world nation (such as South Korea) were denied PR on grounds of a convenience marriage? I looked through the threads here on appeals and denials, and none of them were in that situation.

So I sort of feel like it doesn't really matter what you do when you're in this situation, unless it's really severe (like 20 year age difference, online only relationship). But that's just my opinion .

It's not just about getting rejected. Any doubts in the VOs mind, and the applicant will be put into an interview queue which can add significant months to the processing time. Just last year I remember reading a few people's scenarios through the former Seoul visa office, that had been waiting I think almost 18 months before finally getting PR due to the VO not believing relationship was real.

 

[automaton82]

It's not just about getting rejected. Any doubts in the VOs mind, and the applicant will be put into an interview queue which can add significant months to the processing time. Just last year I remember reading a few people's scenarios through the former Seoul visa office, that had been waiting I think almost 18 months before finally getting PR due to the VO not believing relationship was real.

That's a fair reason, one which I didn't consider. So, good point! But I'm still curious: do you actually know of any cases with the aforementioned situation in which they were rejected as a marriage of a convenience? I'm really curious because I honestly can't find any (ignoring common law, which is often denied for obvious reasons).

 

[Rob_TO]

That's a fair reason, one which I didn't consider. So, good point! But I'm still curious: do you actually know of any cases with the aforementioned situation in which they were rejected as a marriage of a convenience? I'm really curious because I honestly can't find any (ignoring common law, which is often denied for obvious reasons).

In general, there are many cases in which not having a wedding considered normal for the region applying from, is specifically mentioned as a reason by the VO for rejecting an application. People have posted about this several times. Of course this happens mainly with the visa-required countries, and not so much for visa-exempt (though I really don't research the reason for each and every rejection in every single visa-exempt case!).

Also for this particular case, I was advising more so with the intention of avoiding an interview, and not really for fear of being rejected. It's a huge hassle for a couple living in Toronto to have to suddenly fly to Korea to attend an interview, and can add significant time to processing.

Any case where the marriage involves absolutely no friends, family, ceremony or reception of any kind... is a red flag no matter what country you're applying from. It's always advisable to do something, even if very small. So hopefully the poster here has enough other evidences to overcome that so the VO can see the relationship is indeed real and avoid an interview altogether.

 

[seoulcanada]

Thanks again for the advice everyone. Will postpone the application a bit.

However, interview would probably be in Buffalo most likely, as thats where we would apply. IF we did apply through asia, I think it goes through Manilla...which is even more inconvenient!

 

[MilesAway]

The Buffalo office closed in 2011, so applying there is not an option.

 

[Rob_TO]

Thanks again for the advice everyone. Will postpone the application a bit.

However, interview would probably be in Buffalo most likely, as thats where we would apply. IF we did apply through asia, I think it goes through Manilla...which is even more inconvenient!

Since she's been living in Canada over 1 year, I believe you could choose the Ottawa processing centre to do the application. In this case any interview would indeed be much more convenient if she's living in Canada at the time.

Else the typical outland office for Korean residents is Manila. Though if an interview is required in this case, the interview would take place in Seoul.

Also note that even if you request a local office like Ottawa to do your processing, CIC has been known to simply send your application for processing where the applicant holds a passport from. So it still may end up in Manila whether you like it or not, it's really up to CPC-Mississauga.

 

[seoulcanada]

So the ottawa is considered inbound?

THanks, didn't know the buffalo office changed. Where do people who apply thru the US send their applications now? (I know it all gets sent to mississauga then forwarded to the other office).


WHen I sponsored my common-law partner, she was living in Canada but we sent it through buffalo and it was very fast. I think she had an interview there also, but it was quite a bit shorter than one year before everything was said and done.

 

[MilesAway]

Ottawa is outland. CIC thinks that Ottawa is an overseas office (geography is not their forte).
US applicants go through Ottawa.

 

[seoulcanada]

Hilarious...thanks. This is all news to me.

 

[Rob_TO]

So the ottawa is considered inbound?

THanks, didn't know the buffalo office changed. Where do people who apply thru the US send their applications now? (I know it all gets sent to mississauga then forwarded to the other office).

WHen I sponsored my common-law partner, she was living in Canada but we sent it through buffalo and it was very fast. I think she had an interview there also, but it was quite a bit shorter than one year before everything was said and done.

It's through the Ottawa office, but these are still considered OUTLAND applications. So your app would go first to CPC-M, then if you qualify, CPC-M would send the application to CPC-Ottawa (unless they decide to send it to Manila). In order to qualify, I believe she would need to have some kind of status in Canada via either a work or study permit, that allows her to stay for at least 1 year from the date you submit the application.

If you are thinking about apply INLAND, then you would send the application to Vegreville Alberta.

 

[seoulcanada]

Hi guys, one more question. I'm planning to have a wedding ceremony in DEC. And hopefully send off our application before new years. I want her to start getting her medical checkup and criminal background checks and whatever else she needs done now. Is this too early though?

Is there a list of acceptable places in Seoul to get this stuff done?

EDIT:

One more question...
I believe I need letter of employment for last 12 months. I will be having ceremony in Dec 8, however I will quit my job on Dec 27 in order to go to Korea for this. I've already told my employer an they are okay with this. SHould I get my employment letter now? SHould I get them to write that I will quit at the end of November or leave that out? I've also been with them less than 12 months. So I guess I need to get a letter from my previous employer as well?

I was actually planning to use both of these employers as "letters of reference" to state that they have knowledge of my wife's relationship with me, however if they are employer letters then should I still use them as reference letters?