Spousal Sponsership---few questions

[kevjo892]

Hi my wife and I were married in August after dating for 4 years, I live here in Canada and she lives in Thailand. In trying to do our documents, we have come up with a few questions that I'm hoping someone can give us some answers to.

1. Should we go for a tourist visa now that we are married or the spousal? We want to do the spousal visa so that she can come and live with me eventually. However, if we go with this visa is it still possible for her to come and visit me before this application is completed? This is why I'm not sure if going with the tourist visa is better for us or not.
She has never been out of Thailand before and I really want to bring her here once to see, before she has to decide to live here.
2. What do people suggest are the best ways to prove our relationship? We have our marriage certificate, translated documents/ID, many pictures from our holidays together, emails, western union history, and my visa stamps from visiting Thailand during our time together. Is there anything else that people can recommend we provide?
3. My wife has a young son (6 years) from a previous relationship (common law) that she doesn't live with, but still has contact with. Do we need to include him with our documents as a dependent even if he may or may not ever come to Canada? We usually visit him on our holiday together and I have gotten quite close with him in this time, just curious.

Thanks for any responses to my questions, and If you need more info from me before you answer please feel free to ask!!

 

[Rob_TO]

1. Should we go for a tourist visa now that we are married or the spousal? We want to do the spousal visa so that she can come and live with me eventually. However, if we go with this visa is it still possible for her to come and visit me before this application is completed? This is why I'm not sure if going with the tourist visa is better for us or not.
She has never been out of Thailand before and I really want to bring her here once to see, before she has to decide to live here.

You can apply for the visitors TRV at any time, but now that you are married there is a high chance this will be rejected if CIC thinks she would overstay in Canada to be with her husband. She would need to show very strong ties to Thailand (like steady job or owning property) to have any luck with TRV. Her son in Thailand is a strong tie to return, so that could be in her favour here.

2. What do people suggest are the best ways to prove our relationship? We have our marriage certificate, translated documents/ID, many pictures from our holidays together, emails, western union history, and my visa stamps from visiting Thailand during our time together. Is there anything else that people can recommend we provide?

All of those are good. Plus show some financial dependence such as having joint life insurance on each other, and changing your status with the CRA to married.

3. My wife has a young son (6 years) from a previous relationship (common law) that she doesn't live with, but still has contact with. Do we need to include him with our documents as a dependent even if he may or may not ever come to Canada? We usually visit him on our holiday together and I have gotten quite close with him in this time, just curious.

Yes he will need to be included in the application and take a full medical exam, even if he doesn't accompany you.

If he doesn't get the medical done now, then he will be barred from family class sponsorship in the future so you or your wife could NEVER sponsor him if later he needed to come to Canada.

 

[kevjo892]

Thanks Rob_TO for your info, but I was wondering about the CRA. Will they let me change this without showing them proof of our marriage certificate? Also I have changed my life insurance at my work over, but I'm not sure if she has such an option at her current job. She does have a steady job for the last 3 years at the same company but i'm not sure if they offer any sort of insurance?

 

[Rob_TO]

Thanks Rob_TO for your info, but I was wondering about the CRA. Will they let me change this without showing them proof of our marriage certificate? Also I have changed my life insurance at my work over, but I'm not sure if she has such an option at her current job. She does have a steady job for the last 3 years at the same company but i'm not sure if they offer any sort of insurance?

CRA doesn't ask for proof in most cases, they simply take you at your word that you are married. I changed my status to common-law in 2012, and married in 2013... and neither time did they ask for any proof. Perhaps the only time you would need to show marriage certificate, is if you were ever specifically audited or asked for additional info.

Insurance at your work with her as beneficiary is good. In our case, that's exactly what we had also at the time we did the app. Getting insurance on her with you as beneficiary is optional and completely up to you.

Assuming you already have a credit card, you could also look at getting her a supplemental card on your account in her name. Typically this is super easy to do, and will then give you a bill showing both your names on it.

 

[canadianwoman]

To get a TRV she has to prove she will leave Canada, so show her ties to Thailand. Proof of her job and how long she has had it, a letter from her boss giving her two weeks off (or whatever), proof of her son staying behind, a return ticket, proof of any property/bank accounts/investments, etc. Even this might not be enough to get a TRV, so I would also start getting her PR application ready. One thing the visa officer will want to know is how your relationship with her son is. You should document that you have a close relationship.

 

[kevjo892]

Many thanks for the responses I recieved to my previous questions! However, I do have a few more to ask in regards to our visa.

4. My wife has a young son (6 years) and we were wondering about his medical exam when we put him on our documents as a dependent. Does he need just an initial medical exam, or do we have to only get a medical when/if he travels here? Even if he doesn't travel here in the near future, do we need to get him his passport at the this time?

5. What is the best way to go about our friends letter to prove our relationship? Is this letter just to add more detail to prove ourselves, and are pictures of our friends with us acceptable?

6. If my wife wants to visit me while we are waiting for our PR response, is going with the tourist visa our only option?

7. Does my wife need any extra forms or provide extra details in regard to her previous common-law husband and son? Or is the information we provide on the application good enough for this?

Thanks again for any answers, and I'm sure I will likely come up with more questions yet as we progress more into this application.

 

[canadianwoman]

4. My wife has a young son (6 years) and we were wondering about his medical exam when we put him on our documents as a dependent. Does he need just an initial medical exam, or do we have to only get a medical when/if he travels here?

He must have a medical exam and have that included in your wife's application. (Not sure about the passport.)

5. What is the best way to go about our friends letter to prove our relationship? Is this letter just to add more detail to prove ourselves, and are pictures of our friends with us acceptable?

If you are married, you do not need letters from friends and relatives, but they can help. Just ask people to write about your relationship: how they met you, who they knew first, the relationship they have with you, what kinds of things they do with you as a couple, how they know your relationship is genuine. They should include contact details in the letter (though the visa officer will almost certainly not contact them.) It is good to have a wide variety of types of letters, so don't write the letters for them to sign. The fact that each letter or affidavit or email will be different makes them look more authentic. Pictures of you and your wife with friends are good evidence: and ideally you would have picture of you with anyone who wrote a reference letter.

6. If my wife wants to visit me while we are waiting for our PR response, is going with the tourist visa our only option?

Yes.

7. Does my wife need any extra forms or provide extra details in regard to her previous common-law husband and son? Or is the information we provide on the application good enough for this?

If she has some proof the common-law relationship ended, she could include that. Other things she will need concerning her son's legal relationship with his father are mentioned in the forms, I think.