Hello, my girlfriend and I are looking for advice and information on the spousal sponsorship program. Sorry for the long post!
Background: My gf and I have known each other since 2009 when we added each other on Facebook because we had a mutual friend in high school. We have been online friends since then and kept in touch throughout the years (supporting text transcripts will be available). From 2017 onward, our relationship started to take shape. In 2018, we decided to meet up and I visited her in person in Kolkata, India and we made things official. Since then, we have been on multiple trips, including Malaysia (June 2019), Oman (September 2019) and recently to Indonesia and Vietnam (March 2020). We are genuinely looking to spend our lives together. During the Malaysia trip, we decided to stop by in Mumbai to meet my parents and they also completely adore her. Her parents also know about me and support this relationship.
I am well settled in Canada right now with a stable and well paying job and own a condo where I currently live. I have been a permanent resident of Canada since Mar 2019. She also has a well paying job with a multinational company in India and has completed her MBA prior to this. She intends to keep working for the duration of the application too. During her MBA, we tried to apply for a TRV for her to visit me in Canada, but that application was refused because she was a student back then with no financial independence or significant ties (makes sense?).
I believe we have enough supporting documents in the form of photos, texts, gifts, travel bookings over a span of more than 3 years. We have mutual friends in both the countries.
Current Plan: I would like for her to move to Canada and for both to start living together. The best way to do so seems to be the spousal sponsorship and we are happy to get married. I am in fact planning on getting a diamond ring to propose to her. Since we like travelling so much, we are talking about getting married in a resort in Sri Lanka and getting the marriage certificate attested at the Indian High Commission so that it is registered in India. Our wedding ceremony will be simple with vows being exchanged at a beach or garden in a civil ceremony. Nothing religious. We are planning on the wedding ceremony being done just for the two of us and no guests, not even parents, even though they fully approve of us. Once the wedding is done, we are planning on hosting a small reception in Mumbai where the families will join us.
Questions:
Now the reason we are doing this is, my gf and I are atheists and do not believe in the "standard" religious ceremony that usually accompanies an Indian Wedding. Based on our readings of posts here, it seems CIC looks for what is "standard" in the applicant's culture? Is it not ok for a non religious couple to have a simple yet decent wedding ceremony? How do we get around the fact that a religious ceremony over 5/6 days is just not acceptable to us?
Is there any potential red flag that you note here that might be of concern?
We also did not want to do the wedding in India because again, you have to register under a specific religious act and we are against that idea. Additionally, there is a 30 day waiting period from when you give notice to the marriage officer to when the actual wedding can take place.
Background: My gf and I have known each other since 2009 when we added each other on Facebook because we had a mutual friend in high school. We have been online friends since then and kept in touch throughout the years (supporting text transcripts will be available). From 2017 onward, our relationship started to take shape. In 2018, we decided to meet up and I visited her in person in Kolkata, India and we made things official. Since then, we have been on multiple trips, including Malaysia (June 2019), Oman (September 2019) and recently to Indonesia and Vietnam (March 2020). We are genuinely looking to spend our lives together. During the Malaysia trip, we decided to stop by in Mumbai to meet my parents and they also completely adore her. Her parents also know about me and support this relationship.
I am well settled in Canada right now with a stable and well paying job and own a condo where I currently live. I have been a permanent resident of Canada since Mar 2019. She also has a well paying job with a multinational company in India and has completed her MBA prior to this. She intends to keep working for the duration of the application too. During her MBA, we tried to apply for a TRV for her to visit me in Canada, but that application was refused because she was a student back then with no financial independence or significant ties (makes sense?).
I believe we have enough supporting documents in the form of photos, texts, gifts, travel bookings over a span of more than 3 years. We have mutual friends in both the countries.
Current Plan: I would like for her to move to Canada and for both to start living together. The best way to do so seems to be the spousal sponsorship and we are happy to get married. I am in fact planning on getting a diamond ring to propose to her. Since we like travelling so much, we are talking about getting married in a resort in Sri Lanka and getting the marriage certificate attested at the Indian High Commission so that it is registered in India. Our wedding ceremony will be simple with vows being exchanged at a beach or garden in a civil ceremony. Nothing religious. We are planning on the wedding ceremony being done just for the two of us and no guests, not even parents, even though they fully approve of us. Once the wedding is done, we are planning on hosting a small reception in Mumbai where the families will join us.
Questions:
Now the reason we are doing this is, my gf and I are atheists and do not believe in the "standard" religious ceremony that usually accompanies an Indian Wedding. Based on our readings of posts here, it seems CIC looks for what is "standard" in the applicant's culture? Is it not ok for a non religious couple to have a simple yet decent wedding ceremony? How do we get around the fact that a religious ceremony over 5/6 days is just not acceptable to us?
Is there any potential red flag that you note here that might be of concern?
We also did not want to do the wedding in India because again, you have to register under a specific religious act and we are against that idea. Additionally, there is a 30 day waiting period from when you give notice to the marriage officer to when the actual wedding can take place.
