Spousal Sponsorship Questions

[Lepmer]

Hi! I am new to the forum. I was hoping that someone here could kindly answer a few questions for me. I'm very new to the whole world of immigration and want to gather as much info as possible to do it (hopefully!!) right the first time.

I am a Canadian citizen and my boyfriend (never married, no kids) is from Panama and currently resides there. We met online. We have a genuine relationship and are hoping to get married later sometime this year.

1. Does it matter where the marriage takes place? Canada or Panama?

2. Can we have a civil marriage so we can start the sponsorship process and then have a marriage ceremony later in Canada and celebration in Panama? Or is the ceremony and celebration needed for proof of a genuine relationship?

3. With outland sponsorship-can both sponsor and principal applicant travel to each other's country of residence during the sponsorship process?

4. We've only met once (which included my parents), we took photo's and have been communicating nearly every day since (texting, video chat). He is hoping to come and visit this May and I will be introducing him to family and friends....and then hopefully later this year we will get married. I am concerned we won't have enough proof of a genuine relationship as it isn't feasible for me to travel to his country currently and we haven't spent alot of time together in person. I do plan on going to Panama after we are married and we hope to have a celebration there.

5. What proof of a genuine relationship are they looking for exactly?

6. Does everyone get called in for an interview sometime during the process?

Thanks so much for taking the time to answer my questions. Much appreciated!!

 

[np08]

1. No, all that matters is that the marriage is legal. Of course, if it's all the same to you, marrying in Canada would mean you wouldn't have to translate the marriage certificate so a bit less hassle, but it doesn't have any real effect on the process.

2. This depends on the culture. For westerners, small ceremonies without much fanfare or many people are okay. I would still suggest having a little celebration with what family or friends you can gather so you can take some pictures and all that. It doesn't have to be a full on wedding, but it helps to have a little celebration for sure. You've mentioned you're planning to have a celebration in Panama, I'm assuming with his family? It would definitely be nice if you applied after that so you could include pictures of that as well.

3. Yes. If you decide to go inland, it's not advised for the applicant to travel for the duration of the process (unless they really have to and even then, only short trips).

4. How long have you been together? How long was the first visit and how long will the visit during which you marry be?

5. You can get your application package here by answering the few questions they ask (requirements can change based on where the applicant is from and what other countries they've lived in): http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/information/applications/spouse.asp. Then you can take a look at the document checklist - the last part is the relationship proof part and you can see what kinds of things they ask for.

6. No. Interviews are needed when they're not convinced the marriage/relationship is genuine. They're less common for westerners and more common for people coming from poorer countries or countries that have other issues (as people from these areas have more incentive to get into Canada through marriage fraud). They're also more rare for inland than outland applications.

 

[Lepmer]

1. No, all that matters is that the marriage is legal. Of course, if it's all the same to you, marrying in Canada would mean you wouldn't have to translate the marriage certificate so a bit less hassle, but it doesn't have any real effect on the process.

2. This depends on the culture. For westerners, small ceremonies without much fanfare or many people are okay. I would still suggest having a little celebration with what family or friends you can gather so you can take some pictures and all that. It doesn't have to be a full on wedding, but it helps to have a little celebration for sure. You've mentioned you're planning to have a celebration in Panama, I'm assuming with his family? It would definitely be nice if you applied after that so you could include pictures of that as well.

3. Yes. If you decide to go inland, it's not advised for the applicant to travel for the duration of the process (unless they really have to and even then, only short trips).

4. How long have you been together? How long was the first visit and how long will the visit during which you marry be?

5. You can get your application package here by answering the few questions they ask (requirements can change based on where the applicant is from and what other countries they've lived in): http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/information/applications/spouse.asp. Then you can take a look at the document checklist - the last part is the relationship proof part and you can see what kinds of things they ask for.

6. No. Interviews are needed when they're not convinced the marriage/relationship is genuine. They're less common for westerners and more common for people coming from poorer countries or countries that have other issues (as people from these areas have more incentive to get into Canada through marriage fraud). They're also more rare for inland than outland applications.

Thanks so much for the info!! Much appreciated!!

 

[canuck78]

Would encourage you to spend more time in person before applying. Depending on whether your bf has travelled before to other countries similar to Canada that require a visa and whether he has savings and a good job, a visa for him to visit Canada might be difficult.

 

[Lepmer]

Would encourage you to spend more time in person before applying. Depending on whether your bf has travelled before to other countries similar to Canada that require a visa and whether he has savings and a good job, a visa for him to visit Canada might be difficult.

He is well travelled as he is a flight attendant. And he is hoping to come visit for a few weeks this spring. Maybe we should go the work permit route instead?

 

[canuck78]

He is well travelled as he is a flight attendant. And he is hoping to come visit for a few weeks this spring. Maybe we should go the work permit route instead?

Not sure what WP route. He may have a good chance at a TRV if he has been landing in countries like the US. Most don't have such an extensive travel history. Will also depend on his savings.

 

[Lepmer]

Not sure what WP route. He may have a good chance at a TRV if he has been landing in countries like the US. Most don't have such an extensive travel history. Will also depend on his savings.

Yes he has been in the US many times. TRV? How is that different from a visitors visa?

 

[cdxl]

Hi! I am new to the forum. I was hoping that someone here could kindly answer a few questions for me. I'm very new to the whole world of immigration and want to gather as much info as possible to do it (hopefully!!) right the first time.

I am a Canadian citizen and my boyfriend (never married, no kids) is from Panama and currently resides there. We met online. We have a genuine relationship and are hoping to get married later sometime this year.

1. Does it matter where the marriage takes place? Canada or Panama?

2. Can we have a civil marriage so we can start the sponsorship process and then have a marriage ceremony later in Canada and celebration in Panama? Or is the ceremony and celebration needed for proof of a genuine relationship?

3. With outland sponsorship-can both sponsor and principal applicant travel to each other's country of residence during the sponsorship process?

4. We've only met once (which included my parents), we took photo's and have been communicating nearly every day since (texting, video chat). He is hoping to come and visit this May and I will be introducing him to family and friends....and then hopefully later this year we will get married. I am concerned we won't have enough proof of a genuine relationship as it isn't feasible for me to travel to his country currently and we haven't spent alot of time together in person. I do plan on going to Panama after we are married and we hope to have a celebration there.

5. What proof of a genuine relationship are they looking for exactly?

6. Does everyone get called in for an interview sometime during the process?

Thanks so much for taking the time to answer my questions. Much appreciated!!

Hello, I just already read your question and I would to ask you if your process was inland or outland and how much time takes? Thanks