I wouldn't recommend getting married before at least 1 year. If that's not possible (aka, you've already put money down), is it possible you could live with him in his country for 6 months before filing for PR? That would help the situation. (Since you are a citizen, you can remain outside Canada while you sponsor him too.)sophieeg said:Hi, I am new to this forum and require lots of help I hope I am posting in the right forum I am filing my sponsorship application and his PR application with the Nairobi Offices
. I am actually a naturalized Canadian Citizen, (Parents Immigrated when I was 5 And I simply tagged a long) I knew my Fiancee since birth I am now 19 years Old and a Student at York University, My Fiancee is 24 years Old born and raised in Mauritius (my native country also), we were good friends since he was my neighbor (and actually since my grand mother still resides in Mauritius, they are still neighbors, his family and mine are very close) in 2007 he sent me a friend request on facebook, we talked but did not date because long distance and only seeing each other on Webcam was not ideal, We began our relationship Officially in May 2013 -June 2013 when I went back to Mauritius after 12 years to visit him and family members. Since we already knew each other and each other's families, things moved pretty fast between us and I am going back for my second trip in December 2013-January 2014 to marry him, My parents and brother along with my uncles and aunts & Grand parents in Canada (Father's side of the family) are fully aware of the relationship and really wish they could attend but will be working and Mauritius is quite far for my father who gets very sick on 26+hrs plane rides, My mother really wishes to attend the wedding but she was unable to get the weeks off her work schedule so our plan was to have a civil wedding ceremony with my grand mother & his sister being the witness followed by a small wedding reception at his home or my grand mother's with the whole family (his and my mother's side of the family) and friends, afterwards I was planning to file my sponsorship application once I am back to Canada in Jan. 2014 will send the files to Mississauga, if everything goes according to plan and he receives his PR we are planning on having a church wedding here (born and raised Catholics) with my father's side of the family.
My problem is, since we did not date during the 2007-until May 5th 2013 Period I did not keep proof of our conversations to show that we indeed met, we have no pictures of us at a young age playing together, will they think I made up the whole story of knowing him since that age?
I can show that I was in fact born in Mauritius and his home address and Mine.. will that be enough??
During my first trip I took quite a few pictures but my camera was stolen so all I have are some pictures on my laptop but planning to take a lot more in December-January when I go .. How much is too much? lol Embarrassed
- Will his age and my age matter, does it make me seem young ? I just turned 19 in June 2013 and he will be 24 in a week
- I am currently on OSAP and living with my parents the last time I had a part time job was October 2012 can I show my T4 for 2011? I am planning on getting a part time job during the school months september-april and then going back to Mauritius from April-September to live with him once school is done and wait for the papers ... so I will not have any income, how can I explain that to them? I know for sponsoring a spouse there is no income required but can I show my bank statements, I am not sure what Option C print out is since my parents usually filed my taxes. I do have a T2202A form from school can I show that?
Does it seem like we are getting married to fast? will CIC be suspicious?, because even though we have known each other for 19 years, we began our relationship in May and will be getting married after only 7 months ...
Our relationship is extremely genuine, my Mother always knew we would end up together and has told me many times, prior to even dating him that we would make a perfect couple, can my parents write letters explaining how they wish they were able to attend and how once he receives his paper we will be able to live in their 2 bedroom basement apartment until he is able to find a job? He works in the construction field for 5 years now he is fluent in French and understands English and can somewhat speak it, so I hope it will not be too hard for him to get approved for jobs here .
Sorry for the long post, I hope you guys are able to understand everything
thank you. Kiss
My opinion (and you'll get lots of different opinions here and we all have good points) is what really matters is the romantic relationship. It's cute that you've been friends for so long, but friends aren't in adult interdependent relationship. They are just friends. So, I would yes, show proof you've been friends and kept in contact, but just enough to show CIC you kept in contact. There is no point in trying to prove what type of relationship because "friends" don't qualify for immigration. My advice would be to show a small sample from the friendship years (maybe a birthday card or Christmas card or a screenshot showing your emails - but make sure to mark it clearly as "FRIENDS - BEFORE DATING." (Don't confuse CIC, they are confused enough already) and ask family on both sides write statements about your relationship. When they write these letters they can validate you've been friends for a long time.
Also, a random note I picked up on - your Fiancé is Catholic. In order to be married in the Catholic Church (within the religion NOT the government), you have to actually be physically married inside of a Catholic Church, as you may know. He may want to include a note about why he's okay with a civil ceremony for now. This is especially important if you're from a heavily Catholic country. If he is Catholic, but non-practicing - then on the forms, he can write he is a non-practicing Catholic and it should explain to the Immigration Officer well enough.
If this last part confuses you, I understand. Let me know what questions you have and I will try to answer.
If your parents are willing to allow him to live with you, you can also ask them to write letters of support. You will need a document called Option C from Revenue Canada. The instructions on how to get it are in your guide.
http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/information/applications/guides/3900ETOC.asp#3900E2
As far as age, there is no right answer. Yes, you are young. Young people get married and sponsor their spouses too. Personally, if you're worried about anything, I would be more concerned with the length of your relationship prior to marriage. IF you have an interview, CIC may question him (or you if you attend) on how you can be so sure you want this person for the rest of your life at a young age. It will up to you to answer. (I don't have advice for the answer, I got married at 31!)