Tourist Visa for Wife to have a religious Ceremony in Canada

[Dean_P]

Hi Everyone,

I am a Canadian citizen and my fiancé (from South Africa) and I will get court married in her home country early 2014 and have a small wedding party there. In the summer of 2014 we would like to have a bigger religious ceremony and reception for my friends and family here in Canada. We would also like to go to Hawaii for a honeymoon after the Canadian ceremony. For the ceremony in Canada, my future wife and her family would need to apply for a tourist visa. My wife has strong ties to her home country (she owns a business there and has family there too) and so does her family that will come with her.

We will not send in any PR or sponsorship documents until after she leaves Canada.

I have a few questions:
1) I feel like there should be no issue with getting visas for this purpose, but what are the feelings of those here in this forum?
2) Do I need a multiple Entry visa for my wife, since we would be going to the US and then coming back to Canada before she leaves for her home country again.
2a) Would it be easy for her to get a multiple entry visa?

Thanks,

Dean

 

[scylla]

1) I give it 25/75 unless she has traveled extensively to countries where she was required to apply for a visa - in which case I would increase the odds in her favour. She should include as much evidence as possible to demonstrate strong ties to her home country when she applies. Note that family won't count unless she has children there that she is leaving behind while she is visiting Canada.
2) No - she doesn't need a multiple entry.
3) Harder to get a multiple.

 

[Dean_P]

1) I give it 25/75 unless she has traveled extensively to countries where she was required to apply for a visa - in which case I would increase the odds in her favour. She should include as much evidence as possible to demonstrate strong ties to her home country when she applies. Note that family won't count unless she has children there that she is leaving behind while she is visiting Canada.
2) No - she doesn't need a multiple entry.
3) Harder to get a multiple.

Thanks, Scylla.

My concern is that a wedding takes a lot of planning and a lot of work beforehand (Booking the venue, invitation cards, priests, etc..) and is quite costly. Since we are planning for a Summer wedding, she would need to apply for a tourist visa in the spring of 2014 (The visa is only valid for 3 months if I understand correctly). All of the venue bookings, invite, etc... will have to occur before she can even apply for her tourist visa. Obviously, being the bride, she would be a very important part of the ceremony and I would not want all of that planning to fall apart because she couldn't get a visa at the last minute.

She has travelled before, once to UAE and once to Canada to visit me (I sent a letter of invitation). Like I said, she has a business in SA with an employee that relies on her for pay. She also has a signed lease with the building owner where she has her shop. She has assets in South Africa (Car and Cash and the business itself if that's considered an asset) and has all of her family in SA (Parents, Aunts/uncles, Siblings, nieces, nephews). She would need to sell her business and all that before she could live in Canada permanently.

I plan on writing a letter of invitation for her outlining all of this with supporting documents. I would hope all this would be enough for them.

What other options do I have? I don't feel like I'm doing anything wrong here, so I'm a bit surprised to hear that you think our chances are that low.

Thanks,

Dean

 

[scylla]

The fact she has previously traveled to Canada will definitely help. The challenge is that once she's married to you, CIC may feel she has stronger ties to Canada than she does to SA and may refuse her based on this fact. Again, the word is "may" - she may also have no issues getting approved. If you read through this forum, you'll unfortunately find plenty of examples of situations where tourist visas have been refused because the traveler has a Canadian citizen spouse.

The short answer is that her past history will certainly increase her chances of being approved (especially the travel to Canada) - however assuming this is a slam dunk would not be wise since refusal is always a possibility.

Does she have any other ties to SA other than the business and the lease? (The family members won't count for anything in CIC's eyes. Once she marries you, CIC will assume her family ties to Canada are stronger than her family ties to SA.) Does she own any property? If so, she should include these deeds as well. Cars generally aren't worth listing as an asset. Bank account statements with substantial savings are worth listing.

 

[Dean_P]

Thanks again Scylla,

We've had a chance to think about what you've said and I appreciate your help.

How about an alternate scenario where we do a legal marriage along with the religious marriage ceremony in Canada. My fiancé and her family would need a TRV, however, in the letter of invite, should we state that she is coming to get married? Or should the letter just leave it as a family vacation or holiday? I've heard conflicting reports/opinions about stating plans for marriage in the invite letter, so I'm not too sure what to do, and it all seems very confusing.

I know CIC's main concern is making sure that she leaves when she said she will, but if I state she and her family are coming for her wedding, what type of stuff do I need to show to convince CIC that they will leave after 2 weeks (apart from business ownership/lease, etc...)? Would an affidavit stating she will leave the country help?

It seems like it would be easier for her and her family to get a TRV under the context of a family vacation (which in fairness, it will still be actually). All members of the family have travel experience to countries that require a visa, and have ties to their home country. I imagine CIC would not question a family vacation as much as an intention of marriage. If she comes with her family as a family vacation before marriage, she wouldn't really have any officials ties to Canada at the time of the visa application.

I would appreciate any additional insight you or anyone else can offer.

Thanks,

Dean