Marriage abroad

[Suin]

Hello, please do advise me on the following matter, whether anyone knows anything about it.
If marriage took place in the United States but husband is the Canadian citizen & wife is the European citizen - will it be ok for the Canadian to start the process of sponsorship for the wife? Will marriage abroad work?
Thank you in advance

[ariell]

Yes, absolutely no problem. As long as you are legally married in the country where your marriage took place, then it is considered a legal and valid marriage for Canada Immigration. You will need a copy of your marriage certificate to submit with your application. I would think that most people that apply for spousal sponsorship are married abroad. Please note that it must be a legal marriage -- not simply a religious ceremony. For instance, my husband and I were married in a religious (Buddhist) ceremony in India last summer and were also married at the courthouse so that we could get our marriage certificate. We applied for immigration in September and he arrived here in March. Good luck to you.

[Suin]

thank you very much for your answer, Ariell.
Could you please tell me (if sure it is not a secret) whether your marriage in court took place in India too? when both of you got married what citizenship you had?
thank you & sorry for so many questions

[ariell]

Yes, we got married in the Indian courthouse. I am Canadian and my husband is Tibetan.

[Suin]

Thank you very much for your reply. As I can see you came through all the process being a Canadian. Could you please advise what exact papers can serve as a proof of the marriage that is genuine?
Thank you. I really appreciate it a lot.

[Lia]

Hello, please do advise me on the following matter, whether anyone knows anything about it.
If marriage took place in the United States but husband is the Canadian citizen & wife is the European citizen - will it be ok for the Canadian to start the process of sponsorship for the wife? Will marriage abroad work?
Thank you in advance

Yes. My husband and I got married in the US. He is a canadian citizen and I am a brazilian citizen. As long as it is valid where the marriage took place, it is valid in Canada as well.

[ariell]

Thank you very much for your reply. As I can see you came through all the process being a Canadian. Could you please advise what exact papers can serve as a proof of the marriage that is genuine?
Thank you. I really appreciate it a lot.

Well they want to know that your marriage is lasting and continuing so you will need to show proof of this. We submitted all of our emails, phone records, online chat records, about 60 photos (before marriage, during the marriage ceremony and then on our honeymoon), visa stamps in my passport, copies of boarding passes/plane tickets, copies of hotel receipts. Then we each wrote our own letter providing more details of our relationship.