Marrying in Canada

[Kac]

can an American come to Canada w/just a passport and marry a Canadian citizen?
or would a K1 or certain paperwork have to be done before we can marry here and start the in Canada spousal sponsorship?

[Leon]

There is no fiance visa in Canada so if you want to get married in Canada on a visit status, that is perfectly ok, just don't advertise it when you cross the border that you are planning on getting married or they may see you as a risk of overstaying.  If the marriage was supposed to take place in the US, technically you are supposed to get a fiance visa but again, if you just cross and don't advertise the intent to get married, it's also fine.

Being in Canada, you still have the option of doing outland sponsorship.  It is always your right to have your application processed in your home country.  You would pick the application form that says you are not living in Canada, still write your address in Canada as your residence but opt to have file processed in the US.

Of course it's up to you which you choose.  The pros with outland is that you can still travel back and forth and you get your PR faster, average for Buffalo 5 months + 1 month in the beginning for the sponsorship application.  The cons with outland, if you are called for an interview, you have to go to the US for it.  The pros with inland, all of your application is in Canada so  you never have to leave, the cons are that you are not advised to leave while inland is being processed because if immigration tries to contact you in Canada and you are not there or you are for whatever reason denied entry while coming back, your application is gone.  Also it takes longer, you could get first stage approval and work permit if you applied for it in average 6 months but PR maybe more like 12-18 months.  There are cases on this board of a couple that got inland PR in as little as 9 or 10 months but at the same time another couple is waiting for 17 and didn't hear yet.

Another thing to consider is that if an outland application goes bad, you can appeal and it takes about a year.  If an inland goes bad, it gets sent to the local office without first stage approval so no work permit.  The local office may take 1-3 years to process it.  In the meantime, you'd be stuck to Canada without being able to work and as soon as you'd leave, your application would be cancelled but of course you would have the option to withdraw and apply outland.  Up to you but since you don't have huge travel costs if you have to go to the US for an interview, I would recommend outland.

[Kac]

you.
are.
wonderful.


defiantly advisable to not mention anything when crossing the border haha.
we will think on this, not 100% decided about in or out application. depends on a couple things going on this month. nether of which scares us, it's just preferences at this point

tx for answering my question!

[q-taro]

Hijacking the thread: I have a similar situation; my japanese fiancee has been in canada for over a year on work visa, then visitor visas.. we both went back to her home country last January on a short trip, then came back to Canada on a visitor but didn't mention anything about getting married. I'm canadian btw.

We are now planning on marrying this summer, just after her visa expires though....so we're going to apply for extension to the visitor visa. She has sufficient funds, and has my financial support of course. Should we:

1. mention the wedding date in the extension app, and the intent to apply for inland PR? Or just say something boring like 'sightseeing'...? (and if we shouldn't mention it, why is there no official way to get married in Canada to a visiting foreigner i.e. fiancee visa? ).

2. since she's applied for visitor extensions twice already before going back in Jan, does that mean her chances would be any less, any concerns there? Also in part C of the application, would her original entry to canada the very first time she ever came to canada, or the last time she entered canada on a fresh new visitor visa i.e. last Jan.?

3. any other advice for the visitor application? she doesn't have a return ticket, but last time we extended it and she didn't have one either, so i guess it'd be ok?

4. any advice for the PR application? i know outland application is quickest, but she really wants to stay here... how long does applying in Japan take vs. applying in Canada? If applying in canada, would taking a short vacation out of country for a honeymoon be out of the question?

Really hope someone can help !!

[Leon]

If you mention on a visit visa application that she is not planning on returning to her homeland, the visit visa will likely be refused.

An outland application doesn't mean that she can't stay in Canada.  On the CIC website, it says that applications from Japan are processed in Tokyo but there is no timeline on the CIC website for Tokyo.  Another guy with a Japanese spouse said they had asked and been told that applications go through Manila.  If that is true, according to http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/information/times/international/05-fc-spouses.asp#asia it would take 4-7 months plus one month in Mississauga at the start for sponsor approval so 5-8 months to get PR.  She would only have to leave Canada if she is called for an interview.

With inland, 6-7 months for work permit but 10 months to 2 years total for PR.  It is really not advised to travel while doing inland.  If you would leave and she gets refused entry to Canada when trying to come back, she would have to go back to Japan and you'd have to apply again outland.

[q-taro]

An outland application doesn't mean that she can't stay in Canada.  On the CIC website, it says that applications from Japan are processed in Tokyo but there is no timeline on the CIC website for Tokyo.  Another guy with a Japanese spouse said they had asked and been told that applications go through Manila.  If that is true, according to http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/information/times/international/05-fc-spouses.asp#asia it would take 4-7 months plus one month in Mississauga at the start for sponsor approval so 5-8 months to get PR.  She would only have to leave Canada if she is called for an interview.

Thanks Leon, hmm it might be a gamble to go for the outland application, since she'd rather not have to go to Manila for an interview, but if she didn't have to then she'd get it quickly. We'll think about this option, and maybe continue this in the appropriate sub-forum.

But as for the visitor visa, ok we won't put any hint of wanting to stay longer, but is there an answer for my question #2? part C of the application, would her original entry to canada the very first time she ever came to canada, or the last time she entered canada on a fresh new visitor visa i.e. last Jan.?

[Leon]

If she's been in Canada pretty much the whole time except for vacations, write the first day.  Otherwise write the last one.