Need Advice on Sponsership.. Thanks!

[hubbard86]

Hi All,

I am a Canadian citizen living and working in Canada. I am planning on going to Mexico to marry my fiancee (Mexican) in a couple of months and have some quick questions.

1) If she comes here and waits (appication from within Canada, which takes longer) is it true that she can not leave the country and return. She does not need a TRV to enter Canada being Mexican, but can she return easily and without hassle if she tells them the truth (going to visit family and return etc.)? Is applying for an Open Work permit while waiting easy if she waits the process out here?

2) OR is it easier for us to do the application from outside of Canada (Mexico City, less wait time)? If so, can she visit me (again, no need for TRV) as much as she wants (or me visit her etc.) during that process of waiting for the PR to be processed?

3) We will have a marriage certificate from Mexico. Is it still necessary to supply CIC with photos, plane tickets, and other things beyond the certificate? I'm assuming this is true?

4) Any other advice???

Thanks for your help.

Sincerely,

Steve

[dan-carol]

3) We will have a marriage certificate from Mexico. Is it still necessary to supply CIC with photos, plane tickets, and other things beyond the certificate? I'm assuming this is true?

Hi Steve,

Although my wife is in the Philippines and not Mexico, I can offer some small bits of advice.
Your caseworker at CIC will be looking for proof of a genuine and enduring relationship between you and your spouse. This means, collect and save anything you can. Receipts, tickets, "significant" photographs of wedding, visiting places together, photos with her family, your family, cards, letters, emails etc. The operations manual even suggests print-outs from chat programs are ok.

You may want to ask around about obtaining an official marriage certificate in Mexico. It could be similar to the Philippines in some of the Spanish colonial/Catholic ways. Here's what we experienced... It can take a LONG (3 months for us) time to get an officially recognised marriage certificate depending on the place you get married and the civil registry or national statistics office. The bureaucracy is confusing and a learning curve even for citizens. Relatives may come in handy in navigating the layers there. Maybe it's improved in Mexico, but be aware.

Along with your official documents, provide as much "proof" as you can. It's not a problem if the package weighs a kilo. Do not send CDs, picture frames, electronic devices (greeting cards), and mechanical clips and stuff.

Also, check on the CIC web site for region or country specific instructions. I believe you are looking for http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/pdf/kits/guides/3908e.pdf.


Good luck,

Dan & Carol
Philippines

[brule]

1) If she comes here and waits (application from within Canada, which takes longer) is it true that she can not leave the country and return. She does not need a TRV to enter Canada being Mexican, but can she return easily and without hassle if she tells them the truth (going to visit family and return etc.)? Is applying for an Open Work permit while waiting easy if she waits the process out here?

She will be able to leave and visit the country for 6 months at a time as a visitor or she can also apply to extend her temporary status.   Telling the truth is exactly what she will tell them - I intend to stay for a couple of months with my husband and return to my family in Mexico.

2) OR is it easier for us to do the application from outside of Canada (Mexico City, less wait time)? If so, can she visit me (again, no need for TRV) as much as she wants (or me visit her etc.) during that process of waiting for the PR to be processed?

Based on what I have read and learnt it will be a quicker process if she applies from outside canada.  I think this due to the fact that the application has to go back to your home country any way for part of the processing.  However I decided to sponsor from within Canada so as not to be away from my wife.  Also I don't know if this applies to you but I think you should be married for at least one year before sending the sponsorship application.

3) We will have a marriage certificate from Mexico. Is it still necessary to supply CIC with photos, plane tickets, and other things beyond the certificate? I'm assuming this is true?

Your sponsorship application will request all the necessary documentation.  And yes photos will be necessary for proof.

4) Any other advice???

Review your sponsorship application for your region form the cic website and check to see if you need to be married for at least one year before submission.