How many picture to include when sponsoring my wife?

[shanernewman]

Hey all,

Just about to submit but going through all my pictures. How many is a reasonable amount to include. Right now we're at about 85 pictures and I think that may be a touch too many. I've tried to include pictures that show the progression of our relationship which includes us with each other's family and friends.

We're also submitting other proof like bank statements showing joint accounts, and proof that she registered the same address as me with Service Ontario last year before we were married. I know in one part it says to include communications, but the problem is we basically only communicate through Whatsapp. I have pulled our chat log but it's pretty..... stupid. I've screenshotted a few captions, but it's not like we can include long love letters by email or anything -- will this be a problem?

Also, our lawyer said it wasn't a big deal but should we have our friends and family write letters verifying that our marriage is completely legitimate?

Thanks for the help!!!

Oh and if anyone is following my saga, we got the Canada police check back and it was 100% completely clean!

 

[rizwan16]

Hey all,

Just about to submit but going through all my pictures. How many is a reasonable amount to include. Right now we're at about 85 pictures and I think that may be a touch too many. I've tried to include pictures that show the progression of our relationship which includes us with each other's family and friends.

We're also submitting other proof like bank statements showing joint accounts, and proof that she registered the same address as me with Service Ontario last year before we were married. I know in one part it says to include communications, but the problem is we basically only communicate through Whatsapp. I have pulled our chat log but it's pretty..... stupid. I've screenshotted a few captions, but it's not like we can include long love letters by email or anything -- will this be a problem?

Also, our lawyer said it wasn't a big deal but should we have our friends and family write letters verifying that our marriage is completely legitimate?

Thanks for the help!!!

Oh and if anyone is following my saga, we got the Canada police check back and it was 100% completely clean!

You should include many pictures as you can together and with friends . at the end of the day you want to makr sure VO is satisfied. For whats app chat i know when i submitted my case for wife i attached a page for each month . when we pulled up the history it was more than 1000 pages. The VO is not really intrested in what we talk about just wants to make sure the releationship is genunez

Best of Luck

 

[keesio]

Set of pictures that show progression of the relationship is a good idea. But remember quality over quantity. CIC will prefer quality 10 photos of you and your spouse at special events and large family gatherings over 100 pictures of you and your spouse sitting on the couch or drinking coffee at Starbucks.

Chat logs from things like WhatsApp is low in priority for CIC. Send a few pages from each month to show you had consistent communication and that is fine. Don't send hundreds of pages of chat.

Testimonials from relatives/friends is optional. Do it if you feel your other proof is weak.

 

[Pink123]

Hey all,

Just about to submit but going through all my pictures. How many is a reasonable amount to include. Right now we're at about 85 pictures and I think that may be a touch too many. I've tried to include pictures that show the progression of our relationship which includes us with each other's family and friends.

We're also submitting other proof like bank statements showing joint accounts, and proof that she registered the same address as me with Service Ontario last year before we were married. I know in one part it says to include communications, but the problem is we basically only communicate through Whatsapp. I have pulled our chat log but it's pretty..... stupid. I've screenshotted a few captions, but it's not like we can include long love letters by email or anything -- will this be a problem?

Also, our lawyer said it wasn't a big deal but should we have our friends and family write letters verifying that our marriage is completely legitimate?

Thanks for the help!!!

Oh and if anyone is following my saga, we got the Canada police check back and it was 100% completely clean!

Hi

In our application, we have 70-80 pictures. We have included pictures with our friends and families, when we were still young, and especially our wedding pictures. For additional proofs, i included some of our boarding pass/e-tickets during our vacations, bank statement for our joint account and our marriage certificate too. Just attach all documents that can show how genuine is your relationship.

 

[YYC2015]

Hey all,

Just about to submit but going through all my pictures. How many is a reasonable amount to include. Right now we're at about 85 pictures and I think that may be a touch too many. I've tried to include pictures that show the progression of our relationship which includes us with each other's family and friends.

We're also submitting other proof like bank statements showing joint accounts, and proof that she registered the same address as me with Service Ontario last year before we were married. I know in one part it says to include communications, but the problem is we basically only communicate through Whatsapp. I have pulled our chat log but it's pretty..... stupid. I've screenshotted a few captions, but it's not like we can include long love letters by email or anything -- will this be a problem?

Also, our lawyer said it wasn't a big deal but should we have our friends and family write letters verifying that our marriage is completely legitimate?

Thanks for the help!!!

Oh and if anyone is following my saga, we got the Canada police check back and it was 100% completely clean!

HI

I'm also sponsoring my wife but it's a outland case. I sent around 60 pictures, which includes the wedding ceremony, reception, honeymoon and other pictures we took together. I labelled all the pictures, at the back of photos, I wrote the name of people who appeared in photo from left to right, the date, the place and the occasion. For communication proof, I sent phone bills, screenshot of history( Bell doesn't show the lnt'l # in phone bill log, i explained it in the outline) 50 pages of whatsapp, 300 pages of FB messages ( I printed 2 pages on 1 paper = 150 pages). I put everything which prove the genuine relationship in one envelope and labeled it as "Proof of relationship". The outline had the header, which include sponsor name and Dob and person being sponsored name and dob. Below is the outline.

Proof of Relationship:

1) Photos (57pictures)
The wedding consists of four ceremonies, Nikaah, followed by mendhi ceremony, Rukhsati, and then Walima (wedding reception).
a. Nikaah Photos (8 pictures)
i. Question# 15, Form IMM 5490
b. Groom & Bride Menhdi Ceremony Photos (13 pictures)
i. Question# 15, Form IMM 5490
c. Rukhsati Photos (6 pictures)
i. Question# 15, Form IMM 5490
d. Wedding Reception (Walima) Photos (14 pictures)
i. Question# 18, Form IMM 5490
e. Honeymoon photos (9 pictures)
i. Question# 19, Form IMM 5490
f. Other photos (7 pictures)

2) Honeymoon tickets and visa,
a. Question# 19, Form IMM 5490
b. Ticket invoice for me and wife
c. Dubai Visa copy for wife

3) Communication (question#26, Form IMM 5490)
a. Phone records
i. The phone bill from my service provider doesn't show the international number; instead it shows my phone number.
ii. The date I called my spouse is highlighted on the bill, and provided the screenshot of receiving the call on phone
b. Facebook communication record
c. Whatsapp communication record

4) Wedding cards
a. Invitation from Groom for Wedding Reception
b. Invitation from Bride.

5) Financial assistance proof (question #30, Form IMM 5490)
a. 2 Remittance receipt
6) Joint bank account proof
a. Void cheque


I hope this help.

 

[SchnookoLoly]

keesio's advice is spot on.

Quality over Quantity is the most important. Provide enough evidence, whether it's photos or otherwise, to make your point, but don't provide so much that it's overwhelming. If you send CIC 1000 pages of proof, it's entirely possible they'll send your application back because there is no way they are going to sift through 1000 pages.

Your photos should, as you say, show the progression of your relationship. If you are providing photos from a holiday, pick a scenic one so it's obvious you are where you say you are. Photos with family and friends are also very important, even if some of them were just non-event social gatherings or whatever. You only need to include 1-2 from various events or trips, not zillions. When we applied I think we gave about 40-50 photos that spanned our 3.5 years together. That included a few from various trips, a bunch from family and friends visiting us (we both have lots of overseas family), and some of our general life together, like one of us with a halloween pumpkin we carved, and that sort of thing.

Chats - exactly what has been said. Pick one page a month and submit that with a covering letter saying you are just giving snippets that show you are in constant contact but not providing hundreds of pages worth, but if they do want to see more you are happy to provide it. (I did this with my phone bills, instead of submitting 24 phone bills, I submitted 8 spanning 2 years and just wrote a letter that said I was just providing a random selection of months - logically, it's unlikely that my husband and I exchanged 350 text messages one month and many phone calls, then had radio silence for two months, then did it all again a month later, then radio silence again.)

Read this, it will help as well - http://britishexpats.com/wiki/Spousal_Sponsorship-Canada/FAQ#There_are_multiple_references_to_.27including_proof_of_a_common-law_relationship.27._What_does_this_mean.3F (It's geared towards Brits but the advice is applicable regardless of nationality.)

 

[canuck_in_uk]

We're also submitting other proof like bank statements showing joint accounts, and proof that she registered the same address as me with Service Ontario last year before we were married. I know in one part it says to include communications, but the problem is we basically only communicate through Whatsapp. I have pulled our chat log but it's pretty..... stupid. I've screenshotted a few captions, but it's not like we can include long love letters by email or anything -- will this be a problem?

If you have lived together for awhile, you can skip the communication proofs entirely. No need for chats/texts/emails/phone records/etc. For the communication questions, simply put "We live together."

 

[Haaya]

HI

I'm also sponsoring my wife but it's a outland case. I sent around 60 pictures, which includes the wedding ceremony, reception, honeymoon and other pictures we took together. I labelled all the pictures, at the back of photos, I wrote the name of people who appeared in photo from left to right, the date, the place and the occasion. For communication proof, I sent phone bills, screenshot of history( Bell doesn't show the lnt'l # in phone bill log, i explained it in the outline) 50 pages of whatsapp, 300 pages of FB messages ( I printed 2 pages on 1 paper = 150 pages). I put everything which prove the genuine relationship in one envelope and labeled it as "Proof of relationship". The outline had the header, which include sponsor name and Dob and person being sponsored name and dob. Below is the outline.

Proof of Relationship:

1) Photos (57pictures)
The wedding consists of four ceremonies, Nikaah, followed by mendhi ceremony, Rukhsati, and then Walima (wedding reception).
a. Nikaah Photos (8 pictures)
i. Question# 15, Form IMM 5490
b. Groom & Bride Menhdi Ceremony Photos (13 pictures)
i. Question# 15, Form IMM 5490
c. Rukhsati Photos (6 pictures)
i. Question# 15, Form IMM 5490
d. Wedding Reception (Walima) Photos (14 pictures)
i. Question# 18, Form IMM 5490
e. Honeymoon photos (9 pictures)
i. Question# 19, Form IMM 5490
f. Other photos (7 pictures)

2) Honeymoon tickets and visa,
a. Question# 19, Form IMM 5490
b. Ticket invoice for me and wife
c. Dubai Visa copy for wife

3) Communication (question#26, Form IMM 5490)
a. Phone records
i. The phone bill from my service provider doesn't show the international number; instead it shows my phone number.
ii. The date I called my spouse is highlighted on the bill, and provided the screenshot of receiving the call on phone
b. Facebook communication record
c. Whatsapp communication record

4) Wedding cards
a. Invitation from Groom for Wedding Reception
b. Invitation from Bride.

5) Financial assistance proof (question #30, Form IMM 5490)
a. 2 Remittance receipt
6) Joint bank account proof
a. Void cheque


I hope this help.

Can we keep the barat as the wedding reception cause we didn’t invite everyone for walima hardly 20 people

 

[Haaya]

keesio's advice is spot on.

Quality over Quantity is the most important. Provide enough evidence, whether it's photos or otherwise, to make your point, but don't provide so much that it's overwhelming. If you send CIC 1000 pages of proof, it's entirely possible they'll send your application back because there is no way they are going to sift through 1000 pages.

Your photos should, as you say, show the progression of your relationship. If you are providing photos from a holiday, pick a scenic one so it's obvious you are where you say you are. Photos with family and friends are also very important, even if some of them were just non-event social gatherings or whatever. You only need to include 1-2 from various events or trips, not zillions. When we applied I think we gave about 40-50 photos that spanned our 3.5 years together. That included a few from various trips, a bunch from family and friends visiting us (we both have lots of overseas family), and some of our general life together, like one of us with a halloween pumpkin we carved, and that sort of thing.

Chats - exactly what has been said. Pick one page a month and submit that with a covering letter saying you are just giving snippets that show you are in constant contact but not providing hundreds of pages worth, but if they do want to see more you are happy to provide it. (I did this with my phone bills, instead of submitting 24 phone bills, I submitted 8 spanning 2 years and just wrote a letter that said I was just providing a random selection of months - logically, it's unlikely that my husband and I exchanged 350 text messages one month and many phone calls, then had radio silence for two months, then did it all again a month later, then radio silence again.)

Read this, it will help as well - http://britishexpats.com/wiki/Spousal_Sponsorship-Canada/FAQ#There_are_multiple_references_to_.27including_proof_of_a_common-law_relationship.27._What_does_this_mean.3F (It's geared towards Brits but the advice is applicable regardless of nationality.)

I lost the chat for almost 3 months is it ok