What did you submit along with the forms????

[AthinaK]

Hello again to everyone,
My question this time is what did you submit along with the forms as proof of your relashionship with the applicant or sponsor.. I would really like to hear everyones story...
Thank you all for the help ....

 

[Ponga]

This will give you some good ideas:
http://www.canadavisa.com/canada-immigration-discussion-board/how-i-organized-our-applcation-and-a-summary-of-all-helpful-tips-i-have-learned-t92449.0.html

This is probably the hardest part of the entire process. Putting everything on display for a total stranger at CIC to `look at' and decide if you are in a genuine relationship or not. Send as much as you can!!

Good luck!

 

[QuebecOkie]

We really didn't send a lot, and it was one of my (many!) sources of stress throughout the process. However, we are American and Canadian, have no complicating factors, lived together for nearly a year before getting married (he lived and worked in my state for four years), and had no red flags, and our proof of relationship was obviously deemed adequate, as I landed back in October.

I put together a 4-page document. In the document, I had 8 colour photos showing the two of us together, including one from our very small, informal civil ceremony when we were married. I attached three trip itineraries, two showing us traveling together, and one showing me going to visit him where he was deployed. Three of the photos were from the trips represented by the itineraries I included. I wrote a couple of sentences or a short paragraph describing each photo. ("Here we are on our first vacation, Mexico, November 2011, getting ready to go parasailing. It was the first time for both of us. We stayed at X resort in Riviera Maya, but this was an excursion to Cancun. Itinerary attached for trip, Nov 17-23, 2011.") The last paragraph was just a declaration that (basically) I had a full and enjoyable life in my home state, and that the best evidence I could think of to show our relationship was genuine was that I decided to leave my family and friends and my secure life in my own country and follow my love to a region of his country where they don't speak my language (Québec) and where I can't work for the foreseeable future, just to stay with my love.

It wasn't a lot, and when I found out that many applicants had included the equivalent of small novels, I was stressed! However, as I stated, it was adequate for CIC.

I think it's important to try to look at your relationship objectively and be honest about any "red flags" you have. We had none. If you dated for a very short time before marriage, or if you met online and never (or rarely) spent time together in person before the wedding, if your family and friends don't know about your relationship, if you've had multiple short marriages and divorces previously, you need to think about the suspicions CIC may have about your relationship and include more proof to satisfy them that the red flag doesn't mean your relationship isn't genuine.

 

[MapleLeafBride]

We just sent ours in and can't help but think we overdid it. But probably better too much than too little?
Anyway, my American husband and I met while we were both teaching English in South Korea. So I included all the Facebook conversations and emails I could find where we talk about the other person to friends and family back home. Thank goodness for Facebook! I also included photocopies of the stamps in our passports which show we left South Korea the same day and then headed to Thailand for a month-long trip. For that, I included copies of the flight itineraries, hotels, correspondence with sight-seeing companies, etc... For when we returned to our respective countries, I have copies of Facebook conversations and travel documents when I flew to Florida to meet his mom. I also have the receipt from the hotel we stayed in when he first arrived in Ontario before meeting my family. I included all sorts of wedding evidence - communications with vendors (this shows we planned the wedding from a year out), a copy of our pre-marriage course certificate, the church announcement, the church marriage certificate, a letter from the town we got our marriage licence from congratulating us, copies of bridesmaid speeches, shower and wedding cards, etc...
Then there's 'general' relationship evidence: Phone records, Facebook messages, cards to each other and cards we've gotten from in-laws, copies of tickets of hockey/football games, copies of concert tickets, hotels we had booked the same night of concerts.
We also had friends and family write letters for us. I am currently living with my sister and he is with his cousin and we had both of them write a letter which states how often we visit each other (we are in separate countries, but only 3 hours apart, so we are lucky enough to see each other every weekend).
Oh - and lots of pictures. I included a ton of pictures from all the places we've been and also have pictures of us with friends/family. I wrote when/where each photo was taken and who was with us (and noted if they were at the wedding). I also included some of the professional pictures we had done for our engagement and wedding.
I lucked out in that I do a lot of booking of things online and I archive the receipts, so they were easy to find and print out.
We each also wrote a general piece about our relationship and how we feel about each other.
And I think that was it.... we also referenced everything in the appropriate place for the questions about our relationship. So, for example, when it asks about whether there was a formal celebration to recognize the engagement, we refer to the pictures of our shower and all the cards. My hope is it flows as easy enough for the VO as it did in my mind!

 

[truesmile]

We simply submitted about 60 photos, mostly wedding and reception (which is what I think did it for us). Our "relationship development" story fit in the box provided, it was only 3 sentences long.

 

[Catou]

We collected a huge amount of evidence covering eleven years of our relationship, and sorted this all into a filing system for each year. Then, before we submitted our applications we went through all this and looked at it objectively. We ended up including very little after deciding to focus on quality, not quantity. We had a couple of red flags and addressed these in a short paragraph, explaining how they didn't matter to us and why.

We had looked at what people here were sending and in the end we decided that we only had to send enough to explain that our red flags were irrelevant to us, that friends and families have known us as a couple for many years, and that we are in a long-term, committed, happy, normal relationship. In the end, proving this didn't require a whole lot of evidence. We put in one or two things to show us at the same address each year, a photo (usually two - one taken by the other, at the same place and same day - we have very few photos of the two of us together because thats not how we work) for each year of the relationship, and photos of us with family and friends in three different countries. We really just established how we had met, what led to us falling for each other, and added evidence that we've been together ever since. It must have been enough for CIC because it was approved without any issues.

If we had sent in everything we had I think some poor visa officer would still be reading the applications in 2015! There is such a thing as too much information

 

[gango girl]

follow this
1. Pictures - from the day you two met each other (if you have - not 50 or 100, as much as you can)
2. communication proofs - Skype detail sheets with each other
- Skype screen shots when you two are talking with each other & you too are talking with family member's

of each other's
- telephone detail sheets
- emails
3. fb posts to each other, comments to each other, others comments about you two seems that you two are husband & wife, both

of your family members as mutual friends
4. greeting cards
5. letters from each other
6. if you are the wife, the proofs to show that you are using your husband's last name from the day you married (the letters came

over mail on your name with your husbands last name, receipts on your name with your husband's name, invitation's from others

on your name & any kind of document on your name with your husband's last name ect..... )
7. receipts of you & your spouse bought gifts to each other
8. supporting letters from friends & family
9. travel itinerary to your spouse's country (if you have traveled to see each other) & copies of the visas on the passport each

times
10. document proofs for the ability to work anywhere (to show that you can work & earn when the applicant comes to canada &

the proofs of work experiences - certificates)
11. spouses working ability & proof of earning (Option C print out)
12. certify all the copies of your original documents by a lawyer \notary public (its mentioned on your application guide)
- GOOD LUCK.....!!!!!

 

[Catou]

follow this
1. Pictures - from the day you two met each other (if you have - not 50 or 100, as much as you can)
2. communication proofs - Skype detail sheets with each other
- Skype screen shots when you two are talking with each other & you too are talking with family member's

of each other's
- telephone detail sheets
- emails
3. fb posts to each other, comments to each other, others comments about you two seems that you two are husband & wife, both

of your family members as mutual friends
4. greeting cards
5. letters from each other
6. if you are the wife, the proofs to show that you are using your husband's last name from the day you married (the letters came

over mail on your name with your husbands last name, receipts on your name with your husband's name, invitation's from others

on your name & any kind of document on your name with your husband's last name ect..... )
7. receipts of you & your spouse bought gifts to each other
8. supporting letters from friends & family
9. travel itinerary to your spouse's country (if you have traveled to see each other) & copies of the visas on the passport each

times
10. document proofs for the ability to work anywhere (to show that you can work & earn when the applicant comes to canada &

the proofs of work experiences - certificates)
11. spouses working ability & proof of earning (Option C print out)
12. certify all the copies of your original documents by a lawyer \notary public (its mentioned on your application guide)
- GOOD LUCK.....!!!!!

It's important to realise that everybody's relationship is different. Also, country checklists are different. Most don't require certified copies, for example. Married women don't always take their husband's name (and can't anyway, in Quebec). The only proof of a marriage is the official documentation eg. marriage certificate. CIC also look for photos and other evidence but use of a name doesn't prove marital status.

The only absolute about what must be included in an application is the country-specific checklist. Make sure everything you submit complies with this checklist and provide enough evidence of your relationship that a total stranger can see it is genuine, continuing, and not a relationship of convenience in order to get PR.

 

[gango girl]

It's important to realise that everybody's relationship is different. Also, country checklists are different. Most don't require certified copies, for example. Married women don't always take their husband's name (and can't anyway, in Quebec). The only proof of a marriage is the official documentation eg. marriage certificate. CIC also look for photos and other evidence but use of a name doesn't prove marital status.

The only absolute about what must be included in an application is the country-specific checklist. Make sure everything you submit complies with this checklist and provide enough evidence of your relationship that a total stranger can see it is genuine, continuing, and not a relationship of convenience in order to get PR.

yes but many of women use their family name as their husband's last name. if you use husband's last name its also a good evidence to show that you are married to your husband and its genuine too. if you are married for lies you never use husband's last name as your family name. that is not a wrong thing that i have mentioned.
about the marriage certificate - you dont send the original copies of any document & send only the copies of the original documents. when you submit the copies you can check your application guide & see whether they have asked about the certification. if it is needed you have to certify. i'm not telling anything wrong.
you have mentioned that "It's important to realise that everybody's relationship is different" . i'm sorry to tell you this every husband and wife has a husband and wife relationship. the relationship is same and you mean in one family husband and wife has a husband and wife relationship and in other family husband and wife has brother and sister relationship?
i thing every family husband and wife relationship is same but the circumstances are different
thats true. but if you show everything which you have with to show that your relationship is genuine, it is better for you. but for fake couples the CIC recognize whether it is real or genuine.
dear AthinaK, do what is the best everybody likes to help each other the more evidence you submit it is good for you. though you send more & more evidences the cic wont take it as a headache. they will go through all your proofs. good luck