Spousal Sponsorship – Court / Civil Marriage Without Parents Present: Is This Okay?

[computerscience23]

Hello!

For spousal sponsorship, would a court marriage in Canada without parents present be acceptable if we had only close friends as witnesses?

We are originally from India and met in Canada in 2023. Both of us came to Canada independently on study permits. We have been in a relationship for 2 years prior to the marriage, have many photos together (including with each other’s families), and letters of support from friends and family. We also included other proof such as financial support for each other, living together for over a year, and more.

We have already applied for sponsorship and did not include any letter of explanation about the absence of parents.

Would this be an issue?

 

[computerscience23]

@YVR123 @armoured any thoughts on this? I read that this might be a concern for people with Indian origin.

 

[armoured]

@YVR123 @armoured any thoughts on this? I read that this might be a concern for people with Indian origin.

It's not about being 'Indian origin' but whether (primarily) it's an arranged marriage and to a lesser degree cultural expectations.

I can't say for sure but from your explanation sounds like it shouldn't be a huge problem. That said: I can't recall whether it specifically asks for letters of explanation if parents did not attend.

 

[computerscience23]

It's not about being 'Indian origin' but whether (primarily) it's an arranged marriage and to a lesser degree cultural expectations.

I can't say for sure but from your explanation sounds like it shouldn't be a huge problem. That said: I can't recall whether it specifically asks for letters of explanation if parents did not attend.

No, it’s not an arranged marriage. We met through dating app.

And no, we didn’t explain it in the IMM5532. Let me explain why.

We had our Roka ceremony (an Indian commitment ceremony) in India, where both of our immediate families were physically present. So, in the form where they ask you to list any formal events that celebrate your relationship, we included both the Roka and the civil wedding.

Therefore, we didn’t have to select “No,” as the question was worded along the lines of “Did anyone listed below attend any of the events mentioned?”

And we’ve also attached pics from Roka event.

 

[canuck78]

Given you lived together for a year it shouldn’t be an issue but you should also be prepared to do things like post about your marriage online for example. Many have these formal engagement ceremonies but then have small civil ceremony soon after. It wouldn’t make sense to have a formal engagement ceremony but not have something similar or more elaborate for a wedding. Most still plan on having a wedding with friends and family but have civil ceremonies that they do not disclose publicly to family and friends that are for immigration purposes. IRCC does check things like social media these days so people should be prepared to at least post about their civil ceremony especially if they post about their engagement or relationship status.

 

[computerscience23]

Given you lived together for a year it shouldn’t be an issue but you should also be prepared to do things like post about your marriage online for example. Many have these formal engagement ceremonies but then have small civil ceremony soon after. It wouldn’t make sense to have a formal engagement ceremony but not have something similar or more elaborate for a wedding. Most still plan on having a wedding with friends and family but have civil ceremonies that they do not disclose publicly to family and friends that are for immigration purposes. IRCC does check things like social media these days so people should be prepared to at least post about their civil ceremony especially if they post about their engagement or relationship status.

That's interesting. Thanks for your reply.

We don't really use social media that much and last time we updated Facebook was like 5 years ago. So, Facebook still shows us as single I believe. Both of out insta accounts are private but we have shared some pics of the private proposal.

However, all of our close friends and families are fully aware of the relationship. We had our Roka ceremony (an Indian commitment ceremony) in India, where both of our immediate families were physically present. We have a lot of pictures with each other's families as well as friends over the span of last two years. Moreover, we have letters of support from both sides of families as well as close friends.

All of our official documents such as Drivers License, CRA, Employment Docs, and so on reflect that we're married and have been living together at the same address for over a year.

Do you think it's still necessary to update the status on Facebook that we haven't even used / updated in last 4-5 years? I am worried changing the status all of a sudden would look suspicious especially since we're not even active.

 

[YVR123]

I don't have anything else to add. Good luck.

 

[canuck78]

That's interesting. Thanks for your reply.

We don't really use social media that much and last time we updated Facebook was like 5 years ago. So, Facebook still shows us as single I believe. Both of out insta accounts are private but we have shared some pics of the private proposal.

However, all of our close friends and families are fully aware of the relationship. We had our Roka ceremony (an Indian commitment ceremony) in India, where both of our immediate families were physically present. We have a lot of pictures with each other's families as well as friends over the span of last two years. Moreover, we have letters of support from both sides of families as well as close friends.

All of our official documents such as Drivers License, CRA, Employment Docs, and so on reflect that we're married and have been living together at the same address for over a year.

Do you think it's still necessary to update the status on Facebook that we haven't even used / updated in last 4-5 years? I am worried changing the status all of a sudden would look suspicious especially since we're not even active.

Would probably update your insta even if currently private. Although you have more proof than many people it is tough to justify why you would include your family in an engagement ceremony and not your wedding. Typically more effort would be put into following cultural/religious traditions and involve family in a wedding not the engagement. Are you planning on having a wedding in India in the future? We see many people on this forum who have a civil ceremony but do not count that as their “true” wedding date and most attending their traditional wedding have no idea they have been married for quite some time. My opinion but also a good rule of thumb if you want to use your civil ceremony for immigration purposes should also be shared openly with family and friends like your family likely did with your traditional engagement.

 

[computerscience23]

Would probably update your insta even if currently private. Although you have more proof than many people it is tough to justify why you would include your family in an engagement ceremony and not your wedding. Typically more effort would be put into following cultural/religious traditions and involve family in a wedding not the engagement. Are you planning on having a wedding in India in the future? We see many people on this forum who have a civil ceremony but do not count that as their “true” wedding date and most attending their traditional wedding have no idea they have been married for quite some time. My opinion but also a good rule of thumb if you want to use your civil ceremony for immigration purposes should also be shared openly with family and friends like your family likely did with your traditional engagement.

I didn't know people actually do that have and multiple weddings. Honestly, for our case, both of us are not a huge fan of big weddings especially hate traditional weddings. So, this is our actual wedding and all of our friends and family are fully aware of it. This is reflected in all of our documents as well such as DL(s), employment documents, health insurance documents, banks, and so on.

And it's not about whether we wanted to include our families in engagement / wedding or not. It's just we were traveling to our home country and did the Roka in the presence of the family since it was easy location wise. And when we got married in Canada, our parents couldn't attend in person (only virtually) since they don't have visa. Although PA's brother is in Canada and he did attend the wedding in person.

 

[canuck78]

I didn't know people actually do that have and multiple weddings. Honestly, for our case, both of us are not a huge fan of big weddings especially hate traditional weddings. So, this is our actual wedding and all of our friends and family are fully aware of it. This is reflected in all of our documents as well such as DL(s), employment documents, health insurance documents, banks, and so on.

And it's not about whether we wanted to include our families in engagement / wedding or not. It's just we were traveling to our home country and did the Roka in the presence of the family since it was easy location wise. And when we got married in Canada, our parents couldn't attend in person (only virtually) since they don't have visa. Although PR's brother is in Canada and he did attend the wedding in person.

Then explain that. Many people have multiple wedding. Lots of examples of large formal engagement ceremonies and days later having a civil wedding with only parents for immigration purposes. Almost weekly there is a similar example to yours but who are unwilling to post that they are married, only parents may know they had a civil wedding in or out of Canada and have plans to have a traditional wedding in the next year. You do have the benefit of being common law. Employment, tax, banking, insurance, etc. documents are not something people typically share with people so not sure how that shows to family and friends that you at married. When explaining why you chose not to have parents at your wedding you can show your parents were refused TRVs for example and that you had no upcoming travel plans to India like you did with your engagement. You can also explain you do not like large weddings so have no future plans of having a ceremony in India and why you chose a civil ceremony.

 

[computerscience23]

Then explain that. Many people have multiple wedding. Lots of examples of large formal engagement ceremonies and days later having a civil wedding with only parents for immigration purposes. Almost weekly there is a similar example to yours but who are unwilling to post that they are married, only parents may know they had a civil wedding in or out of Canada and have plans to have a traditional wedding in the next year. You do have the benefit of being common law. Employment, tax, banking, insurance, etc. documents are not something people typically share with people so not sure how that shows to family and friends that you at married. When explaining why you chose not to have parents at your wedding you can show your parents were refused TRVs for example and that you had no upcoming travel plans to India like you did with your engagement. You can also explain you do not like large weddings so have no future plans of having a ceremony in India and why you chose a civil ceremony.

Thanks! You've definitely raised some very good points. We've already applied and in our case, even our Roka ceremony was very small and just happened at our home in the presence of only immediate families. So, that align well with the small wedding I believe.

You do have the benefit of being common law. Employment, tax, banking, insurance, etc. documents are not something people typically share with people so not sure how that shows to family and friends that you at married.

You're right. But for that, we have letters of support from both side of families and close friends mentioning about our wedding and being fully aware of us living together for over a year. They have also attested their passports with the letters.

I would have definitely explained in the letter of explanation as well but I've already submitted the application and if I do this via a webform now, it might raise unnecessary suspicions. What do you think?