About to get married. What are my options?

[m10dx]

Hi, I landed in Canada as a PR early this year. I just got engaged to someone from outside of Canada who has no status in Canada but I want to bring her here with me after I got married. I was thinking of some options:
1. Get married in my country and apply for sponsorship and wait while my wife is outside of Canada
2. Let my fiancee apply for study permit and marry her after she comes to Canada and then apply from within Canada
3. Let my fiancee apply for study permit and once she receives it, I go back and marry her and then bring her back to Canada and then apply for sponsorship

I don't like the first option for obvious reasons but I'm worried that either option 2 or 3 might hurt the sponsorship application or even my PR status. Can you please give me some inputs on what is the best option to go for and why?

Thanks

 

[washingtongirl]

I'm pretty sure to be able to sponsor someone you must be a Canadian citizen.

 

[Ponga]

You can eventually sponsor her, but not until you have fulfilled your own PR obligation of living in Canada for at least 730 days (2 years).

 

[SenoritaBella]

He became PR this year, 2013. Five years from now is 2018 - so he still has the possibility to get 730 days by then. I believe he can sponsor her right away. I am sponsoring my husband and I don't have 730 days yet, but still have until 2017 to get it.

@ m10dx
Caution: did you live with your future wife for at least 1 year at any point during your relationship? If you lived together, CIC considers you guys as common-law partners and therefore would have expected you to put her in your recent immigration application. If you did lived together but did not put her in your application, you will face problems when you try to sponsor her - in fact, you can not sponsor her ever because she was not examined. If you did not live together, you should have no problems sponsoring her.

Regarding your questions:
1. that's one option. Or you can do that and she applies for a visitor visa - not easy to get but you have to try to know for sure.
2. does she have adequate funds to pay tuition in a Canadian university as a foreign student? She will still need to satisfy an officer that she will leave Canada at the end of her stay. Keep in mind that new rules will be coming into effect for foreign students - CIC will be requiring schools to provide information on foreign students' attendance. So she will have to be attending classes as required or could be reported and removed from Canada.
3. similar to #2 above.

You can eventually sponsor her, but not until you have fulfilled your own PR obligation of living in Canada for at least 730 days (2 years).

 

[Ponga]

Well, I stand corrected...even though I'm sitting down. ;D

 

[bnan]

Which country are you From? It could be faster applying outland.. Check and compare the processing times..

Also, I think that the both of you cannot leave the country if applying inland if I'm not mistaken.. So, if that is not a problem..

 

[maria a]

You can eventually sponsor her, but not until you have fulfilled your own PR obligation of living in Canada for at least 730 days (2 years).

Hey this thing is really worrying me :/
Ive been in canada since 2001, came with my parents... I became a PR in 2011 but since 2011 i havent been in canada for two years ive only been here for an year and half will i still be able to sponsor my spouse ?

 

[mikeymyke]

IMO, outland option is best because of the ability to appeal. You never know if an idiot VO will refuse your application because of something they don't understand, and it would be nice to have the ability to make your case in the future. With inland, whatever decision they make is final. I honestly think no one should ever apply inland unless they're 100% confident they won't be refused, well of course, I think a lot of people here try to think that way, even the ones with red flags. The main reason lots of people do inland is so their spouse can stay with them, but you can always do outland and visit them in their country, and no need to worry about being refused a visitor visa to visit, because Canadians enjoy near universal access to any country.

 

[Alurra71]

The OP is a PR. As a PR he can ONLY apply to sponsor his spouse while he is residing in Canada. He can not go stay with his spouse while he waits for her approval.

If she can obtain a permit to work/study in Canada than she may come here and they can apply for her sponsorship either inland/outland.

If they apply INLAND, she can continue to stay on her original document by either extending that document before expiry or the addition of an OWP included with their Inland application. The down side is that the applicant should NOT leave Canada while this process is underway because re-entry is not promised and if refused the application is considered abandoned and any time/money already input into the endeavor is gone.

If they apply OUTLAND, she can continue to say on her original document ONLY by extension, or conversion to a visitor visa. If neither is possible and she overstays, she risks being deported and having to go through a whole new process to obtain a legal status or PR again in Canada.

There are good sides and bad sides to either process. But no matter which the OP choose, he MUST remain in Canada to sponsor his wife.

 

[raquels787]

You may also prefer to sponsor her (after marriage) while she's outside Canada or choose the outland processing. It is more faster than inland. Outland finished as fast as 6months while inland take years. Hope this little info help you bro

 

[m10dx]

Hi everyone. I'm really grateful for all of your responses. So I'm going to answer some of the questions asked about my case:

1. My marriage is going to be an arranged marriage, i.e. I haven't met my fiancee before a week ago..actually I haven't talked to her yet
2. My plan is for her to study anyway starting with English then going to Major in IT
3. Her study permit case is strong since she just graduated from high school and her father has his own business and can provide financial support prove
4. My ultimate goal is for her to stay with me in Canada right after marriage
5. I'm going to apply through Abu Dhabi office, which currently takes about 18months + 28 days and Inland now takes about 11 months + 8 months so I guess both Inland and outland for me takes about the same time

I'm not too worried about Inland or Outland for now. I'm mostly worried about the conflict between her study permit and me sponsoring her. Won't that raise any red flags?

So here is the case: she applies for a study permit and hopefully gets it. Before she comes to Canada as a student, I go back to my country and do our marriage their. She then comes back with me to Canada as a student and after a period for time I start the Sponsoring process. Any risks with this method?

Another one is: she applies for a study permit and then she comes to Canada, I do the marriage her in Canada then after some period of time I start the processing of her sponsorship.

Thanks again, I just want to be sure about everything before I do it.

 

[ghatot201]

You can sponsor even if you have a PR. You do not need to be a citizen to sponsor.

 

[SenoritaBella]

If you became PR in 2011, then the relevant 5 year period for you is 2011 to 2016. So in this time, you have to accumulate 730 days in Canada. We are in 2013, you have lived in Canada for 1.5 years so by end of 2014, you will have the 730 days. So yes, you can sponsor your spouse.

Hey this thing is really worrying me :/
Ive been in canada since 2001, came with my parents... I became a PR in 2011 but since 2011 i havent been in canada for two years ive only been here for an year and half will i still be able to sponsor my spouse ?

 

[Alurra71]

Hi everyone. I'm really grateful for all of your responses. So I'm going to answer some of the questions asked about my case:

1. My marriage is going to be an arranged marriage, i.e. I haven't met my fiancee before a week ago..actually I haven't talked to her yet
2. My plan is for her to study anyway starting with English then going to Major in IT
3. Her study permit case is strong since she just graduated from high school and her father has his own business and can provide financial support prove
4. My ultimate goal is for her to stay with me in Canada right after marriage
5. I'm going to apply through Abu Dhabi office, which currently takes about 18months + 28 days and Inland now takes about 11 months + 8 months so I guess both Inland and outland for me takes about the same time

I'm not too worried about Inland or Outland for now. I'm mostly worried about the conflict between her study permit and me sponsoring her. Won't that raise any red flags?

So here is the case: she applies for a study permit and hopefully gets it. Before she comes to Canada as a student, I go back to my country and do our marriage their. She then comes back with me to Canada as a student and after a period for time I start the Sponsoring process. Any risks with this method?

Another one is: she applies for a study permit and then she comes to Canada, I do the marriage her in Canada then after some period of time I start the processing of her sponsorship.

Thanks again, I just want to be sure about everything before I do it.

No, there will be no conflict between her acquiring a study permit and your sponsorship for immigration. Those often are seen together and do not generate a red flag on their own.

The one thing that WILL raise a very large red flag is the arranged marriage where you have not even yet spoken to your soon to be 'spouse'. There is going to be a very short courtship, so it sounds, and likely not a long time before you begin the sponsorship application. Once you are married, there is not set 'time' for when it's appropriate to apply for sponsorship.

Based on the information you are giving and what you wish to accomplish, it sounds as if the best bet is going to be for her to acquire the study permit and then for you to get married, either here or there, I don't believe that should be an issue, but once she is inside Canada and studying, I would advise you guys begin building a very strong case to apply for sponsorship. Take a couple mini vacations, if possible, you don't have to leave the country, become part of a social group that friends and such would be willing to attest to your genuine relationship, get pictures, all the things one would expect to see in a true and lasting relationship. Provided her study permit is of a decent length, it should provide you with adequate time to get some of this done without worrying about her having to leave the country.

 

[SenoritaBella]

To add to Alurra's comment:

Be sure to explain any cultural norms, traditions, etc. Also highlight what you guys have in common. As it's an arranged marriage, someone must have done the necessary investigations of yourself and your fiancée. It would be a good idea to get this person(s) to write an affidavit of what they did, how they did it, their findings and how they came to the conclusion that you guys are suitable for each other. If you guys are going to get pre-marital medical checks done, marriage counselling, etc, include evidence of it. This will help show that some thought and planning went into it.

Lastly, include evidence that both of your families are involved and supportive of your union. This is very important, especially in the case of an arranged marriage. Also, hang on to cards, gifts, etc that are addressed to both of you.

After your marriage, be sure to share the news with co-workers, friends, church members, etc. When she comes, go out to functions together and with other people and take photos.

Get a professional photographer and if possible, get your ceremony videotaped too. So much goes on during the wedding that you don't get to see or experience.