any red flags?

[superman2012]

Here are our story.

- we met each other through online in 2013. And we met in person last January 2014. He stayed at my place for the whole duration of his stay in my country for one month, then after that he came back to Canada. I already met his parents and siblings and he also met my parents and siblings as well. I never visit him in Canada before because I am busy studying in College, so I don't have time to apply for visitors visa and I don't have enough funds to support my stay there.

He is 35 and I am only 23 years old. I came to Canada as a student and I just arrived here on May 2015. And currently we are living in one place in Calgary. We are in 2 years and 3 months of relationship and finally we already plan to get married.

We are planning to submit all the documents that we have such as: joint bank accounts, credit card summary of account, pictures together with friends, picture of marriage, marriage certificate, receipt of marriage, phone calls and phone bills, electric bills with both our names, car insurance, life insurance, letters from friends and family, Facebook chats, Skype screen shot and mail he sent to me when we are in long distance relationship.

So guys, can you see any red flags here? How about the age gap? And Is it also a red flag if I wasn't able to visit him in Canada before? But I was able to apply for student permit to come with him here and get married.

And I have a last question, is it advisable to change our status in our papers like passport, his CRA, etch before we apply for PR??

 

[Coldstream63]

Is there a difference in faith? That can be one, but also can be explained.

Age differences can sometimes be an issue, depending who is the older (husband vs. wife) and the cultural norms from where the applicant is from.As for you not being able to visit him, just make a point to explain why (and add documentary backup if available).

The evidence you have looks good, and I would suggest that if you have any that speaks to any perceived red flags (like religion, age difference, etc., make specific reference to those examples in the narrative you provide to CIC.

 

[sashali78]

Here are our story.

- we met each other through online in 2013. And we met in person last January 2014. He stayed at my place for the whole duration of his stay in my country for one month, then after that he came back to Canada. I already met his parents and siblings and he also met my parents and siblings as well. I never visit him in Canada before because I am busy studying in College, so I don't have time to apply for visitors visa and I don't have enough funds to support my stay there.

He is 35 and I am only 23 years old. I came to Canada as a student and I just arrived here on May 2015. And currently we are living in one place in Calgary. We are in 2 years and 3 months of relationship and finally we already plan to get married.

We are planning to submit all the documents that we have such as: joint bank accounts, credit card summary of account, pictures together with friends, picture of marriage, marriage certificate, receipt of marriage, phone calls and phone bills, electric bills with both our names, car insurance, life insurance, letters from friends and family, Facebook chats, Skype screen shot and mail he sent to me when we are in long distance relationship.

So guys, can you see any red flags here? How about the age gap? And Is it also a red flag if I wasn't able to visit him in Canada before? But I was able to apply for student permit to come with him here and get married.

And I have a last question, is it advisable to change our status in our papers like passport, his CRA, etch before we apply for PR??

If i were you i wouldn't think too much about red flags and just be straightforward as you really have nothing to be worried about. You are already living together and you are studying so you are not in need of work permit or visas. As you said you are planning to get married so if i were you i would just do exactly that and apply as a married couple using outland application which is faster (for most VOs anyways). In this case, you can still include a letter explaining how you met and explain the history of your relationship, but other than that all the extra paperwork for common-law relationship is not required. You will make the whole process easier for yourself and CIC. Good luck!

 

[o6ocpaka]

Here are our story.

- we met each other through online in 2013. And we met in person last January 2014. He stayed at my place for the whole duration of his stay in my country for one month, then after that he came back to Canada. I already met his parents and siblings and he also met my parents and siblings as well. I never visit him in Canada before because I am busy studying in College, so I don't have time to apply for visitors visa and I don't have enough funds to support my stay there.

He is 35 and I am only 23 years old. I came to Canada as a student and I just arrived here on May 2015. And currently we are living in one place in Calgary. We are in 2 years and 3 months of relationship and finally we already plan to get married.

We are planning to submit all the documents that we have such as: joint bank accounts, credit card summary of account, pictures together with friends, picture of marriage, marriage certificate, receipt of marriage, phone calls and phone bills, electric bills with both our names, car insurance, life insurance, letters from friends and family, Facebook chats, Skype screen shot and mail he sent to me when we are in long distance relationship.

So guys, can you see any red flags here? How about the age gap? And Is it also a red flag if I wasn't able to visit him in Canada before? But I was able to apply for student permit to come with him here and get married.

And I have a last question, is it advisable to change our status in our papers like passport, his CRA, etch before we apply for PR??

Based on what I have read from the Spousal appeal thread here, significant age difference 7+ years can be a red flag to CIC even for married couples

 

[S_and_C]

Based on what I have read from the Spousal appeal thread here, significant age difference 7+ years can be a red flag to CIC even for married couples

I've read that the CIC considers the source country cultural norms when determining these things. I certainly hope that because my fiancé in the Philippines is 25 and I am 41, and from what I've seen from various sources, it is an acceptable social norm in the Philippines even if it isn't as common here in Canada.

 

[Aquakitty]

I think the age gap is mainly concerning extremes, like older women/men picking up young spouses from countries known to have lots of marriage fraud. I don't think it would apply in this case.

 

[superman2012]

we are both gays and I think age gap is not actually the only reason as to why many people here got rejected. I believe that as long as you love your partner, age doesnt matter

 

[keesio]

Based on what I have read from the Spousal appeal thread here, significant age difference 7+ years can be a red flag to CIC even for married couples

It really depends on where you and your spouse are from and which spouse is older. In nearly every culture, it is acceptable for the husband to be older than the wife... even if the gap is large. I'd guess that up to 20 years gap is not that much of an issue. And I've even seen couples with 30+ year age gaps not have any issues. Now CIC does more scrutinize applications where the wife is older than the husband because this is less common. It is not as big a deal in western cultures but in some other parts of the world, it is unusual for the wife to be a lot older than the husband. So if the applicant is from such a region, it can be a potential problem. Is it sexist? Yes. But CIC will go by what they see as cultural norms for the region.

For same sex couples, I'd say the age gap is not a big like the first scenario, regardless of the region. But that is just a guess.

 

[superman2012]

It really depends on where you and your spouse are from and which spouse is older. In nearly every culture, it is acceptable for the husband to be older than the wife... even if the gap is large. I'd guess that up to 20 years gap is not that much of an issue. And I've even seen couples with 30+ year age gaps not have any issues. Now CIC does more scrutinize applications where the wife is older than the husband because this is less common. It is not as big a deal in western cultures but in some other parts of the world, it is unusual for the wife to be a lot older than the husband. So if the applicant is from such a region, it can be a potential problem. Is it sexist? Yes. But CIC will go by what they see as cultural norms for the region.

For same sex couples, I'd say the age gap is not a big like the first scenario, regardless of the region. But that is just a guess.

Thank you. I have another question, one of my friend told me that I need to be here in Canada for 6 months before I get married to my partner. Is this right? I landed as an international student last May this year.

 

[DanSlh]

Thank you. I have another question, one of my friend told me that I need to be here in Canada for 6 months before I get married to my partner. Is this right? I landed as an international student last May this year.

No. When you're married, you are married and that's all.
I never came to Canada untill my landing as a PR.
You can apply as soon as you want after your wedding.
And just for a testimonial, I'm almost 8 years older than my wife and it was not a cultural problem so everything went fine with us.

 

[emily3859]

Here are our story.

- we met each other through online in 2013. And we met in person last January 2014. He stayed at my place for the whole duration of his stay in my country for one month, then after that he came back to Canada. I already met his parents and siblings and he also met my parents and siblings as well. I never visit him in Canada before because I am busy studying in College, so I don't have time to apply for visitors visa and I don't have enough funds to support my stay there.

He is 35 and I am only 23 years old. I came to Canada as a student and I just arrived here on May 2015. And currently we are living in one place in Calgary. We are in 2 years and 3 months of relationship and finally we already plan to get married.

We are planning to submit all the documents that we have such as: joint bank accounts, credit card summary of account, pictures together with friends, picture of marriage, marriage certificate, receipt of marriage, phone calls and phone bills, electric bills with both our names, car insurance, life insurance, letters from friends and family, Facebook chats, Skype screen shot and mail he sent to me when we are in long distance relationship.

So guys, can you see any red flags here? How about the age gap? And Is it also a red flag if I wasn't able to visit him in Canada before? But I was able to apply for student permit to come with him here and get married.

And I have a last question, is it advisable to change our status in our papers like passport, his CRA, etch before we apply for PR??

Um, honestly, the only red flag to me would be the age gap... just give a ton of relationship proof. I just landed as a PR, I was 20 and my husband was 28 at the time we put our application in. That's 8 years, so you may be ok... yours is only 4 years more. We only had like, 8 pictures together and four of those were from our eloping at a courthouse. I mean... if my application got through with 8 pics, 8 year age difference, and a courthouse marriage I am sure you guys will be fine. Also I had never left the country before other than going to meet him the first time. And we only were together maybe 3 months before we got married. You'll be okay.

 

[keesio]

Um, honestly, the only red flag to me would be the age gap... just give a ton of relationship proof. I just landed as a PR, I was 20 and my husband was 28 at the time we put our application in. That's 8 years, so you may be ok... yours is only 4 years more. We only had like, 8 pictures together and four of those were from our eloping at a courthouse. I mean... if my application got through with 8 pics, 8 year age difference, and a courthouse marriage I am sure you guys will be fine. Also I had never left the country before other than going to meet him the first time. And we only were together maybe 3 months before we got married. You'll be okay.

I agree that the age gap will not be an issue. But as for the other stuff, note that Canadian/American couples get the most leeway from CIC in regards to relationship proof. An American applicant can get away with a city hall marriage with a few photos and not have CIC question anything. An applicant from another region, especially if the applicant is NOT from a visa exempt country, will likely need much more proof. As for the OP, I think he does have enough proof and will be fine.

 

[emily3859]

I agree that the age gap will not be an issue. But as for the other stuff, note that Canadian/American couples get the most leeway from CIC in regards to relationship proof. An American applicant can get away with a city hall marriage with a few photos and not have CIC question anything. An applicant from another region, especially if the applicant is NOT from a visa exempt country, will likely need much more proof. As for the OP, I think he does have enough proof and will be fine.

Yeah that's true. OP, what is your home country?

 

[o6ocpaka]

It really depends on where you and your spouse are from and which spouse is older. In nearly every culture, it is acceptable for the husband to be older than the wife... even if the gap is large. I'd guess that up to 20 years gap is not that much of an issue. And I've even seen couples with 30+ year age gaps not have any issues. Now CIC does more scrutinize applications where the wife is older than the husband because this is less common. It is not as big a deal in western cultures but in some other parts of the world, it is unusual for the wife to be a lot older than the husband. So if the applicant is from such a region, it can be a potential problem. Is it sexist? Yes. But CIC will go by what they see as cultural norms for the region.

For same sex couples, I'd say the age gap is not a big like the first scenario, regardless of the region. But that is just a guess.

You maybe right on that one, it really does depend which country the applicant is coming from to Canada as well.

 

[o6ocpaka]

I agree that the age gap will not be an issue. But as for the other stuff, note that Canadian/American couples get the most leeway from CIC in regards to relationship proof. An American applicant can get away with a city hall marriage with a few photos and not have CIC question anything. An applicant from another region, especially if the applicant is NOT from a visa exempt country, will likely need much more proof. As for the OP, I think he does have enough proof and will be fine.

That's probably because Canada is very strict with providing marriage licenses, it's not an easy thing to get at all (applications, interviews, letter from lawyer if there was a previous marriage). In other countries this can be done way easier, hence Canadian marriage is valued as more authentic.