Canadian Marrying a Brazilian

[bradinho]

Hello everyone, I have browsed this forum quite a bit over the past couple of days and decided it was finally time to post my own specific questions.

Background:
I have dated my Brazilian girlfriend for almost 4.5 years now and we have made many trips back and forth. I also probably have enough relationship proof to overwhelm immigration Canada for years ahaha! We are looking to get married in the near future and would like to start researching the application process.
We are considering getting our marriage certificate first here in Canada, and then doing a carribean destination wedding where both families could gather with the least hassle(finding family hotels, bussing them around, keeping them entertained etc)

My questions are:

1. Could we gather our documents, get a marriage certificate here in Canada without an actual wedding just to get the process going so that by the time we get married we will be getting our documents and not have to spend the first year of marriage apart?

2. If she is here, can she apply and go back to Brazil for occasional visits?

3. Does anyone have some resourceful links for me to research, I've been looking into this occasionally for years but it's SO complicated that I can't get my head around it!

 

[zardoz]

I just had a rethink on my <now deleted> answer.

Maybe your question could have been phrased better, so I'm going to respond on a constructive note.
If you get "legally" married, you can get a marriage certificate, without having to go through a formal "fancy" wedding.
You can have tha "fancy" bit later, but it would legally not be a wedding but could be a "blessing" or a "reaffirmation".

Any other way of obtaining a "marriage certificate" without actually being married would be fraud.

 

[steph816]

1. If she's living in Canada, you can have a simple wedding ceremony at city hall and get your marriage certificate. You want to make sure you submit your package with ALL documents enclosed, as the #1 reason for delays is absence of certain forms/documents. I heard that directly from a visa officer. The sooner you get your documents together and send out your package, the sooner it will happen, but be prepared for a long wait!!

2. If she is living in Canada on a work visa or student visa or whatever.....she will have to meet whatever requirements those visas come with. If they say she can leave Canada and come back, then that should be fine.

3. not sure what links you are referring to and what sort of info you are after. the CIC website has a huge package that you can read through when you are applying - it's pretty easy to follow; if you have specific questions on filling out a certain form, you just post on this site and reference the form number, there are loads of people ready to help!

 

[bradinho]

I just had a rethink on my <now deleted> answer.

Maybe your question could have been phrased better, so I'm going to respond on a constructive note.
If you get "legally" married, you can get a marriage certificate, without having to go through a formal "fancy" wedding.
You can have tha "fancy" bit later, but it would legally not be a wedding but could be a "blessing" or a "reaffirmation".

Any other way of obtaining a "marriage certificate" without actually being married would be fraud.

Thanks, communication has never been a strong point for me. I guess in my head I was thinking, lets get legally married first at city hall with us and 2 witnesses, *only* to be able to submit the applications etc. That way, when we have the actually ceremony(literally just for friends and family to celebrate with us as that would be the point where we consider ourselves actually married) we don't have to live apart for a year or two, as who wants to do that right after getting married?! For the time being after we got our marriage cert at city hall to when we had the actually ceremony and reception, I'm not sure if she would be here or back in Brazil

I have no interest in fraud, and sorry to come across that way if I did. We're just ready to get engaged and trying to figure out the most efficient way possible to be married.

@ Steph, thanks for the reply. So, specific visas will have different rules and we will just have to wait and see what hers says(whether or not she can leave the country temporarily etc?)

Sorry if I'm not being clear, like I said, I just have a bloody difficult time with communicating my thoughts.

 

[zardoz]

That's absolutely fine... I think you have now clarified what you meant perfectly.
The only comment that I would repeat is that, certainly in Canada, you cannot have a second actual marriage once you are legally married, even if it's to the same person. So, the ceremony that you have for friends and family would be for show only.
We did the same thing but the opposite way round. We got "legally" married in the UK with just immediate family there in a civil ceremony. We then had a full "blessing" ceremony in Canada with all the trimmings, masses of family & friends, white dress.. the lot.
It was however made clear to us that this could not be referred to as a "wedding".

Best wishes for your plans...

 

[bradinho]

That's absolutely fine... I think you have now clarified what you meant perfectly.
The only comment that I would repeat is that, certainly in Canada, you cannot have a second actual marriage once you are legally married, even if it's to the same person. So, the ceremony that you have for friends and family would be for show only.
We did the same thing but the opposite way round. We got "legally" married in the UK with just immediate family there in a civil ceremony. We then had a full "blessing" ceremony in Canada with all the trimmings, masses of family & friends, white dress.. the lot.
It was however made clear to us that this could not be referred to as a "wedding".

Best wishes for your plans...

Thanks!
That is correct, we would already be legally married at the time of our traditional ceremony etc. Who told you that you couldn't call it a wedding?

But now I'm thinking this may not work. I was literally thinking of just signing papers etc to be legally together, but still living as if we were dating, so when the time comes from the ceremony(what *I* think is the real marriage; before God in the church) we would be able to live together immediately. The more I read the less I think this will be possible though.

 

[zardoz]

Thanks!
That is correct, we would already be legally married at the time of our traditional ceremony etc. Who told you that you couldn't call it a wedding?

But now I'm thinking this may not work. I was literally thinking of just signing papers etc to be legally together, but still living as if we were dating, so when the time comes from the ceremony(what *I* think is the real marriage; before God in the church) we would be able to live together immediately. The more I read the less I think this will be possible though.

It was the Anglican minister who performed our Blessing who said that.

 

[canadianwoman]

If you just have a civil marriage to get the process started, still do your best to make it look special. Get dressed up, exchange rings, take photos, have some sort of celebration afterwards even if it is just dinner with family, go on a honeymoon. In the eyes of the visa officer, this will be your real wedding.

 

[bradinho]

Ah man.. what a conundrum. They should make it so you apply once you get engaged and then when you get married send in the certificate and they send back the approval etc. Wishful thinking!

 

[bradinho]

Ok, so I've been on here reading all afternoon!

Some things I've learnt are that if she applies inland she can apply for an open work permit with the initial application, which would be decided after 6-8 months and granted at stage 2? She would also have implied status and not have to extend visitor visas, is that correct?

If thats the case and fully possible, I'm fine just doing the normal wedding and then coming back here with her on her visitors visa and applying for everything including the OWP.

Thanks guys! A couple days in and this forum has been such a blessing already!

 

[QuebecOkie]

Things to think about when applying inland (from within Canada, which is the process that would allow her to apply for OWP). First, 6-8 months is an estimate, NOT a guarantee. (I'm at 8.5 months with no end to stage one in sight yet.) Also, she is not supposed to travel outside of Canada at all for the duration of the process. This means I haven't seen my family in almost a year now, and again, no end in sight. Of course, no one can keep her from returning to Brazil, as it is her country of citizenship. However, if she leaves and is denied reentry to Canada, her application is considered abandoned, and you're out of all of the money and time you've spent up to that point.

I don't know about her visiting you/staying with you while applying outland, which wouldn't restrict her travel. I don't know if Brazil is visa-exempt.

 

[bradinho]

Ah ok, thanks for clearing that up for me.

Just for some more background, she is likely going to study in Montreal, where we would get engaged after her first year and then married right when she's finished. At that time she would likely have a job offer from a Canadian employer willing tofill out a LMO. In which case... she could be here on a work permit while we're waiting for the PR and be able to travel between Brazil and Canada freely? Or does the same rule apply, just because she's in the midst of applying she has to stay here(when applying from inland)

 

[QuebecOkie]

If she has a study or work visa, then outland sounds like a very good option (you will want to check out wait times for Brazil; some VO's - visa offices - have incredibly long waits, and I know nothing of Brazil specifically). Other than looking at wait times, the only real drawback to outland application is that, should they require an interview, she would have to travel back to Brazil to do it. The stronger your application is (the more easily the VO can determine that your relationship is genuine and ongoing, including photos over the course of the relationship, chat logs, etc.), the less likely that an interview will be required. And yes, she could travel freely during the outland application.