Elope in the tropics.

[dylanjoel]

My girlfriend and I are planning to spend a few weeks in a tropical paradise in the middle of March for her spring break. We haven't decided yet--we are considering hawaii or somewhere in the Caribbean. She's Canadian(school teacher) and I'm American(carpenter). We've been in a long distance relationship since 2010. We are considering getting married(eloping) while we are there and filing the application for PR after the trip. Today the term "elopement" is colloquially used for any marriage performed in haste, with a limited public engagement period or without a public engagement period.

A few questions:

1)Can I get my medical exam done in BC while I'm visiting her even though I live in the U.S?

2)Assuming we get our marriage certificate where ever we end up going, will this still be valid for the PR application? Even though none of our family/friends will be present for marriage? We are considering having a 'formal' ceremony with all the family/friends a year later, should I include that information on the application?

3)I've sent off/applied for FBI clearance/history and hope to do the medical in the coming weeks, can I send the initial PR application without these documents if they haven't arrived?


Any information/feedback would greatly appreciated!
Thanks!

 

[MissRepresentation]

Good for you! I wish we would have done the same thing! Regarding your questions:

1) Yes

2) I'm not sure what CIC's take is on foreign marriage certificates. I'd assume that you'd be ok as long as your provide them with a certified translation, but don't quote me on this. By all means explain the reasons why you chose to elope and your plans to have a bigger ceremony later on. This should not raise suspicion if you don't have any other red flags.

3) You can, but there's a chance that your application may be returned and deemed incomplete.

 

[Christoph100]

2) Yes Canada accepts most marriages done in a foreign country. Providing the marriage is a legal recognized marriage in that country.
Before you consider getting married you better do some home work. Decide where you will be married and look up that countries processes to complete it. At the very least each of you most likely will be required to go to your own embassies in that country to basically get a document that shows you are legally able to marry.

Depending on the country if they use a foreign language other then English or French you may need to get many documents translated to and from English and possibly getting them legalized for use in the foreign country.

Chris

 

[keesio]

2) Yes Canada accepts most marriages done in a foreign country. Providing the marriage is a legal recognized marriage in that country.

And also the marriage has to be legal in Canada too. For example if a man takes a second wife in a country where it is legal, that marriage will not be recognized in Canada because it does not recognize polygamy

 

[Rob_TO]

Usually there is much less scrutiny on apps for US citizens, so having a tiny elopement wedding with no friends family could be fine. However you just want to make sure CIC doesn't suspect a marriage of convenience done only to apply for PR. So if you had been dating just a couple months before this elopement, there could be a problem. But if you've been dating a while and can show you are a genuine couple, then you should be fine.