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England to Canada - Spousal Visa help needed

C

CB1995

Star Member
Jun 26, 2016
96
2
I am an English citizen aged 21 and my girlfriend is a Canadian citizen. We have been together for over 4 years now and have both decided that we want to take our relationship to the next step. We are both in the dark about how the Spousal visa works and how we should go about getting married and hopefully acquiring our visa. I have visited her twice and she has been here in England with me once. We plan to put an end to the distance and hopefully live together like we always talked about. I have an endless list of specific questions but I would really appreciate an overview of what would be the best way to do this first of all.
Thank you in advance to anyone who can give me any information.
Callum.
 
Best of luck. Similar situation with my partner (British) and I (Canadian). We met on year abroad and after a year of back and forth long distance, he was granted a two year work visa to Canada. Now working on Common-Law Partner sponsorship.
 
Before she can apply to sponsor you for permanent residency - you need to first get married or become common law (i.e. live together continuously for at least one full year). If you are going the marriage route, it doesn't matter where you get married.
 
Thank you both for the reply! Is it as simple as going to Canada and marrying her, or am I being too optimistic here? I read something elsewhere about being refused entry to Canada if they knew I had the intention of marrying an Canadian citizen there.
 
You can come to Canada and marry her here. You do not need a visa to enter Canada as a visitor, since you have a UK passport. However, when you talk to the border agent, you must be clear that you are just visiting Canada. It is best to have a return ticket with a specific date; proof of ties to the UK, such as a job, an apartment lease or home mortgage, money in the bank, etc. The agent might not ask to see any of this - but it is best to be prepared.

Do not volunteer information. If asked, you can say you are going to get married, but will be leaving Canada afterwards.
 
Thanks again for the reply.
After getting married will it my responsibility to apply for the visa or will it be my spouse? Would it be possible for me to stay in Canada until we get the visa or will I have to go home regardless?
 
CB1995 said:
After getting married will it my responsibility to apply for the visa or will it be my spouse?
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That's a good question. There are forms that the sponsor (i.e., your girlfriend) fills out and forms that you (i.e., the principal applicant) fill out. I don't know how others divided up the work, but for us (I'm British and my wife is Canadian) I did all the paperwork and she just double checked and signed it. That said, I know that for others in this forum, the sponsors took the lead.

CB1995 said:
Would it be possible for me to stay in Canada until we get the visa or will I have to go home regardless?
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If you have a valid visa. I think that a visitor visa is 6 months, but that there is the potential to extend it another 6 months. (I think you apply 30 days before the end of the visa, but others more familiar with the process can advise you on this.) But you won't be able to work unless you have a temporary work permit. One think to remember is that you should apply outland even though you're in Canada, as it's a hell of a lot faster.

I'm not sure where they'll send your application – London or Ottawa – it's at their discretion. Does anyone have an idea? Ottawa is moving much faster than London, so hopefully there. (Plus, I'm not sure if London will get a backlog after the Brexit.)
 
If OP is in the country at the time of the applications processing, he has the choice of processing through England or Canada. If he chooses England he has to be prepared to make a trip back home if they require an interview.

Typically out of country applications are processed faster than applications made from within Canada.
 
canadianwoman said:
You can come to Canada and marry her here. You do not need a visa to enter Canada as a visitor, since you have a UK passport. However, when you talk to the border agent, you must be clear that you are just visiting Canada. It is best to have a return ticket with a specific date; proof of ties to the UK, such as a job, an apartment lease or home mortgage, money in the bank, etc. The agent might not ask to see any of this - but it is best to be prepared.

Do not volunteer information. If asked, you can say you are going to get married, but will be leaving Canada afterwards.
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i'm sorry but isn't intentionally withholding information kind of deceptive? why is it ok for visa exempt travelers to mislead cbsa in order to gain entry into canada? there's a reason they ask for the purpose of visit, and in my opinion OP should be honest with the border guard and inform them of his true purpose of visit. whether or not they let him in after that is entirely at their discretion. i don't think they'll refuse entry provided that OP is able to demonstrate ties to the UK if asked.
 
devonk said:
If OP is in the country at the time of the applications processing, he has the choice of processing through England or Canada.
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Incorrect. CIC chooses where to process applications.
 
flx2015 said:
i'm sorry but isn't intentionally withholding information kind of deceptive? why is it ok for visa exempt travelers to mislead cbsa in order to gain entry into canada? there's a reason they ask for the purpose of visit, and in my opinion OP should be honest with the border guard and inform them of his true purpose of visit. whether or not they let him in after that is entirely at their discretion. i don't think they'll refuse entry provided that OP is able to demonstrate ties to the UK if asked.
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I do not think he should mislead the border agents. If he comes to Canada, he will be entering as a visitor. If the wedding is all planned, and he will be here only for that, then telling the border agents that is fine, as long as he has proof of his ties to the UK. If he is just visiting, and maybe they will end up getting married, I would just say the purpose of the visit is to visit his girlfriend.

The sponsor and the applicant both have forms to fill out. They are sent together. During the processing, the applicant can stay in Canada as a visitor (for an outland application; for an inland application, the applicant should stay in Canada). If the border agent gives you a specific length of stay, you can apply for an extension about one month before it expires; otherwise you have 6 months, which can also be extended.
 
canuck_in_uk said:
Incorrect. CIC chooses where to process applications.
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That was my understanding, too. My question above was, how do they decide? For example, if CB1995 is in Canada on a visitor visa and files outland will they send it to London – CB1995's home VO – or Ottawa, since CB1995 is in Canada?
 
DBHC said:
That was my understanding, too. My question above was, how do they decide? For example, if CB1995 is in Canada on a visitor visa and files outland will they send it to London – CB1995's home VO – or Ottawa, since CB1995 is in Canada?
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probably as simple as volume of applications being processed at any one time given if an online application is pretty irrelevant other than staffing where the application is accessed.
 
devonk said:
You sure about that? Wasn't the case with a colleague of mine.
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Yes, I'm sure. There used to be a question asking which office but CIC removed it a year or two ago.
 
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