Marriage and sponsorship

[Lika1#1]

We have been in a long distance relationship for 2 and a half year which resulted with lots of travelling from me to go see him.

My boyfriend is an Italian Citizen, I am a Canadian Citizen. We finally have decided to get married. This Spring I'll be visiting him in Italy and we are planning on getting married but I'm sitting on the fence on that because I would like my family to be present as they are all in Canada.

My boyfriend will be coming in the summer to visit and I would like us to get married then instead so my family can attend my marriage. Can that be done? Can I get married to him while he is in the country w/an ETA permit? He will be staying only a cpl of weeks

Once we get married he is planning on going back because he can't leave his job in Italy yet. I'd like to start the outland spousal sponsorship ASAP but I'm unsure if we can start the application while he is still here and make in an inland spousal application, or does he have to leave the country for me to do that?

Our main goal is for us to be together and him opening a business here in Canada. We don't want to do anything the wrong way and comply w/all the Immigration laws.

Are there any suggestions on how to go by this? Should we get married in Italy or when he comes here while he is visiting, is that even allowed? What's the waiting period for an application to be accepted?

Thank you for reading - Hope to get some responses.

 

[Hurlabrick]

We have been in a long distance relationship for 2 and a half year which resulted with lots of travelling from me to go see him.

My boyfriend is an Italian Citizen, I am a Canadian Citizen. We finally have decided to get married. This Spring I'll be visiting him in Italy and we are planning on getting married but I'm sitting on the fence on that because I would like my family to be present as they are all in Canada.

My boyfriend will be coming in the summer to visit and I would like us to get married then instead so my family can attend my marriage. Can that be done? Can I get married to him while he is in the country w/an ETA permit? He will be staying only a cpl of weeks

Yes you can. Specifically how may vary slightly by province. See here:

https://settlement.org/ontario/daily-life/life-events/marriage/can-i-get-married-in-canada-on-a-visitor-visa/

Once we get married he is planning on going back because he can't leave his job in Italy yet. I'd like to start the outland spousal sponsorship ASAP but I'm unsure if we can start the application while he is still here and make in an inland spousal application, or does he have to leave the country for me to do that?

Yes you can start the spousal sponsorship application, but you can't send the application in until you have the marriage certificate, which may take a few weeks. You can only do Inland if he stays in Canada initially as a visitor, but you can submit an OWP (Open Work Permit) application at the same time as your Inland sponsorship. OWP will take 4 months to come through, sponsorship approval will take 12 months. He is advised to stay in Canada for the duration until he has PR approval.

OR, you can do Outland, in which case he can return to Italy and work there and return to activate his PR when you get it, again, assume 12 months.

Are there any suggestions on how to go by this? Should we get married in Italy or when he comes here while he is visiting, is that even allowed? What's the waiting period for an application to be accepted?

No idea if or how you can get married in Italy or waiting periods. See link above for getting married in Canada. No particular 'waiting period' as such, but you do have to wait for the Marriage licence to arrive before you can get married (don't know how long that takes) and you cant send your pack in until you actually have been married and have the paperwork to send in with it, which can take 'weeks not months'.

I assume you have found the CIC Spousal Sponsorship website and know how to get your spousal sponsorship pack?​

 

[Mar1219]

We have been in a long distance relationship for 2 and a half year which resulted with lots of travelling from me to go see him.

My boyfriend is an Italian Citizen, I am a Canadian Citizen. We finally have decided to get married. This Spring I'll be visiting him in Italy and we are planning on getting married but I'm sitting on the fence on that because I would like my family to be present as they are all in Canada.

My boyfriend will be coming in the summer to visit and I would like us to get married then instead so my family can attend my marriage. Can that be done? Can I get married to him while he is in the country w/an ETA permit? He will be staying only a cpl of weeks

Once we get married he is planning on going back because he can't leave his job in Italy yet. I'd like to start the outland spousal sponsorship ASAP but I'm unsure if we can start the application while he is still here and make in an inland spousal application, or does he have to leave the country for me to do that?

Our main goal is for us to be together and him opening a business here in Canada. We don't want to do anything the wrong way and comply w/all the Immigration laws.

Are there any suggestions on how to go by this? Should we get married in Italy or when he comes here while he is visiting, is that even allowed? What's the waiting period for an application to be accepted?

Thank you for reading - Hope to get some responses.

Hi, yes you can get married while he is here with an eTa. My husband and I did the same thing, got married while he was here on an eTa and started the inland sponsorship. Most people say it takes 10 weeks to get your marriage certificate but we got married in January (low season) and had it in our hands within a month (we live in ontario). It’s definitely best not to wait until you have the marriage certificate to start gathering documents. I made sure our entire application was complete so that as soon as the certificate came all we had to do is add it in and send it. Inland vs Outland just depends on what’s best for you. If you want your family to be there, do it while he is visiting. But note that not having family there does not necessarily raise a red flag for your app, as long as you have supporting letters from your family stating they support your marriage and an explanation as to why they weren’t there. We had no family either, only 2 witnesses. Hope this helps in any way

 

[Lika1#1]

↑
"Once we get married he is planning on going back because he can't leave his job in Italy yet. I'd like to start the outland spousal sponsorship ASAP but I'm unsure if we can start the application while he is still here and make in an inland spousal application, or does he have to leave the country for me to do that?"

"Yes you can start the spousal sponsorship application, but you can't send the application in until you have the marriage certificate, which may take a few weeks. You can only do Inland if he stays in Canada initially as a visitor, but you can submit an OWP (Open Work Permit) application at the same time as your Inland sponsorship. OWP will take 4 months to come through, sponsorship approval will take 12 months. He is advised to stay in Canada for the duration until he has PR approval."

Thank you for your reply.
I'm a bit concerned that if we go with the above option what will he have to tell CBSA when he arrives? What is the reason for his visit to the country? I wouldn't want to risk an entry denial...for example he will have a plane ticket that will show that he will leave the country after 15 days... If he doesn't leave the country and in the meantime we go ahead w/the marriage...he stays here past his 15 days, we wait for the marriage certificate, go and start the sponsorship application then wouldn't that mean that after the 15 days are past gone and we start the application for sponsorship wouldn't he be considered to be here as an illegal immigrant? Should we do the plane ticket for 30 days instead of 15?

I was not aware that we could do an inland application while he is here as a visitor I just want to make sure we do it the right way to avoid further delays with the applications.

​

 

[Mar1219]

↑
"Once we get married he is planning on going back because he can't leave his job in Italy yet. I'd like to start the outland spousal sponsorship ASAP but I'm unsure if we can start the application while he is still here and make in an inland spousal application, or does he have to leave the country for me to do that?"

"Yes you can start the spousal sponsorship application, but you can't send the application in until you have the marriage certificate, which may take a few weeks. You can only do Inland if he stays in Canada initially as a visitor, but you can submit an OWP (Open Work Permit) application at the same time as your Inland sponsorship. OWP will take 4 months to come through, sponsorship approval will take 12 months. He is advised to stay in Canada for the duration until he has PR approval."

Thank you for your reply.
I'm a bit concerned that if we go with the above option what will he have to tell CBSA when he arrives? What is the reason for his visit to the country? I wouldn't want to risk an entry denial...for example he will have a plane ticket that will show that he will leave the country after 15 days... If he doesn't leave the country and in the meantime we go ahead w/the marriage...he stays here past his 15 days, we wait for the marriage certificate, go and start the sponsorship application then wouldn't that mean that after the 15 days are past gone and we start the application for sponsorship wouldn't he be considered to be here as an illegal immigrant? Should we do the plane ticket for 30 days instead of 15?

I was not aware that we could do an inland application while he is here as a visitor I just want to make sure we do it the right way to avoid further delays with the applications.

​

Hi, my husbands flight itinerary showed he would be here for about 3 weeks as well. We purposely purchased a return ticket in case they asked (which they did), and they just asked to see it, he told them he was here to visit his girlfriend and they gave him no issues. When he arrives in Canada they will stamp his passport for how long he is allowed to stay, and unless stated otherwise, the standard for an eTa holder is 6 months just like a visitor visa (I got this confirmed by IRCC), it has nothing to do with the date on the plane ticket! Don’t worry, I did the same thing you are planning to, and lots of others have too we included an OWP application as well, and if you decide to do that just make sure you apply to extend his stay as a visitor before the 6 months is up in case it does expire before you receive the OWP. Once he receives OWP, that is his new status in Canada and he is no longer a visitor, and it is valid for 2 years. Just let him know he needs to be prepared to basically do nothing until he can work. I would start putting together your application now so you have everything ready for when he is here and you can get married, and if you have any other questions feel free to ask!

 

[Mar1219]

↑
"Once we get married he is planning on going back because he can't leave his job in Italy yet. I'd like to start the outland spousal sponsorship ASAP but I'm unsure if we can start the application while he is still here and make in an inland spousal application, or does he have to leave the country for me to do that?"

"Yes you can start the spousal sponsorship application, but you can't send the application in until you have the marriage certificate, which may take a few weeks. You can only do Inland if he stays in Canada initially as a visitor, but you can submit an OWP (Open Work Permit) application at the same time as your Inland sponsorship. OWP will take 4 months to come through, sponsorship approval will take 12 months. He is advised to stay in Canada for the duration until he has PR approval."

Thank you for your reply.
I'm a bit concerned that if we go with the above option what will he have to tell CBSA when he arrives? What is the reason for his visit to the country? I wouldn't want to risk an entry denial...for example he will have a plane ticket that will show that he will leave the country after 15 days... If he doesn't leave the country and in the meantime we go ahead w/the marriage...he stays here past his 15 days, we wait for the marriage certificate, go and start the sponsorship application then wouldn't that mean that after the 15 days are past gone and we start the application for sponsorship wouldn't he be considered to be here as an illegal immigrant? Should we do the plane ticket for 30 days instead of 15?

I was not aware that we could do an inland application while he is here as a visitor I just want to make sure we do it the right way to avoid further delays with the applications.

​

So, in other words, do not go for inland unless he is ready to stay for good. It can be risky leaving the country during your application process and even with an owp, his re entry to Canada is always at the discretion of the border officer! And if he gets denied entry your application would be considered abandoned. So he would have to leave his job in Italy if you decide to go inland.

 

[Hurlabrick]

I agree with Mar1219 posts above. You can really only do an inland application if as Mar1219 says, he then stays in Canada, initially as a visitor, then working once he gets the OWP. Very bad idea for him then to leave Canada for any longer than a couple of weeks until he gets PR approval through. Your call - pro's and con's either way.

 

[Lika1#1]

I'm a bit confused. If he comes here w/a return ticket isn't he forced to leave when the ticket says? or he can stay here for 6 months because of the ETA?

Thank you

 

[Oldmacwright]

I'm a bit confused. If he comes here w/a return ticket isn't he forced to leave when the ticket says? or he can stay here for 6 months because of the ETA?

Thank you

No, unless they decide to issue a visitor record when he arrives which could shorten his stay from the normal 6 months allowed. Even then you can easily extend a stay by applying for an extension. But I doubt he would be issued a visitor record if it’s his first time coming to Canada, likely just get a stamp in his passport and quickly sent on.

You can also apply Outland whilst he is in Canada

 

[Mar1219]

I'm a bit confused. If he comes here w/a return ticket isn't he forced to leave when the ticket says? or he can stay here for 6 months because of the ETA?

Thank you

No, he’s not forced to leave again unless the officer stamps his passport with his return date but that’s highly unlikely. Trust there will be nobody searching for him when his seat is empty on the plane. My husband’s return ticket was January 9 and he is still here, you have nothing to worry about. Also, if you decide to do inland, a great idea would be to have him get his G1 license so he has a piece of ID that says your address. You don’t need any type of status to get it.

 

[Hurlabrick]

I'm a bit confused. If he comes here w/a return ticket isn't he forced to leave when the ticket says? or he can stay here for 6 months because of the ETA?

Thank you

No no no. Canada isn't the USA. As a visa-exempt national, he will almost certainly get an automatic 6 months stay, which he can then extend through an internet function for a further 6 months.

 

[Lika1#1]

Thank you much appreciated!!!