Married but haven't lived together yet and have no shared finances

[MEHA]

Hi Guys,

We have known each other for over 5 years and have been married for 2 months now. We provide emails, chats and social media evidence, as well as tickets of flights taken back and forth to see each other.

But we don't have shared finance like bank accounts, properties or shared government documents. What do we do in such a case?

The document checklist ask for 3 of the following options:

1) joint ownership of residential property or joint rental agreements

2) proof of joint utilities

3) important document for you and your sponsor showing same address such as driver license , insurance etc

4) important documents that show you are recognized as each others spouse.

5) Documentary evidence of financial support

6) social media evidence

 

[jeff198901]

Hi Guys,

We have known each other for over 5 years and have been married for 2 months now. We provide emails, chats and social media evidence, as well as tickets of flights taken back and forth to see each other.

But we don't have shared finance like bank accounts, properties or shared government documents. What do we do in such a case?

The document checklist ask for 3 of the following options:

1) joint ownership of residential property or joint rental agreements

2) proof of joint utilities

3) important document for you and your sponsor showing same address such as driver license , insurance etc

4) important documents that show you are recognized as each others spouse.

5) Documentary evidence of financial support

6) social media evidence

Open a joint bank account for the financial part (that is what we did), facebook page print outs showing marriage is made public. We also had notarized letters from parents on both sides stating our relationship is genuine

 

[danawhitaker]

Open a joint bank account for the financial part (that is what we did), facebook page print outs showing marriage is made public. We also had notarized letters from parents on both sides stating our relationship is genuine

My husband's bank refused to let us open a joint account because I wasn't a resident. We had a heck of a time dealing with some checks that were written to both of us as wedding gifts. They wouldn't let him deposit them because they had my name on them, and they also wouldn't let us open a joint account to deposit them. Your mileage may vary with that, as you may have to shop around quite a bit for a place willing to let you do it.

 

[jeff198901]

My husband's bank refused to let us open a joint account because I wasn't a resident. We had a heck of a time dealing with some checks that were written to both of us as wedding gifts. They wouldn't let him deposit them because they had my name on them, and they also wouldn't let us open a joint account to deposit them. Your mileage may vary with that, as you may have to shop around quite a bit for a place willing to let you do it.

Really!! We just walked into a BMO and there was no questions asked at all. It was very straight forward

 

[km9203]

My husband's bank refused to let us open a joint account because I wasn't a resident. We had a heck of a time dealing with some checks that were written to both of us as wedding gifts. They wouldn't let him deposit them because they had my name on them, and they also wouldn't let us open a joint account to deposit them. Your mileage may vary with that, as you may have to shop around quite a bit for a place willing to let you do it.

CIBC let me be added to my sponsor's account. They even let me have a credit card.

 

[danawhitaker]

CIBC let me be added to my sponsor's account. They even let me have a credit card.

I noticed from your post history that you applied inland, so that probably changes things a bit.

My husband was able to get a credit card with my name on it on his Mastercard account just by logging in to his online account and having one mailed to him, but when it came to me opening a checking joint account with him or anything actually in my name only it was a firm "no" from our BMO branch. Basically anything that required me to have a SIN they said I couldn't do.

At the time I applied, they didn't ask for any of the joint financial stuff, so I wasn't really concerned about it anyway aside from the frustration of not being able to cash cheques we got as gifts. We might have been able to do it if we'd wanted to try different branches or different banks but that seemed stupid at the time, as I was spending the majority of my time in the United States anyway and I also wanted to avoid making it look like I was going to be trying to establish ties in Canada in order to live there prior to getting approved. Plus, we really had no need for a joint bank account at the time. When he helped me with expenses the credit card was a far better option, as my landlord, utility companies, and my daughter's school would not take a Canadian cheque for anything anyway.

 

[VI1234]

The new forms ask for all that ?. In 2016 just send photos, conversation. We were over 7 years old but only 5 months married and we did not have any property or bank accounts.

 

[FairyRaichu]

I applied Outland, RBC let me have a joint account with my husband. What bank was it?

 

[SMWNDP]

Hi Guys,
We have known each other for over 5 years and have been married for 2 months now. We provide emails, chats and social media evidence, as well as tickets of flights taken back and forth to see each other.
But we don't have shared finance like bank accounts, properties or shared government documents. What do we do in such a case?
The document checklist ask for 3 of the following options:
1) joint ownership of residential property or joint rental agreements
2) proof of joint utilities
3) important document for you and your sponsor showing same address such as driver license , insurance etc
4) important documents that show you are recognized as each others spouse.
5) Documentary evidence of financial support
6) social media evidence

We were in this situation too and we addressed it by providing an additional page of information responding to each item, labeled with both our full names and birth dates. The dash items are from the forms, the bolded text is our response.

-Joint ownership of residential property or joint residential leases or joint rental agreements listing both the sponsor and the principal applicant; (Minimum 1 document).
Not applicable since we do not live together.
-Proof of joint utilities accounts (electricity, gas, telephone); (Minimum 1 document).
Not applicable since we do not live together.
-Important documents for you and your sponsor showing the same address, such as copies of Government issued identification documents: driver's licenses, insurance policies, etc.
Not applicable since we do not live together.
-Important documents for you or your sponsor showing that you are recognized as each other's spouse (such as employment or insurance benefits). (Minimum 1 document).
[Principal Applicant name]'s company insurance has [Sponsor Name] listed as a beneficiary - a copy is enclosed. [Sponsor Name] works on contract and does not have benefits or insurance.
-Documentary evidence of financial support between your sponsor and yourself.
We both work full time and live with our parents in their respective homes. We do not support each other financially however we do share all financial decisions, consider our money collectively as a couple and have shared goals and plans in place for our financial future including savings, travel, homeownership and retirement.
-Other proof that your relationship is recognized by your friends and/or family (e.g. Letters, social media information showing a public relationship, etc.)
Copies of greeting cards and social media (Instagram, airbnb) printouts are enclosed. We do not use facebook.
​

After we applied, I opened an RSP and listed my husband as the beneficiary. The bank (TD Canada Trust) gave me a printout of the information showing both our names and our marital status. I was prepared to send a copy of this in if they requested more proof, but they did not so I'm guessing the statement we made was sufficient.