Marrying a PR on visitor visa

[Trailblazer89]

Hello

I'm a PR who has recently moved to Canada from Pakistan. I have a fiance who lives in the UAE and already has a multi entry Canadain visit visa. We are planning on getting married in September, first in my home country of Pakistan and then in Canada (when she joins me on her visit visa) so we can start our married life here while her PR application is processed. The reason for this is that we do not want to wait until she joins me in Canada, as I love her dearly and want to be with her asap after our wedding.

I would really appreciate if someone can tell me the steps required to do this, and whether it will be a problem marrying her on a visit visa?

Thanks very much!

 

[21Goose]

No, no issues. You can sponsor her once she comes to Canada.

Why get married twice though? Once is enough - either get married in Pakistan, or get married here.

 

[Trailblazer89]

The first wedding will be in my home country so that my family can attend, and the second would be so that she can stay in Canada with me on her visit visa while her PR

 

[21Goose]

The first wedding will be in my home country so that my family can attend, and the second would be so that she can stay in Canada with me on her visit visa while her PR

But why the second? You are married already, you don't need to get married again in Canada.

Get married in Pakistan in whatever manner is customary for your community, take pictures, get an official marriage certificate. Then, she flies to Canada on her TRV. At the border, she will tell the officer that she is here to visit her husband, and it's possible that you may be sponsoring her. This is perfectly fine. Show the officer the marriage certificate if he asks.

Once she's allowed in, you can start the sponsorship process immediately. In fact, you can also fly back first and begin the sponsorship process, and have her fly in a few weeks later. Either way works, but you certainly don't need to get married twice.

 

[Trailblazer89]

Okay. So my apologies for not being clear with the term 'second wedding'. It wont actually be a wedding function, it would just be getting registered in Canada as husband and wife another time after getting registered in Pakistan.

I just wanted to ask, given that my fiance already has a visit visa, can she use it to travel to Canada while her PR application is in progress? Or would that keep her from coming to see me?

I intend to apply for her PR from Pakistan as soon as we get married and am hoping she can visit me in the intervening period.

 

[21Goose]

Okay. So my apologies for not being clear with the term 'second wedding'. It wont actually be a wedding function, it would just be getting registered in Canada as husband and wife another time after getting registered in Pakistan.

I just wanted to ask, given that my fiance already has a visit visa, can she use it to travel to Canada while her PR application is in progress? Or would that keep her from coming to see me?

I intend to apply for her PR from Pakistan as soon as we get married and am hoping she can visit me in the intervening period.

You don't need to get "registered" in Canada. This is in no way required for your PR application.
Marriages that are legally performed in a foreign country are usually valid in Canada, and you do not need to register them in Canada.
https://travel.gc.ca/travelling/documents/marriage-overseas

Yes, since she already has a TRV, she can travel to see you. It's hard to get a visa under these circumstances, but if she already has one, it's very rare to get hassled at the border. CBSA will ask her why she's coming, she tells them the truth, and they let her in.

 

[Jets13]

Okay. So my apologies for not being clear with the term 'second wedding'. It wont actually be a wedding function, it would just be getting registered in Canada as husband and wife another time after getting registered in Pakistan.

I just wanted to ask, given that my fiance already has a visit visa, can she use it to travel to Canada while her PR application is in progress? Or would that keep her from coming to see me?

I intend to apply for her PR from Pakistan as soon as we get married and am hoping she can visit me in the intervening period.

Your marriage in Pakistan is honored in Canada. You will already be husband and wife as per Canada and as already mentioned you do not need to register it. Think about it, of all the people that go back to Pakistan or India to get married do you think they do another registration when they come here?

My wife came on visitor visa while our pr application was being processed outland India. So I would recommend that you file for outland in Pakistan first, then she can come and visit you during the processing time. My wife was here for most of the time the pr file was being processed we were lucky in that sense. Note that while on visitor she will not be able to work in Canada while her outland pr file is still in process.

Just remember there is always a possibility the officer can refuse entry, but that is the risk everyone runs. You would already have a pr file going and already possess a valid trv. Im assuming she has used it before to leave Canada in a timely manner before?

As already mentioned, take lots of pictures, get letters from your family and her family that attended the wedding and that can attest to the genuineness of your relationship. Provide lots of proofs with your application. Chat logs, visits you may have done together, gifts you got each other...phone calls etc.