proof that marriage is genuine?

[waikiki]

Hello everyone,
on more question from me : is it really true, that I have to send photos to prove that our marriage is for real? We have been married and living together for almost 8 years and have 2 kids, shouldn´t that be proof enough?

 

[shawngt2]

Re: do we still have to prove that marriage is real`

Yeah, your case is very genuine, but I would at least include 20-30 photos throughout the span of the 8 years (wedding, birth of children, family get togethers, etc.).

So yes, the application requests photos as proof.

 

[waikiki]

ok thanks, I´m surprised though, I thought if you have kids together it should be logical, that the relationship is genuine. Or maybe I´m too naive and there are cases where people have children together and the relationship is not for real.

 

[Love_Young]

Well you actually need to be sending more than just pictures.
And I hate to be the bummer here but there have been people married for years with children be denied because they thought that was evidence enough. All of it could have been avoided if they just included more proof of their relationship. It is a hassle sometimes to gather up all the proof especially when you know you are genuine but since you have been together for so long it really shouldn't be a problem to find things that link you together.

P.S. The way immigration sees it. Any two people can have a child, doesn't mean they are in love. Just proof you "did the deed". But you would think it would show proof of commitment at least.

 

[KarenCee]

This is immigration we're talking about...they want proof. My husband and I will have been married 12 years when we move back (he's Canadian, I'm American) with our daughter. I don't anticipate any problems with our app but I'm going to give them plenty of proof. As for relationships not being real, I would imagine if someone wants to immigrate bad enough they'll do anything.

 

[waikiki]

thanks., no, it won´t be a problem to send photos of us together, I could send our phone bills showing that we are calling each other, maybe I could find some boarding passes. I can´t think of something else? What about proof that we have a bank account together?

@ KarenCee
Wow, I know some people get married just to get a visa or similar, but having kids together is a whole different story.

 

[KarenCee]

waikiki, read through this thread. I was asking something along the same lines as you and I got a couple of responses: http://www.canadavisa.com/canada-immigration-discussion-board/some-reasons-for-denial-t62223.0.html

 

[Love_Young]

thanks., no, it won´t be a problem to send photos of us together, I could send our phone bills showing that we are calling each other, maybe I could find some boarding passes. I can´t think of something else? What about proof that we have a bank account together?

You're welcome. I typed out a table of contents of what we sent before and someone posted it in a thread. You don't have to have all that same evidence because we all know each relationship is different but I just thought I would give you an example. If nothing else just go up to the search bar on here and type in either "proof of relationship" or "relationship proof". You should get quite a variety of proof people have sent.

Here is the link to the thread with our table of contents: http://www.canadavisa.com/canada-immigration-discussion-board/-t61283.0.html

 

[waikiki]

Thanks KarenCee, Thanks Love_Young, I will go through those links

@ KarenCee
just read that link, same here, we were not really thinking about going back to Canada in the beginning, it´s only now, that we are really planning it.
@ love_Young
wow, that´s a really long list of evidence, I don´t think I ever kept any receipts of gifts etc. Well, I´ll see what else I can find.

 

[KarenCee]

Love_Young, thanks for posting the link to your list of proofs. I've already started making screen shots of our FB messages, even though we are together. He works nights, I work days and FB is a way we communicate, that and text messages. Sigh, I get to see him one day a week now. Bleh.

 

[Love_Young]

Love_Young, thanks for posting the link to your list of proofs. I've already started making screen shots of our FB messages, even though we are together. He works nights, I work days and FB is a way we communicate, that and text messages. Sigh, I get to see him one day a week now. Bleh.

You're very welcome. Now I am not sure how good our proof is as we haven't been approved yet but I hope it helps some to give you an idea of evidence you might not have though of. I don't work but my husband works overnights too so we text while he is at work and sometimes send messages on FB too.

Thanks KarenCee, Thanks Love_Young, I will go through those links

@ KarenCee
just read that link, same here, we were not really thinking about going back to Canada in the beginning, it´s only now, that we are really planning it.
@ love_Young
wow, that´s a really long list of evidence, I don´t think I ever kept any receipts of gifts etc. Well, I´ll see what else I can find.

Well like I said you may not have all that evidence but it just an example to show you things you may have forgotten. We haven't been approved yet so I don't know how good of an example it is but I hope it helps.

 

[canadianwoman]

thanks., no, it won´t be a problem to send photos of us together, I could send our phone bills showing that we are calling each other, maybe I could find some boarding passes. I can´t think of something else? What about proof that we have a bank account together?

Any financial proof is very good: joint bank accounts, joint credit cards, both of you holding a mortgage or lease together, each other named as beneficiaries on wills/insurance/health plans.
Get photos spanning the whole length of the relationship - good evidence because it is hard to fake.

 

[clubcanada]

waikiki:
consider the following: it's not about to proof that your marriage was genuine at some time in the past, it's more about whether it still is. you could still be married on paper but in fact you might have lived separated for the last 5 years and now you're using your marriage as a vehicle to get a Canadian PR. So in your case I believe you might consider to show that you guys are still a couple. For this you could show pics constantly over the last years (maybe christmas pics, vacations, flight tickets, hotel bills, etc.), let's say 2-3 pieces of evidence per year. In order to proof that your are still in a relationship, you might bring things that show both of your names/signatures such as joint bank accounts, insurances, tenants agreement, mortgage, etc. In addition, to be on the save side it would not hurt to bring maybe 2-3 affidavits from friends that support the proof (informal letter with signature and including name, phone number, email address). It sounds more work as it is really is (we just successfully went through this process)....

have fun!