Two weddings- Red Flag?

[Arctic Circle]

Hey all, these threads have been a lifesaver, but after searching around, I haven't found information that answers all my questions, and I'm hoping some of you can help.

Quick background: We're a German-Canadian couple living in Germany who got married May 2017. We had a civil ceremony in Denmark, because the German marriage process between a German and a foreigner is a nightmare that takes months, which in of itself might be the first red flag. Only a few of my family attended and none on his side because they couldn't make it out in time, and the ceremony was small and unassuming.

We always wanted to hold a bigger, traditional wedding in Canada with the white dress and all the trimmings where both sides of our family could come, and after, immigrate to Canada. We've been together over three years and living together for 1 year, so though we have ample proof of a genuine relationship, I'm worried our case might have red flags. Am I completely overthinking things, or is having two weddings, in two different countries, and and almost two years later, going to cause a headache? I've read some horror stories on here about disgruntled VO's who will deny at the smallest red flag, and I want to avoid any missteps at all possible.

 

[Ukrainian girl]

Hey all, these threads have been a lifesaver, but after searching around, I haven't found information that answers all my questions, and I'm hoping some of you can help.

Quick background: We're a German-Canadian couple living in Germany who got married May 2017. We had a civil ceremony in Denmark, because the German marriage process between a German and a foreigner is a nightmare that takes months, which in of itself might be the first red flag. Only a few of my family attended and none on his side because they couldn't make it out in time, and the ceremony was small and unassuming.

We always wanted to hold a bigger, traditional wedding in Canada with the white dress and all the trimmings where both sides of our family could come, and after, immigrate to Canada. We've been together over three years and living together for 1 year, so though we have ample proof of a genuine relationship, I'm worried our case might have red flags. Am I completely overthinking things, or is having two weddings, in two different countries, and and almost two years later, going to cause a headache? I've read some horror stories on here about disgruntled VO's who will deny at the smallest red flag, and I want to avoid any missteps at all possible.

Hi,
Having a small civil ceremony doesn't sound like a red flag to me in your situation because you and your spouse both are from western cultures where having small weddings is considered normal and lots of people do it. I think CIC considers small wedding or no ceremony at all as a red flag when spouses come from the countries where having a huge wedding is considered a "must" in their cultures. In my opinion you have nothing to worry about especially considering the fact that you lived together for one year before getting married. I personally don't see any red flags here....

 

[canuck_in_uk]

Hey all, these threads have been a lifesaver, but after searching around, I haven't found information that answers all my questions, and I'm hoping some of you can help.

Quick background: We're a German-Canadian couple living in Germany who got married May 2017. We had a civil ceremony in Denmark, because the German marriage process between a German and a foreigner is a nightmare that takes months, which in of itself might be the first red flag. Only a few of my family attended and none on his side because they couldn't make it out in time, and the ceremony was small and unassuming.

We always wanted to hold a bigger, traditional wedding in Canada with the white dress and all the trimmings where both sides of our family could come, and after, immigrate to Canada. We've been together over three years and living together for 1 year, so though we have ample proof of a genuine relationship, I'm worried our case might have red flags. Am I completely overthinking things, or is having two weddings, in two different countries, and and almost two years later, going to cause a headache? I've read some horror stories on here about disgruntled VO's who will deny at the smallest red flag, and I want to avoid any missteps at all possible.

Hi

You are worrying for nothing. You had one wedding, which was the legal ceremony in Denmark. The later "wedding" was a celebration of your marriage, as you were already legally married.

 

[Arctic Circle]

Thanks for your replies and assurances, though to clarify, we have been living together, both pre and post marriage for one year, not one year before the wedding, and we have not yet had the "celebration" wedding; our plan is to have that within the next year and a half and apply for the spousal visa shortly after.

I also thought at first the small civil ceremony would be fine, but it wasn't until I started reading other threads that one set of family not being present sets off alarm bells, and I've even seen a couple of other Europeans being denied on those grounds, so it got me worried. I know the Vienna office, which would be ours (unless they re-open Berlin in the meantime) has a bit of a reputation for being slow, and sometimes punitive, and so I want to make our application as trouble free as possible.

 

[CaroM8]

Thanks for your replies and assurances, though to clarify, we have been living together, both pre and post marriage for one year, not one year before the wedding, and we have not yet had the "celebration" wedding; our plan is to have that within the next year and a half and apply for the spousal visa shortly after.

I also thought at first the small civil ceremony would be fine, but it wasn't until I started reading other threads that one set of family not being present sets off alarm bells, and I've even seen a couple of other Europeans being denied on those grounds, so it got me worried. I know the Vienna office, which would be ours (unless they re-open Berlin in the meantime) has a bit of a reputation for being slow, and sometimes punitive, and so I want to make our application as trouble free as possible.

You’ll be fine. My husband ( from Guatemala) and I got married here in Canada. It was a small ish wedding (20 guests) and none of his family could attend as they would all need to apply for a visitor visa and also none of them could really afford the trip up here. So it was just my family and a few friends. We did a celebration in Guatemala the next time we were there. Our application was approved with no issues.

 

[canuck_in_uk]

Thanks for your replies and assurances, though to clarify, we have been living together, both pre and post marriage for one year, not one year before the wedding, and we have not yet had the "celebration" wedding; our plan is to have that within the next year and a half and apply for the spousal visa shortly after.

I also thought at first the small civil ceremony would be fine, but it wasn't until I started reading other threads that one set of family not being present sets off alarm bells, and I've even seen a couple of other Europeans being denied on those grounds, so it got me worried. I know the Vienna office, which would be ours (unless they re-open Berlin in the meantime) has a bit of a reputation for being slow, and sometimes punitive, and so I want to make our application as trouble free as possible.

I can't recall seeing anyone from a European country be denied for a small civil wedding or not having family there.

If a couple from somewhere such as India, where the cultural norm is a big wedding with multiple celebrations over s6aeveral days, has a civil wedding, that is a red flag. Things that go against cultural norms are indicators of a possible Marriage of Convenience. This is not an issue for a Canadian-German couple.

As for family not being there, easily explained by the distance, travel cost, etc., and easily overcome by a letter of support from his parents.

 

[Arctic Circle]

I can't recall seeing anyone from a European country be denied for a small civil wedding or not having family there.

If a couple from somewhere such as India, where the cultural norm is a big wedding with multiple celebrations over s6aeveral days, has a civil wedding, that is a red flag. Things that go against cultural norms are indicators of a possible Marriage of Convenience. This is not an issue for a Canadian-German couple.

As for family not being there, easily explained by the distance, travel cost, etc., and easily overcome by a letter of support from his parents.

I think I recall a few in the Vienna thread who got called for an interview and then denied because only one family could attend (and I am that mad woman who read the whole thing). It didn't occur often, but there was a couple and it definitely worried me. Especially because even though we got married in Denmark, it was the German side that couldn't attend, because they're small business owners, but I had some of my family fly out. I thought it might look weird that the Canadian side could make it out, but the German side couldn't, despite Denmark not being too far away.

But, I know I could be over-thinking things and causing myself more anxiety than necessary. This whole process is daunting, and it's almost enough to make us consider staying in Germany (since I have a guaranteed visa here) but we both have our hearts set on moving to Canada. Thanks for the patient replies guys, I really appreciate it!

 

[canuck_in_uk]

I think I recall a few in the Vienna thread who got called for an interview and then denied because only one family could attend (and I am that mad woman who read the whole thing). It didn't occur often, but there was a couple and it definitely worried me. Especially because even though we got married in Denmark, it was the German side that couldn't attend, because they're small business owners, but I had some of my family fly out. I thought it might look weird that the Canadian side could make it out, but the German side couldn't, despite Denmark not being too far away.

But, I know I could be over-thinking things and causing myself more anxiety than necessary. This whole process is daunting, and it's almost enough to make us consider staying in Germany (since I have a guaranteed visa here) but we both have our hearts set on moving to Canada. Thanks for the patient replies guys, I really appreciate it!

There were likely other issues with that app. It would take a significant lack of relationship evidence for a refusal based on that.

Don't overthink it. You have a very straightforward case and will have no issues.

 

[msb]

Hey all, these threads have been a lifesaver, but after searching around, I haven't found information that answers all my questions, and I'm hoping some of you can help.

Quick background: We're a German-Canadian couple living in Germany who got married May 2017. We had a civil ceremony in Denmark, because the German marriage process between a German and a foreigner is a nightmare that takes months, which in of itself might be the first red flag. Only a few of my family attended and none on his side because they couldn't make it out in time, and the ceremony was small and unassuming.

We always wanted to hold a bigger, traditional wedding in Canada with the white dress and all the trimmings where both sides of our family could come, and after, immigrate to Canada. We've been together over three years and living together for 1 year, so though we have ample proof of a genuine relationship, I'm worried our case might have red flags. Am I completely overthinking things, or is having two weddings, in two different countries, and and almost two years later, going to cause a headache? I've read some horror stories on here about disgruntled VO's who will deny at the smallest red flag, and I want to avoid any missteps at all possible.

We had a very small court wedding, my family could not attend, only his parents, daughter and our 2 witnesses were present...
We had our interview and we both individually explained why,
We got approved no problem.

I too seen others in my husband’s country with far longer relationship than us get denied. I think we never really get to know all the reasons why some people get denied. Be honest in an interview, and all will be fine.

 

[Arctic Circle]

Thanks again everyone for your helpful replies, it's really appreciated. I had a couple more semi-related questions.

I kept my maiden name for a couple reasons: it's a hassle trying to change your name in two countries, particularly here in Germany, and because it was never a huge deal for my husband and I to have the same last name. I know it's becoming quite common in western cultures for a woman to keep her last name so should we even bother explaining that in our application? Am I right to assume in the eyes of CIC this is a non-issue for western couples?

Reading over your replies and some other threads, it seems not having my husband's family there isn't as big of a deal as I thought. The "Canada Question" is constantly on our minds, and when to immigrate is always being discussed. We want to have the "celebration" wedding irrespective of immigration, but the question that always comes up is when. Do we immigrate first with only the civil ceremony under our belt and then hold the celebration, or the celebration first and then immigrate? I know this is a bit of a subjective question, but we seem stuck on this. I thought that having the big reception with all family and friends in attendance would strengthen our file, but reading your replies, it seems it would have little effect on how a VO would view our relationship. We have lots of congratulatory cards from family and friends from both sides who couldn't attend our civil ceremony, so again, showing proof that our marriage was well-known and supported by everyone isn't an issue for us.

This may seem a bit silly to ask on a visa forum but we are stuck on this question, and any input from others who have gone through the system or have similar experiences would be appreciated! We know for sure we want to live in Canada and we know for sure we want to hold a bigger reception with all our loved ones, but deciding on when is challenging.

 

[Ukrainian girl]

Thanks again everyone for your helpful replies, it's really appreciated. I had a couple more semi-related questions.

I kept my maiden name for a couple reasons: it's a hassle trying to change your name in two countries, particularly here in Germany, and because it was never a huge deal for my husband and I to have the same last name. I know it's becoming quite common in western cultures for a woman to keep her last name so should we even bother explaining that in our application? Am I right to assume in the eyes of CIC this is a non-issue for western couples?

Reading over your replies and some other threads, it seems not having my husband's family there isn't as big of a deal as I thought. The "Canada Question" is constantly on our minds, and when to immigrate is always being discussed. We want to have the "celebration" wedding irrespective of immigration, but the question that always comes up is when. Do we immigrate first with only the civil ceremony under our belt and then hold the celebration, or the celebration first and then immigrate? I know this is a bit of a subjective question, but we seem stuck on this. I thought that having the big reception with all family and friends in attendance would strengthen our file, but reading your replies, it seems it would have little effect on how a VO would view our relationship. We have lots of congratulatory cards from family and friends from both sides who couldn't attend our civil ceremony, so again, showing proof that our marriage was well-known and supported by everyone isn't an issue for us.

This may seem a bit silly to ask on a visa forum but we are stuck on this question, and any input from others who have gone through the system or have similar experiences would be appreciated! We know for sure we want to live in Canada and we know for sure we want to hold a bigger reception with all our loved ones, but deciding on when is challenging.

Hi, I don’t think that you should explain the reasons why you decided to keep your maiden name because as you said it’s pretty common in western countries so it really is not necessary to explain and nowhere on the forms it asks questions about that.

Regarding the “celebration wedding” I think it really doesn’t matter for the immigration purposes when you do it and if you do it at all (considering that your from the western country and have lots of the strong evidence that your relationship is genuine). As long as you have a valid marriage certificate that’s all you need to apply and you can have a bigger wedding party whenever you feel like having it. You can add it in explanation that you and your husband are planning to have another celebration party when you both live in Canada so all the relatives that couldn’t join to the first civil one could come over and they could also write letters that they are planning to make a big celebration party when you guys come to Canada. But there’s really no need to wait for that second “celebration “ to happen in order to apply...

 

[CaroM8]

You don’t need to worry about either of those things.

I’ve also kept my maiden name when we got married. Mostly out of laziness cause I didn’t feel like changing all my documents
But it wasn’t an issue for our application.