Hello I have a question about a Conjugal Application. If there's a better place on the forum to post this question, please let me know.
I will try to post enough relevant details here without writing a novel - still - I apologize for the length of my post.
Any questions, please feel free to ask for clarification, and thanks in advance for any of your suggestions and advisement.
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We met online Sept 2013, and physically in February 2014. From the first moment of contact to now, we have had constant daily communication, usually several times a day, intertwined throughout our days, even with a 12 hour time difference.
Her: Cambodian National, 29 yo, never married, no kids, BBA, and working in HR. English Excellent and a 5.5 on IELTS when she challenged the exam without taking the course. Of course I am proud of her.
ME: 59, Canadian, divorced, three children and 4 grandchildren.
I have taken several trips to be with her, about 7, and they were mostly long in duration from 2-4 months each. All together, we have cohabitated close to 1 year combined. I have always felt at odds with leaving it all to be with her, and then when there on the other side of the world, feeling like I needed to be here for my own family.
Since we've met, we are committed to each other, and there has never been anyone else in our lives (she's never had another relationship)
When we met in 2014 there was a rule that a foreigner could not marry a Khmer woman if he was over the age of 50. Under the age of 50, he must show a certain amount of income. Somewhere along the way, this age rule has loosened up, however we just assumed it was not possible, and technically was not possible, because even though my age was not a barrier, I did not earn the minimum income requirement. Many people fix that with faulty paperwork, and thus, the records coming out of Cambodia have little credibility elsewhere. Graft is a known problem.
Many people there do an engagement party and consider it the wedding - indeed - it seems to satisfy the 'face' of the cultural requirements. It is not a legal wedding, and even a legal wedding in Cambodia is rarely recognized as such elsewhere. For many that have accomplished it, it is full of graft and escalated bribes to fix all manner of paperwork problems, and they will just ask for money to fix every little thing, or else shove it aside.
In June 2017, I sold my home to go be with her and get 'married.' It was a difficult transition for me, and we decided that before we marry I should try to get some gainful employment there, as I am too young yet to retire and did not have a regular income. I have skills, however I also have a hearing impairment. I tried to teach English at a university, and the humidity and hollow walls of the classroom made it impossible for my equipment to function properly so that I could hear and so, I set that plan aside. I became a bit depressed and we determined that I needed to go home, where my kids and family are and to work on being together another way.
We kept up in our commitment to each other, and I commenced a B.Tech degree in construction management. The plan was for me to get (re)established and gainfully employed and then try again to have her come here to be with me.
So, I forgot to mention, that in late 2014, we applied for her to come to Canada on a visitors visa, and it was flatly denied. The rationale was that she could not prove she would return to her home country, and because she had no ownership stake there, like land or property, business or a significant bank account she would not return. Subsequent, they said I didn't provide enough information to show that I could properly provide for her stay, even though I thought my application was sound and there was no specific place where that was asked.
Since that time she now owns two properties there in her name, has a payroll bank account which we can pad up, and has stamps in her passport to Indonesia, Vietnam, Thailand and China (not easy to get)
I feel I have a good justification for a conjugal application for her sponsorship do you? Or should I now try another visitors visa first, given the last time was 8 years ago, and things have changed. We are definitely committed to each other, we have gone the distance, have struggled together and are not going anywhere. We will marry as soon as she arrives if it is allowed.
Now that COVID has hit it has added a whole other dimension to our situation. We have seen each other at least yearly, and now we have not been able to see each other since 11/2019, when we went to Bali.
So, we are now going to start the application together this week. Any advice, guidance, opinion is appreciated, and thanks in advance.
I will try to post enough relevant details here without writing a novel - still - I apologize for the length of my post.
Any questions, please feel free to ask for clarification, and thanks in advance for any of your suggestions and advisement.
________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________________
We met online Sept 2013, and physically in February 2014. From the first moment of contact to now, we have had constant daily communication, usually several times a day, intertwined throughout our days, even with a 12 hour time difference.
Her: Cambodian National, 29 yo, never married, no kids, BBA, and working in HR. English Excellent and a 5.5 on IELTS when she challenged the exam without taking the course. Of course I am proud of her.
ME: 59, Canadian, divorced, three children and 4 grandchildren.
I have taken several trips to be with her, about 7, and they were mostly long in duration from 2-4 months each. All together, we have cohabitated close to 1 year combined. I have always felt at odds with leaving it all to be with her, and then when there on the other side of the world, feeling like I needed to be here for my own family.
Since we've met, we are committed to each other, and there has never been anyone else in our lives (she's never had another relationship)
When we met in 2014 there was a rule that a foreigner could not marry a Khmer woman if he was over the age of 50. Under the age of 50, he must show a certain amount of income. Somewhere along the way, this age rule has loosened up, however we just assumed it was not possible, and technically was not possible, because even though my age was not a barrier, I did not earn the minimum income requirement. Many people fix that with faulty paperwork, and thus, the records coming out of Cambodia have little credibility elsewhere. Graft is a known problem.
Many people there do an engagement party and consider it the wedding - indeed - it seems to satisfy the 'face' of the cultural requirements. It is not a legal wedding, and even a legal wedding in Cambodia is rarely recognized as such elsewhere. For many that have accomplished it, it is full of graft and escalated bribes to fix all manner of paperwork problems, and they will just ask for money to fix every little thing, or else shove it aside.
In June 2017, I sold my home to go be with her and get 'married.' It was a difficult transition for me, and we decided that before we marry I should try to get some gainful employment there, as I am too young yet to retire and did not have a regular income. I have skills, however I also have a hearing impairment. I tried to teach English at a university, and the humidity and hollow walls of the classroom made it impossible for my equipment to function properly so that I could hear and so, I set that plan aside. I became a bit depressed and we determined that I needed to go home, where my kids and family are and to work on being together another way.
We kept up in our commitment to each other, and I commenced a B.Tech degree in construction management. The plan was for me to get (re)established and gainfully employed and then try again to have her come here to be with me.
So, I forgot to mention, that in late 2014, we applied for her to come to Canada on a visitors visa, and it was flatly denied. The rationale was that she could not prove she would return to her home country, and because she had no ownership stake there, like land or property, business or a significant bank account she would not return. Subsequent, they said I didn't provide enough information to show that I could properly provide for her stay, even though I thought my application was sound and there was no specific place where that was asked.
Since that time she now owns two properties there in her name, has a payroll bank account which we can pad up, and has stamps in her passport to Indonesia, Vietnam, Thailand and China (not easy to get)
I feel I have a good justification for a conjugal application for her sponsorship do you? Or should I now try another visitors visa first, given the last time was 8 years ago, and things have changed. We are definitely committed to each other, we have gone the distance, have struggled together and are not going anywhere. We will marry as soon as she arrives if it is allowed.
Now that COVID has hit it has added a whole other dimension to our situation. We have seen each other at least yearly, and now we have not been able to see each other since 11/2019, when we went to Bali.
So, we are now going to start the application together this week. Any advice, guidance, opinion is appreciated, and thanks in advance.
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