Anyone who has gone through the spousal immigration process in Canada?

[Savak]

I have looked at the documents from the CIC website and my head is spinning. Most people i have spoken too are telling me that while it takes one year from the date of applying on average to get the girl over in Canada, but the process is very lengthy and cumbersome, the biggest change is that a simple Nikkanama document is not good enough anymore.

The immigration authorities now require that you show them proof that you and the girl have known each other for a year atleast, they require you to submit proof of the wedding functions i.e. the nikka, mehndi, shaadi, ruksati and demand atleast 20 high quality photographs with family members. They also apparently demand pics of the honeymoon and copies of flight tickets.

My folks are presently under the assumption that all we have to do is to get the Nikka done in December and then apply to sponsor the girl with the Canadian Govt on the basis of that document, event but most people i have spoken too have warned me that this will not be good enough and most likely the Canadian govt will reject the sponsorship application and that it is better for me to apply for her once i get all the wedding functions, honeymoon out of the way.

Unfortunately we don't have enough time to do all these functions in such quick time in a matter of weeks in Pakistan, it can only be done next year in December and unfortunately that means a delay for a year.

Will appreciate feedback from people who have experience with this process.

 

[kk1992]

There are specialized attorney for this matter and Canada has in abundance with every trick and answer to every question.

 

[Savak]

There are specialized attorney for this matter and Canada has in abundance with every trick and answer to every question.

Uhh, they cost money and some recommend shortcuts in exchange for more money but also tell you the risk is on you should things not go as planned.

 

[Pakpak]

A couple of friends and family went through it, it took their spouses about 6-8 months.

 

[Syed1]

The Canadian sponsorship process is a pain in the butt, the UK one is alot simpler. My cousin in London married his wife in June and she joined him in September. The Canadian process can take upwards of 12 months.

My advice to you will be do to full Rukhstati and Valima, take plenty of pictures of Nikkah signing of both, all the rasams and the venue and the guests. As well as pictures of you and spouse before the wedding and after or from honeymoon. Make sure you get the English Nikkahnama so that you avoid the hassle of getting it properly translated and affidavit that the translation is accurate.

Also get all the call logs and whatsapp/chat conversations between you and spouse and document them through phone screenshots or export from whatsapp. If you have none or limited contact then this is a MASSIVE red flag and you will invariably be called for an interview and your overall process could take upto 2 years.

You will also need a marriage certificate from NADRA this is usually issued from your local district office and not the NADRA office, very stupid! (note this is not the Nikkah nama)

A Family Registration Certificate, this can be acquired online from the NADRA website, however for you to be able to get it online you will have to go NADRA office and get your NIC linked with your spouse's NIC as husband and wife in the NADRA system.


Also better if spouse gets a new NIC in which the father's name category is replaced with husband's name and it has your name on it, obviously.

She can do the same with the passport but it is not very important.



If you only apply with a Nikkah only case you will have to give documented evidence of when and where the Rukhsati and Valima are going to take place (hall bookings, flight bookings, cards, clothes etc etc) and also give long explanation of why the gap in between Nikkah and the rest. Nikkah only cases typically take 12-15 months. While full Rukhsati cases take 6-12 months.


You will also have to provide your flight bookings of whenever you went and visited your spouse. The more meetings the better. If only one or two meetings or even less then this is another MASSIVE red flag and you WILL get an interview.


Also other things that get red flags are if you are highly educated, say Masters, but spouse is only matric pass then it raises suspicion. Also age difference is another one. Don't have more than 6-7 year age difference. One thing that definitely causes interview is that if this is the second or more marriage for either person. Also oddly enough another thing that raises suspicion is that if you apply TOO long after getting married/Nikkah-fied.


If you want more personalized advice then send DM as I do not want to disclose my own personal details on open forum.

 

[Savak]

The Canadian sponsorship process is a pain in the butt, the UK one is alot simpler. My cousin in London married his wife in June and she joined him in September. The Canadian process can take upwards of 12 months.

My advice to you will be do to full Rukhstati and Valima, take plenty of pictures of Nikkah signing of both, all the rasams and the venue and the guests. As well as pictures of you and spouse before the wedding and after or from honeymoon. Make sure you get the English Nikkahnama so that you avoid the hassle of getting it properly translated and affidavit that the translation is accurate.

Also get all the call logs and whatsapp/chat conversations between you and spouse and document them through phone screenshots or export from whatsapp. If you have none or limited contact then this is a MASSIVE red flag and you will invariably be called for an interview and your overall process could take upto 2 years.

You will also need a marriage certificate from NADRA this is usually issued from your local district office and not the NADRA office, very stupid! (note this is not the Nikkah nama)

A Family Registration Certificate, this can be acquired online from the NADRA website, however for you to be able to get it online you will have to go NADRA office and get your NIC linked with your spouse's NIC as husband and wife in the NADRA system.


Also better if spouse gets a new NIC in which the father's name category is replaced with husband's name and it has your name on it, obviously.

She can do the same with the passport but it is not very important.



If you only apply with a Nikkah only case you will have to give documented evidence of when and where the Rukhsati and Valima are going to take place (hall bookings, flight bookings, cards, clothes etc etc) and also give long explanation of why the gap in between Nikkah and the rest. Nikkah only cases typically take 12-15 months. While full Rukhsati cases take 6-12 months.


You will also have to provide your flight bookings of whenever you went and visited your spouse. The more meetings the better. If only one or two meetings or even less then this is another MASSIVE red flag and you WILL get an interview.


Also other things that get red flags are if you are highly educated, say Masters, but spouse is only matric pass then it raises suspicion. Also age difference is another one. Don't have more than 6-7 year age difference. One thing that definitely causes interview is that if this is the second or more marriage for either person. Also oddly enough another thing that raises suspicion is that if you apply TOO long after getting married/Nikkah-fied.


If you want more personalized advice then send DM as I do not want to disclose my own personal details on open forum.

Wow, this is definately insightful.

I dont even know where to begin lol, the girl doesn't even have a CNIC yet and my parents told them to apply for it. Also the age gap is massive, 15 years, she is only 19 and has just started university

 

[kk1992]

Uhh, they cost money and some recommend shortcuts in exchange for more money but also tell you the risk is on you should things not go as planned.

I get it but no one is lawyer here.

Every case is different.

Everyone's interpretation is depended on their personal case.

If you do not want to mess up the process and lengthen the process then call a reputable attorney.

 

[Pakistanian]

Took my cousin like 2 and a half years to bring his wife to Canada but this was a few years back.

 

[JaDed]

Why not do nikkah in pak and bring her to Canada and register it there? Doesn’t that work?

 

[Savak]

Why not do nikkah in pak and bring her to Canada and register it there? Doesn’t that work?

Apparently some people used to bring their spouses or would be partners over to Canada via Student Visa's and then get married here but apparently the govt has now started getting really strict on these loopholes now.

It is important to do things correctly because if the govt rejects your application once, you cant really apply to sponsor her again and that will have implications for your life.

 

[JaDed]

Apparently some people used to bring their spouses or would be partners over to Canada via Student Visa's and then get married here but apparently the govt has now started getting really strict on these loopholes now.

It is important to do things correctly because if the govt rejects your application once, you cant really apply to sponsor her again and that will have implications for your life.

Makes sense.

 

[blackanhyellow]

The Canadian sponsorship process is a pain in the butt, the UK one is alot simpler. My cousin in London married his wife in June and she joined him in September. The Canadian process can take upwards of 12 months.

My advice to you will be do to full Rukhstati and Valima, take plenty of pictures of Nikkah signing of both, all the rasams and the venue and the guests. As well as pictures of you and spouse before the wedding and after or from honeymoon. Make sure you get the English Nikkahnama so that you avoid the hassle of getting it properly translated and affidavit that the translation is accurate.

Also get all the call logs and whatsapp/chat conversations between you and spouse and document them through phone screenshots or export from whatsapp. If you have none or limited contact then this is a MASSIVE red flag and you will invariably be called for an interview and your overall process could take upto 2 years.

You will also need a marriage certificate from NADRA this is usually issued from your local district office and not the NADRA office, very stupid! (note this is not the Nikkah nama)

A Family Registration Certificate, this can be acquired online from the NADRA website, however for you to be able to get it online you will have to go NADRA office and get your NIC linked with your spouse's NIC as husband and wife in the NADRA system.


Also better if spouse gets a new NIC in which the father's name category is replaced with husband's name and it has your name on it, obviously.

She can do the same with the passport but it is not very important.



If you only apply with a Nikkah only case you will have to give documented evidence of when and where the Rukhsati and Valima are going to take place (hall bookings, flight bookings, cards, clothes etc etc) and also give long explanation of why the gap in between Nikkah and the rest. Nikkah only cases typically take 12-15 months. While full Rukhsati cases take 6-12 months.


You will also have to provide your flight bookings of whenever you went and visited your spouse. The more meetings the better. If only one or two meetings or even less then this is another MASSIVE red flag and you WILL get an interview.


Also other things that get red flags are if you are highly educated, say Masters, but spouse is only matric pass then it raises suspicion. Also age difference is another one. Don't have more than 6-7 year age difference. One thing that definitely causes interview is that if this is the second or more marriage for either person. Also oddly enough another thing that raises suspicion is that if you apply TOO long after getting married/Nikkah-fied.


If you want more personalized advice then send DM as I do not want to disclose my own personal details on open forum.

Wow, this is definately insightful.

I dont even know where to begin lol, the girl doesn't even have a CNIC yet and my parents told them to apply for it. Also the age gap is massive, 15 years, she is only 19 and has just started university

A couple of more tips to add on to Syeds post.

Do not do nikkah only. Do the walime, rukhsati, etc... the evaluators know the desi culture because they deal with a lot of cases from Pakistan, so they know a complete wedding when they see it.

Also, regarding the pictures you have to submit. You will also have to write the people's names along with their relation to you, on the back of the photos. Make sure to use close relatives as well as some extended relatives. Keep shady people out of the pictures just in case.

Also, after the wedding make sure you send money through western union or equivalent to your wife's name. You can submit the western union receipt as proof. This will show that you were financially supporting here while she was waiting for her PR.

Also, get a letter of employment from your current employer stating your salary and how long you were working there. It is important to show that you can take care of your spouse financially.

Hopefully you dont have a history of going on welfare or anything or any past criminal convictions as these are major red flags for them.

And something to consider is that all documents submitted from pakistan should be notarized. This includes all photocopies of I'd cards, passport, your wife's diplomas and degrees, etc...

 

[GenericBrand]

I just went through it (a Canadian), but I met my wife in the US so she is an American citizen and that may be a big factor. They received the application in July and my wife received her landing papers (hopefully) today so all in all took 4.5 months. Its been a very simple and quick process in my case.

We did a small nikkah ceremony last November and a simple mehndi night, we are doing the main reception in a few weeks (all in the US). The pictures I sent for nikka/mehndi were enough and I also sent honeymoon pictures; all together twenty pictures.

As for proof of contact I sent about couple months worth of Facebook conversations (which I doubt they read since its like 20 pages) and Skype audio conversations time-stamped and also various photocopies of flight itineraries of me going to the US to meet her years leading into the wedding (I also travel to the US for work a lot and used those itineraries as well when it was near her neighborhood).

The only issue I had was to show documents that had her listed in Health Insurance (which I couldn't do because she would have to be under OHIP to eligible under my plan) and other documents listed that we co-owned something together or sent money to each other. I wrote a letter explaining those weren't possible since we both worked and did not need to financially support each other nor did we have any property we owned together since we lived in different countries. However I was able to add her name in my Life Insurance policy from work which seemed to be enough.

Other documents such as Marriage License, Birth Certificate of spouse etc were quite simple enough and required no hassle. The only difficult part was getting her Passport photos right because the US uses different measurements and the places she went to take pictures wouldn't cut them properly so she had to do it herself.

She hasn't been called in for an interview either