Fiance Visa In Canada
Applying for a Fiance Visa in Canada can be confusing. There are requirements you must fulfill, forms you need to fill out, supporting documents you need to provide, and fees that have to be paid at the right time. All of these steps can cause a lot of stress on you and your fiancee when going through this process.Canada offers a very generous immigration program to the foreign nationals that wish to live in the Land of Maple and Beaver. A Canadian Fiance Visa allows you to immigrate to Canada as a fiancé or fiancée of a Canadian citizen or a permanent resident, as long as you two are sincerely in love. The only condition is that you two must be engaged in a marital relationship for at least one year prior to being eligible for being granted with a Canadian visa.
Fiance Visa In Canada
The new Canadian Fiance Visa (also known as the Common-law Partner Visa) was only implemented in July of this year but it has a lot of people confused. The previous Fiance Visa was a long, complicated, and challenging process for applicants. For this reason, many couples chose to move to Canada illegally to avoid having to go through the process.
Canadian immigration law requires would-be immigrants to first get an immigration visa before coming to Canada. In the case of couples who are planning to marry, since there is no such thing as a Canadian fiance visa, this means that the border officers would expect that once the couple marries, the domestic spouse would file a spousal sponsorship application and that the foreign spouse would obtain an immigrant visa abroad at a Canadian consulate before entering Canada. According to this view, whether the wedding takes place abroad or indeed even in Canada, following the proper rules, the foreign spouse would apply from abroad, and even in the case of a wedding held inside Canada, would leave Canada to apply overseas to return as an immigrant sponsored into the country.
There is, however, a procedure married couples can follow from inside Canada to obtain permanent residence for a foreign spouse without that spouse having to leave the country. This is an exception to the normal requirement of foreign processing and is based on humanitarian and compassionate grounds. It works particularly well when the foreign spouse comes to Canada on a work or student permit, for example. In that case, since the foreign spouse finds themself in Canada for a legitimate reason, asking for the exception of inland processing is not regarded as out of line. The process breaks down when it is applied to a person who comes to Canada as a visitor on a temporary resident visa, whether from a visa exempt country like the United States or otherwise. The breakdown results because of a semantic problem.
![A foreign spouse needs a visa to enter Canada. Ideally, the spouse can enter as a visitor or other... [+] nonimmigrant, and then apply to stay permanently using the inland sponsorship route.](https://touriago.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/07/2_960x0.jpg)
A foreign spouse needs a visa to enter Canada. Ideally, the spouse can enter as a visitor or other… [+]
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The problem arises in the definition of a visitor, that is to say technically in terms of Canadian immigration terminology, someone with a ‘temporary resident visa.’ A visitor is someone who comes to the country for a temporary period of time and thereafter leaves. More directly, a visitor cannot intend to stay permanently. If a visitor indicates an intention to stay, by definition that person is not a visitor and therefore is ineligible to enter Canada. Put another way, a foreign would-be spouse who seeks to enter Canada saying that he or she plans to marry and then apply inside Canada for permanent residence under the inland spousal route based on the application of their Canadian spouse, will most likely be denied entry . That is because they are not a visitor technically speaking. The inland processing intention is not appropriate for a visitor’s visa. In other words, to enter Canada, it is necessary to satisfy the border officer that you will be visiting Canada and will be leaving at the end of your period of authorized stay. Having a return ticket is one of the best ways of meeting this requirement. Other evidence that the spouse has not completely abandoned their life abroad is also helpful – proof of ownership or leasing of a residence in the U.S., proof of an existing job that will remain open to them, proof of family ties, investments, memberships in clubs, studies and the like all help.
This issue of what to say at the port of entry is complicated. That is because according to Canadian law, a visitor to Canada can have so-called dual intent – that is to say, the intent to enter Canada as a visitor and also the intent to stay permanently if granted permission to do so. But this is where the reality collides with the legality due to semantics. The problem that results is that there is no clear-cut, straight forward way to gain entry into Canada without twisting yourself into a pretzel. If you tell them the unadulterated truth about resorting to the inland processing route you are likely to be turned away – even if you argue you are entitled to have dual intent. If you tell them you are only visiting without sharing the further plan of filing inside Canada, you are likely to be OK. A lot depends on the border officer you are dealing with and how much information you are required to provide.
The key to success is to enter the Canadian port of entry without being diverted into secondary… [+]
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The key strategy is to avoid secondary inspection, that is to say, to be diverted into the side office at the port of entry for more detailed questioning. If you enjoy being grilled and fricasseed like a chicken for a few hours, go for it. If not, avoid telling border officers things that will alarm them, but stay within the bounds of truth. Put more succinctly, tell the officers what they want, but avoid what they do not want. They want to hear you are coming as a visitor. They do not want to hear you are planning to stay. It’s not that you can’t stay as a would-be spouse, it’s that you can’t say so at the port of entry. This is stupid, but it is just the way it is at the moment. Once you enter, you can resort to the inland route and remain permanently if approved. Just don’t start off with that at the port of entry. If however, you are diverted into secondary inspection despite your best efforts to stick handle the difficult questions, your strategy needs then to be brutal truth. At that stage the jig is up and you need to level with them completely. If you’re lucky, they’ll let you through and go ahead as planned. If not, you have to start at square one again, filing an outside of Canada spousal sponsorship.
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Andy J. SemotiukFollow
I am a U.S. and Canadian Immigration attorney and have helped over 10,000 clients with various legal problems. I… Read More
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