URGENT question! Are we messing things up by getting married?
Nov 6th 2011, 7:05 pm
#1
Just Joined
Thread Starter
Joined: Nov 2011
Posts: 1
URGENT question! Are we messing things up by getting married?
Hi,
I am Canadian and sponsoring my common law partner from the UK. He is here on a study permit currently, and we have applied outland for PR (application went in- late September to Mississauga then hopefully soon... London)
We are pretty happy with the application we put together - lots of letters and photos from friends and family and we are hoping that the approval process is straightforward.
We are about to get married tomorrow.... and the only hesitation we have is if it will impact our PR application in progress.
It will be a private ceremony with just the two of us (and marriage commissioner + witnesses) and we have eloped... as we were getting bogged down in the logistics and expense of friends and family travelling from the UK... also, we want to start a family and would like to be married before pregnant
We are fully aware that the style of wedding ceremony we have chosen - would probably not suffice as evidence of a genuine relationship... but our common law relationship and proof we have provided... should already stand on its own.
We know that we need to inform Canada Immigration of the change in marital status. If we get married - do we have to redo the whole application again? Does this delay the decision by a significant amount of time?
To be honest - if it does - we will call the whole thing off and just wait. It sounds terrible I know, but was SO much work to complete the PR application, and we are so eagerly awaiting the date when he can work in Canada... we would have to reconsider tomorrow if this is the case.
Does anyone know?? Please help!
We really should have found the answer to this question sooner... but it just occurred to me in the middle of the night as I was thinking about the ceremony
ha ha... not your usual pre-wedding jitters I know...
Thanks,
Trista and Rob
I am Canadian and sponsoring my common law partner from the UK. He is here on a study permit currently, and we have applied outland for PR (application went in- late September to Mississauga then hopefully soon... London)
We are pretty happy with the application we put together - lots of letters and photos from friends and family and we are hoping that the approval process is straightforward.
We are about to get married tomorrow.... and the only hesitation we have is if it will impact our PR application in progress.
It will be a private ceremony with just the two of us (and marriage commissioner + witnesses) and we have eloped... as we were getting bogged down in the logistics and expense of friends and family travelling from the UK... also, we want to start a family and would like to be married before pregnant
We are fully aware that the style of wedding ceremony we have chosen - would probably not suffice as evidence of a genuine relationship... but our common law relationship and proof we have provided... should already stand on its own.
We know that we need to inform Canada Immigration of the change in marital status. If we get married - do we have to redo the whole application again? Does this delay the decision by a significant amount of time?
To be honest - if it does - we will call the whole thing off and just wait. It sounds terrible I know, but was SO much work to complete the PR application, and we are so eagerly awaiting the date when he can work in Canada... we would have to reconsider tomorrow if this is the case.
Does anyone know?? Please help!
We really should have found the answer to this question sooner... but it just occurred to me in the middle of the night as I was thinking about the ceremony
ha ha... not your usual pre-wedding jitters I know...
Thanks,
Trista and Rob
Nov 6th 2011, 8:15 pm
#2
Sawdust making harpy
Joined: Sep 2007
Location: Alberta
Posts: 11,291
Re: URGENT question! Are we messing things up by getting married?
Many congrats on the up coming wedding 
In my personal opinion if you guys want to get married - then go ahead and do it, I would then send a letter to your processing office outlining what you have said here - basically that you were talking and wanted to start a family and wanted to do so after being married - although the implications and logistics of getting friends and family over from the UK have made you decide that you wanted to elope and have the ceremony for the two of you.
It's not as though your family don't know about your relationship, so I would say do it - and don't worry, but send in proof of your marriage when you get it
In my personal opinion if you guys want to get married - then go ahead and do it, I would then send a letter to your processing office outlining what you have said here - basically that you were talking and wanted to start a family and wanted to do so after being married - although the implications and logistics of getting friends and family over from the UK have made you decide that you wanted to elope and have the ceremony for the two of you.
It's not as though your family don't know about your relationship, so I would say do it - and don't worry, but send in proof of your marriage when you get it
Nov 7th 2011, 12:29 pm
#3
Occasionally Useful
Joined: Nov 2009
Location: Edinburgh, UK
Posts: 682
Re: URGENT question! Are we messing things up by getting married?
Congratulations on your (not-so-)big day! Suspect that you being married should not at all impact the application. After all its not as if common-law partners becoming married somehow makes you less genuine a relationship.
Nov 7th 2011, 12:38 pm
#4
Concierge
Joined: Jun 2011
Location: Oakville, ON, CA
Posts: 8,320
Re: URGENT question! Are we messing things up by getting married?
I can't remember 100%, but in one of the guides (I think The SPonsor's Guide, Part 1) there's a section that makes reference to a change in your relationship status. My fiance are I are putting in our application for me to sponsor him (me Canadian, him British) in about 4 weeks, so that section caught my attention. IIRC, you just have to go online into your profile and change your relationship status there from common-law to married... they may ask you to send a copy of your certificate but otherwise it isn't a big deal. From reading it in the guide it was pretty straight-forward.
