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| Subject: South African marrying a Canadian citizen |
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I´m a south african and have a girlfriend in Canada who is a Canadian citizen. We want to get married purely out of love for eachother and have me immigrate to Canada so that we can be physically together like a normal married couple. I want to know what steps we need to take and the potential challenges ahead of us and how to overcome them. I´m staying in South Africa now and she´s back home, we can´t live like this seeing eachother every couple of months. We want to be together to create our lives together. Any help is much appreciated.
[17-10-2011,15:08]
[**.186.23.80]
Keegan |
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(in reply to: South African marrying a Canadian citizen)
Start here:
www.cic.gc.ca
[17-10-2011,16:19]
[***.115.153.178]
DocD |
(in reply to: South African marrying a Canadian citizen)
go to www.cic.gc.ca and see whether she is eligible to sponsor you.
If she is ineligible then she has to go over to south afica then.
[17-10-2011,18:09]
[***.124.134.110]
Anonymous |
(in reply to: South African marrying a Canadian citizen)
Thanks for the replies. Another question: is it possible for me as a South African citizen to get married in Canada with a visitors visa? And is South African marriage law recognized under Canadian law? And would it be better to get married in South Africa or Canada?
[18-10-2011,09:54]
[**.186.31.81]
Keegan |
(in reply to: South African marrying a Canadian citizen)
Yes, a marriage in South Africa is recognized in Canada and there is no difference on getting married either in SA or Canada.
I would strongly recommend you to get married in South Africa and start the immigration process from your homeland and once your immigrant´s visa is approved then move to Canada for good.
Getting married within Canada and starting the process within Canada isn´t the best option. Read the manuals and get familiar with the process.
If moving to Canada is the plan, then both of you have a fair amount of homework to do.
[18-10-2011,11:20]
[***.115.153.178]
DocD |
(in reply to: South African marrying a Canadian citizen)
Thanks Doc, could you also tell me where and I can get these manuals and what documents does my girlfriend have to bring along with her to South Africa in order to get married
[18-10-2011,12:23]
[**.186.31.80]
Keegan |
(in reply to: South African marrying a Canadian citizen)
Processing manuals are in the website I sent you earlier and regarding on what documents to bring, that is something that you are going to have to find out with the local authorities in your home land.
[18-10-2011,14:14]
[***.115.153.178]
DocD |
I also want to Marry a South African (in reply to: South African marrying a Canadian citizen)
Hello
I want to marry a South African Girl I am in South Africa until April 9th 2012, and would like to marry her before I leave... I am wondering what we need to present in Pretoria for her to be able to follow me to Canada... hopefully with in a few months...
thanks
[22-02-2012,12:31]
[***.54.202.3]
Dave |
in reply to Dave (in reply to: South African marrying a Canadian citizen)
You can make an appointment at any magistrates office in South Africa, take along some Identification, and if you were married previously, your divorce decrees (very important), and you can be married anywhere in South Africa. Take a look at the South African Departments of Home Affairs website for further information in this regards http://www.home-affairs.gov.za/index.asp
You don´t have to register your marriage with the High Commission as marriages in South Africa are recognised in Canada. Marriage certificates from South Africa are accepted in Canada. Please take a look at the following link for further information in this regards http://www.voyage.gc.ca/main/before/faq/marriage-en.asp You do not have to register your marriage with a Canadian mission abroad.
Should your spouse be South African (or any nationality other than Canadian) and you wish to move to Canada, please be aware that they will have to go through an immigration process to live in Canada. Take a look at this website www.canada.co.za under the link for the visa/immigration section and then under family class applications for the relevant forms.
Lastly, I have just checked the processing times for application. There are two steps that follow after your COMPLETE application for a spousal visa has been submitted. The first step is the assessment of the sponsor (yourself) which takes up to 53 days to process. The second step is the assessment of the person being sponsored (your girlfriend) and this can take up to 23 months. That´s about 2 years for the application to sponsor your spouse to Canada to be processed and approved. During that time, you or your girlfriend can visit eachother, I´m sure this is possible while the spousal visa is being processed.
For her to visit you in Canada she would need to apply for a visitors visa which is valid for 3 months and only takes about a week or more to process :)
However, when she applies for her visitors visa, its extremely important that she provides sufficient evidence of her ties back home to satisfy the visa officer that she only intends to visit you in Canada and will return back to South Africa, otherwise the visa officer will think its an attempt for her to go to Canada and stay illegally with you. Sufficient ties would be:
1. A job (letter of employment stating her position, HOW LONG SHE HAS BEEN EMPLOYED THERE, the date she will take leave from work to go to Canada and the date she will be returning to work to resume her duties and it must be on a company letterhead)
2. If she´s not working and she is studying then proof of her registration will do
3. A lease agreement if she is renting also helps or if she owns a house she can send in documents to back that up
4. Roundtrip plane ticket
5. Family ties (if she has children or if anyone in her family is dependant on her)
Hope all of this helps. The links I provided should have more detailed information. Both you and your girlfriend have to be committed to this as its going to be a long and stressful procedure, but definitley worthwhile, so take the following advice and believe me when I say TAKE YOUR TIME when doing more research and completing the applications and get familiar with the rules and regulations to make things easier and less time consuming for you guys. It will also help if you aware of what makes an application unsuccessful so that you know what to avoid. So together, do your research so that you both know what to expect, what needs to be done, and with effort and optimism you guys wont fail and I believe the two of you will eventually be together in Canada happily married :)
All the best!
[23-02-2012,10:30]
[**.186.23.80]
kejahen |
marrying (in reply to: South African marrying a Canadian citizen)
Hi
Iv read a few of the obove conversations and is very interested but my situation is abit diffirent. Im from South Africa and met a Canadian guy on a cruisliner where we both work. We have been dating for two years and talked about getting married but have no idea were to start. We both would like to live in Canada but dont know the process for me to get permanent residence papers and where we should get married. We actually have no clue to anything just that we love each other and want to live together in Canada. He has a good job to support me but i would like to continue cruiseships as i got a good job aswell.
Please help
Paris
[08-04-2013,06:03]
[**.4.133.154]
Paris |
Marry canadian woman (in reply to: South African marrying a Canadian citizen)
Hi I want to marry a Canadian women and bring her to south Africa permanently please ,
[24-06-2021,10:56]
[***.11.233.40]
Lazzie GOVENDER |
