Sponsoring girlfriend for marriage

Hi Tien and Shaden,
There are 2 types of submission method for Spousal Sponsorship application. If the sponsored spouse is in Canada (ie:you) and residing with the sponsor, you can file an inside-Canada Spousal Sponsorship and the sponsored spouse can be eligible to apply for an open work permit in order to work in Canada. Usually for this type of application, the sponsored spouse can’t leave Canada while the application is in process, otherwise it can jeopardize your application.

Another method of submission is Outside-Canada Spousal Sponsorship, where obviously the sponsored spouse is residing outside Canada. This type of application is commonly used by many couples due to the fact that not every spouse can come to Canada to file an inside-Canada application, especially for those who are from visa-required countries, like Vietnam.

In your case, Tien, based on what you described, I assume you’re currently in Vietnam and your partner Shaden is in Canada. Since you failed several times in applying for a study visa to come to Canada, you can try to apply for a visitor visa but there’s no guarantee that you can get a visitor visa approved either. Indeed, having a partner or a spouse living in Canada is a disadvantage to your visa application because your ties in Canada are greater than those in Vietnam. Visa officer can refuse your application because they might not believe you will come back to Vietnam at the end of your trip.

My suggestion is to wait until your partner, Shaden, works out his schedule and is ready to fly to Vietnam to marry you. You guys will register your marriage and do marriage ceremony in Vietnam and later Shaden can sponsor you by filing the Outside-Canada Spousal Sponsorship. One good thing about Outside-Canada sponsorship is it will take less processing time compared to Inside-Canada sponsorship. Many cases take only about 6 months to a year, while Inside-Canada sponsorship can take up to 2 years to be complete.

In case you have more questions or concerns, please book an appointment with me for one-on-one conversation on the phone. By that way, I can answer your questions thoroughly.

Trang