immigrating to canada

Read the CIC website, then if there is still confusion ask specific questions. It is well laid out.

You apply and pay a fee, wait, get approval, pay another larger fee, and that's it. If the marriage is phoney they might say no, usually not. If you are broke and can't sponsor her for 10 years they will say no. The fiancee visa program is over. So unless you are in a proven conjugal relationship now you probably have to marry her first.

The paperwork is a pain and I'd use a lawyer (hey, I DID use a lawyer) as I still suspect they sneech things by faster. Do not use an immigration consultant even though they are supposedly regulated ( though now they are criticizing the regulatory body they invented for themselves, go figure).

They cost as much as a real lawyer.

She'll have to have a passport, get a police certificate soon for these two, and then will get a medical eventually, and so on.

With a proper lawyer I got approval in about 60 days.

Note I kindly did not even suggest this is a really stupid idea (even though in 99.999% of all cases it is a really stupid idea). Have you known her for more than one trip to the DR? Was she a "pro" or 'semi-pro" type of gal? MP girl, bar girl? Bad idea if so.

Hi--
I'm in the process of filling my Immigration forms out now, and I feel like I could be a Immigration lawyer! I feel like I'm a pro. My friend had married her boyfriend in April 2005, and she is still waiting for husband to come to Cda. AND she had a lawyer.

I am not using a lawyer, and I'll see how that goes. I'm just waiting on the actual marriage certificate, and then I will submitt.
Basically you visit www.cic.gc.ca/english/applications/fc.html
This gives you all the forms and you get the necessary information for medical and police reports req'd on your wife's end.
What I did was get all the forms filled out, and I'll be taking them with me in Feb when I get married, having him sign the necessary documents, and then bring everything back with me...the docs, and the medical recepit and the police report....as well as marriage certifcate (these last 3 things need to be translated from Spanish to English for Immigration)...and then I will forward EVERYTHING ( I swear I'll need a gigantic box to ship everything to Immigration) when I get home. And then the waiting period starts.

Make sure all the docs are filled in properly, and all you t's are crossed and your i's are dotted. B/c Immigration is crazy! And make sure all docs that she needs to sign are signed b/c I had Dominican friend, who's wife is Cdn... who did them sent them off, and then Immigration sent them back to her to have her husband sign some docs...and so she had to Fedex them to the DR, and then send them back to Cda....and this happned twice, and while this mailing back and forth went on, his medical expired, and he had to go re-apply for that......so just make sure things are in order BEFORE you send them in, so there are no delays. ORGANIZATION IS KEY!!!!!

If you have any questions filling in the forms, let me know.
Lisa

10 years. If they do less it would be odd.

exdomi said:

10 years is that even possible you mean i have to wait 10 years for my wife to come over what kind of marriage would that be. does that even make sense?

Click to expand...

Directly from the immigration Q&A:

your spouse, common-law partner or conjugal partner, you must provide financial support for three years from the date that person became a permanent resident;
your, or your spouse?s, common-law or conjugal partner?s dependent child who is less than 22 years of age, you must provide financial support for 10 years from the date that person became a permanent resident or until the child turns 25 years of age, whichever comes first;
your, or your spouse?s, common-law or conjugal partner?s dependent child who is 22 years of age or older, you must provide financial support for three years from the date that person became a permanent resident; or
any other person not mentioned above, you must provide financial support for 10 years from the date that person became a permanent resident.

No, it means that you sign an agreement that says if she goes on any public support you pay the government back what they dole out to her. Avoids marriages of convenience where she screws off the day she arrives after you get paid for doing it then winds up on welfare.

I agree with Lisa: ORGANIZATION is the key. If you miss a document you could get delayed for 1 month or longer.
As per the duration of the process, it depends on the case and how busy is the immigration office that you use. The shortest that I have seen is 9 months. Most of the people that I know, they did not use a lawyer. I am an immigrant too --independent cathegory-- and now Canadian citizen.

Good Luck

I tried various ways etc. Now I reside in DR.. was easier...M.