Visiting Your Future Husband Before Marriage
If you decide to meet your husband-to-be in Canada before making your final decision, you will most likely come to Canada on a visitor visa, known as a Temporary Resident Visa. You may not have to have a visa if residents from your home country are not required to have a visa upon entering Canada. You can find this information through Citizenship and Immigration Canada or through the Canadian Embassy or Consulate in your home country.
You have to apply for the Temporary Resident Visa in your home country. Information on how to apply for a visitor visa, and the application forms, can be found on the Citizenship and Immigration Canada website or at the Canadian Embassy or Consulate in your home country. You will have to meet all of the screening requirements.
Once you are in Canada, if you decide to stay longer than the expiry date of your visa, you will have to extend your visitor visa. This has to be done at least 30 days BEFORE your visa expires. To do this, you will have to provide the following:
- Details of why you want to stay longer
- Proof of identity
- Proof of current status in Canada
- Evidence of how you will support yourself in Canada
- Proof that you can pay for transportation to leave Canada
You can get the forms needed to apply for an extension online at Citizenship and Immigration Canada. If your application for extension is granted, immigration documents will be mailed to you.
If you let your visa expire, you cannot apply for an extension. Instead, you must apply for a restoration of your temporary resident status. This means that you must leave Canada and then apply for another visa before you can re-enter. This may or may not be granted by Citizenship and Immigration Canada.
If during your visit, you and your future husband got married in Canada, he could begin the sponsorship process for you to get your permanent resident status and you can stay in Canada while you wait for the sponsorship application to be processed.