Visa For My Wife To Go To Canada

[kudroz]

I'm about to get married, and we want to go for a trip of about 2 months in Canada (I am Canadian). I was browsing the canadian's embassy website in bangkok (http://www.dfait-maeci.gc.ca/asia/bangkok/site/visas_immigration-en.asp) but all this is very confusing to me and I don't see anything relevant to a thai national who is married to a canadian.

I tried to search the forum, but I failed to find something relevant to my situation. I know that I have to go and get a certificate from the embassy in BKK (or can this be done in Chiang Mai?) to verify my marital status - and then I need to go back to the embassy to have the marriage recognized in Canada.

Anyhow, I would appreciate if someone could give me some insights and also how long should it take to get the visa approved for my wife to go to Canada and would there be any problems if she can't show much money (per north american standards) on her bank statement.

Thanks!

[BangnaBound]

If they know/find out she is married to a Canadian and she doesn’t currently have residence status, they will most likely (almost certainly) not give she a visitors visa. At least this is how I remember it.

The Canadian immigration system is really crazy. If she is married to a Canadian, they will want her to apply for a spouse class residence visa. Their reasoning is, if she is married to a Canadian, she has reason to stay in Canada, and unlike Thailand, once in Canada, there is very little they can do to get her out. So that is why they want she to apply for the residence visa, because if approved, then she is basically aloud to stay for ever and they have covered their a$$.

I have heard horror stories about married couples being separated for over a year because they will not issue a visitors visa while waiting for the residency visa to be approved. I don’t what you can say or do to convince them that she will leave Canada after 2 months.

If you do need to ask immigration some questions related to this, don’t go in person (especially with your wife), and even try to avoid using your name. They system seems to be designed to reward those who game the system, and punish those who follow the letter of the law.

My experience is a little dated, so you will probably what to get a second opinion.