canadian visa/ citizenship

Hi im getting married to a canadian citizen( by birth), i need to know as im indian and once im marrried to him, will be applying for which category of visa? can some one advice please as a little while ago i heard when my friend got married ( who was indian n now a australian citizen) she applied for citizenship......... im not too sure, well any advice?

He will have to sponsor you as family class, if that is successful you can become a permanent resident. The process takes quite a while though, you won't be able to head off to Canada with a new visa straight after the wedding, it doesn't work like that.

You can only become a Canadian citizen after you have already lived basically trouble free in Canada for at least three out of the last four years before applying.

It's all clearly laid out on the CIC website, you really need to study it. If you're thinking of getting some help from an Immigration Consultant / Representative, please read this, there are some absolute cowboys out there promising the earth and from the advertisement I've seen in Indian papers, it's mostly poppycock.

Where in Canada are you thinking of living? You'd better check out the climate, in my opinion some cities are frankly uninhabitable for months on end!

If you want to accompany your spouse back to Canada he needs to sponsor you into Canada as a permanent resident.

You can find out more info here.

I'd recommend this process even if you are only planning on visiting Canada temporarily (and have some time to wait). The Canadian govt will not issue you a temporary (ie. tourist) visa unless you demonstrate SUBSTANTIAL ties to India. It's not written anywhere in the Canada Immigration literature, but spouses of Canadian citizens are pretty much required to enter Canada as permanent residents or not at all. Be prepared to wait, however, as such applications take at least several months to process. My wife's application took exactly 100 days from mailing off the application package to receiving the visa itself, and we consider ourselves very lucky.

There are other, better online forums for this topic that will give you more assistance in answering specific questions regarding your individual case. I recommend canadavisa.com but a google search will uncover several others as well.

One of our architects got married in the Phillipines last summer. It took about 8 months to process the paperwork so his wife could move to Canada.

Umm.. Probably not relevant in this case, or in many cases in India, but Canada does recognise "common law" partnerships. Theoretically, if a couple was already living together in India they could apply before the wedding, and then possibly already be in a position to move to Canada together straight after the wedding.

hi dear thats good to know information for me, can u provide littlemore info on the same as in should i hire any consultant n all, n even my fiance is from same place, van, n is it really difficult to get the visa?

i think u dint understand me? well as i said he is canadian n he lives there, n we getting married now n he of course wants me to come along back home,,,,,,, thats why i need to know about my visa

Actually you did not say that he lives in Canada. However, wherever he lives, you will have to wait for your family class application to come through first, before you can travel to Canada to join him.

If he comes to India so you can get married, it could easily be six months before you can go and live with him in Canada.

Really, have a look at the website I linked, it has a lot of information and it is all written very clearly. As for whether or not you employ an immigration consultant it is up to you, but do not be conned into thinking that they can do anything that you cannot do for yourself, as long as you can read the requirements and fill in forms and so on.

I sponsored my husband to come to Canada from India and I know several couples who have done the same. I totally agree with the posts above. Visit the Canadian government immigration website. You can download and print all of the appliation forms and guides.
You will want to send any emails, photos, cards and letter that the two of you have exchanged since you met along with the appliation. Be aware that you may not get all of the items back so you may want to keep copies.
As stated above. He will need to sponsor you as family class.