It is not yet clear whether the ruling could pave the way for same-sex marriages across Mexico. Wide-spread opposition Mexico City’s local assembly passed the law in December, giving gay people full marital rights, including the right to adopt children. It was one of the first Latin American capitals to fully recognise same-sex marriages. However, it has drawn opposition from the Catholic Church and conservative groups. So far in Latin America, only Uruguay and Argentina have legalised gay marriages nationwide.

Before leaving Canada, one should prepare all documents necessary for a marriage in Mexico. These include long-form birth certificate, a valid Canadian passport and an Affidavit of Marital Status. The affidavit can be obtained from Canada, or if you are already in Mexico, you can get it from the nearest Canadian embassy or consulate.

Canadian citizens do not need a visa to visit Mexico in order to get married, providing that they stay for less than 180 days. Their Canadian passport must be valid for at least six months and have at least two blank pages. Canadians must also obtain a Tourist Card, which is valid for six months and is issued on the flight to Mexico or at the border crossing if entering by land.

As soon as the marriage is registered, your Mexican spouse can apply for permanent residence in Canada.

The marriage process begins with an elaborate proposal and acceptance. It is arranged by a go-
between, who is negotiating the best terms with the bride’s and the groom’s parents. Under
the traditional system, marriage is arranged in a very un-emotional manner. This can look
very strange to a Canadian citizen, because it conflicts with the western idea of free love and
courtship. A marriage arrangement begins with a comparison of horoscopes of the future husband
and wife. The two families arrange to meet only after the two horoscopes are found to be
compatible.

Canadians wishing to marry their Chinese fiancé(e) need to know that the legal age for marriage
in China is 20. If the Chinese bride or groom is under 20, they will need to produce a written
consent from their parents or guardians

On the wedding day the Chinese spouse goes through the “hair dressing ritual” for women or
the “capping ritual” for men. Chinese brides dress in red, wear red shoes and a red silk veil or
a curtain of beads that hangs from the bridal crown. The groom is required to send a carriage
to take the bride home. It is decorated in red, carried by four servants and accompanied by
musicians playing wedding music all the way. A lot of gifts are also brought to the bride’s family
at the same time.

As the procession arrives, the groom’s “woman of luck” enters the Chinese bride’s house and
carries the bride on her back. The bride must not touch the ground with her feet until she arrives
at the groom’s house. The bride’s relatives throw rice into the air, hoping that the chickens around
will eat the rice instead of pecking at the bride.

When the bride arrives in the groom’s house, the wedding ceremony begins. It consists of the
bride and groom kneeling before the family altar and paying homage to Heaven and Earth. After
that both spouses take part of the wedding banquet. If the groom’s family is rich, the banquet may
last up to seven continuous days.

Canadian citizens may decide to marry their Chinese fiancé(e) in Canada, however, getting
married in China is a unique and inspiring experience with no equivalent in the western world.

The attendance to this program is obligatory for a Filipino fiancée of Canadian citizens and is a prerequisite for issuance of a Filipino passport in accordance with Republic Act 8239 and Department of Foreign Affairs Order. The program is meant to orient any prospective Filipino fiancée on the realities of cross-cultural marriages and help them make informed decisions about their marriages. It covers migration laws, welfare and support services available in their country of destination and rights of a Filipino fiancée abroad.

The seminar is valid for one year after taking it so if it was taken to get a passport, the Filipino fiancée has to return after the visa is issued to get her sticker and stamp. There’s no need to attend the program more than once. A Filipino fiancée who wants to emigrate together with their children should know that children who are 12 years old or younger are exempt from attending the seminar. They must, however, be registered. Children aged 13 to 19 are required to attend the Peer Counseling Program which will facilitate their adjustment to a new environment.

In order to register for the seminar, a Filipino fiancée has to present her passport, the original and the photocopy of the visa, one passport-sized photograph, one valid photo ID, the Confirmation of Permanent residence, a completed registration form and a payment of P400.

Every Filipino fiancée attending the Pre-Departure Orientation Seminar and Peer Counseling must book an appointment, five working days prior to the intended date of attendance.

Under the traditional system, marriage is considered a duty and is arranged by the elder members of the family in a very un-emotional manner. This can of course conflict with the western idea of free love and courtship. Canadian grooms should not be surprised if they are asked their date of birth so that their horoscope could be compared with that of their Vietnamese fiancée. Many marriages have been thwarted based on incompatible horoscopes.

Canadians wishing to marry their Vietnamese fiancée must remember that the legal age for marriage in Vietnam is 18. In the past century, child marriages were very popular to bring about alliances between families. However, nowadays the western influence is felt and child marriages are forbidden.

Rituals play an important role in a Vietnamese marriage. The groom will probably be expected to visit the Vietnamese fiancée house and present gifts such as betel leaves and areca nuts to the bride’s family. In addition to these, the bridegroom must provide Vietnamese fiancée with a an engagement ring, earrings, necklaces, bracelets, and perhaps even a certain amount of money.

Canadians are expected to propose formally to their Vietnamese fiancée after an intermediary has consulted the horoscope and chosen the right time and hour. On the wedding day the Canadian groom is expected to go his Vietnamese fiancée home again. The parents of the bride never come out beyond the gate of the home, as they do not wish to appear as initiating the move of offering their daughter’s hand in marriage. The head of the family then performs a rite in front of the family altar, requesting acceptance of the marriage by his ancestors.

A banquet is often held at this point and then the groom’s family takes the bride to their home where the actual ceremony takes place. The genie of marriage is often called the Rose Silk Thread God and the Vietnamese fiancée bows to him many times before the altar. Three cups are filled with an alcoholic beverage by the elder man leading the ceremony. The Canadian groom sips a little of the liquid and passes it to his Vietnamese fiancée who also sips a little. The groom takes some ginger and rubs it in salt, eats a little of it and then shares it with his bride. This symbolizes that no matter what happens, their love will remain true. After paying their final respects to the genie, the couple is considered married.

Canadian citizens may decide to marry their Vietnamese fiancée in Canada, however, getting married in Vietnam is an inspiring and unique experience with no equivalent in the western world.

Your spouse will be asked many in depth questions according to the concerns that the immigration officer has. If your spousal relationship is genuine your fiancee should be able to answer the questions naturally and with knowledge. Being prepared for the visa interview is a good thing, but if you rehearse the answers to the questions without really knowing the answers your fiancee is unlikely to sound natural and trained immigration officers will recognize this.

Questions asked at the fiancee visa interview will be similar to the ones listed below:

How you met
How did you and your spouse meet?
How many times have you seen each other?
How did you keep in touch?
How often did you keep in touch?

About your marriage
Who proposed you get married?
When was the proposal made?
Who arranged your marriage for you?
When did you get married?
How many guests attended your wedding?
Where did you go for your honeymoon?
How long did you spend on honeymoon?
How long did your sponsor stay in your country after you were married?

About your Sponsor
When did your sponsor immigrate to Canada? (If your spouse is a permanent resident and not a Canadian citizen the officer will try to establish if the applicant knew the sponsor before they moved to Canada)
What is your sponsor’s phone number?
Who came over to your country with your sponsor?
When did you and your sponsor live together?
What functions have you and your sponsor attended together?
Name some of your spouse’s friends
What does your husband do when he is not working?
What is your husband’s favourite sport?

There are many ways to prove the partnership is genuine. Couples should provide the following documents to prove that their bond is legitimate:

Photographs of the couple together over a period of time
This means photos wearing different clothes with different hairstyles not photos taken during a single event or stay.

Phone bills
Phone bills over a period of time with the fiancees telephone number highlighted and the duration of each call. If you have regularly called your fiancee you will be able to say that for the last six months we have been in daily/weekly contact. Remember that if you are using a pre-paid phone card you must choose a service that provides you a record of you calls, right from the time you started communicating.

Emails
Most couples have daily email contact. You should take emails from the time you started corresponding to your interview. The content of the emails if they are genuine will show how the relationship has progressed over time to the point where you decided to marry.

Instant message chatlogs
If you use applications like MSN instant messenger to communicate, you should make sure that the “logging” facility is turned on so that you can print off the pages, which show each and every time you and your fiancee communicated and how long for.

Tickets and hotel receipts
It is wise to prove that you have visited your fiancee prior to your marriage. This can be done by showing tickets to her country and hotel receipts with your name on. If your fiancee visited you in Canada she should also provide this information along with a copy of the visa she used to enter Canada.

Joint Bank Accounts
If you have a joint bank account take your statements with you to prove that your finances are tied together. The account should show withdrawals by your fiancee as well as yourself

The immigration officer will also need to ensure that a couple is compatible. Anything unusual about the marriage like a big age gap will invite greater examination.

Examples of a compatible relationship are:

Age (usually a 5-6 year age gap is considered the norm)
Education (being significantly more educated or vice versa would be considered unusual)
Language ability Your fiancee needs to be able to communicate with you in English / French i.e. a language compatible with Canada.

Couples who do have a genuine association will be able to talk to the interviewing officer about the relationship with ease and knowledge. If an application for permanent residence through spousal sponsorship is rejected the sponsor and his spouse can appeal but this is a lengthy and expensive process.

In 2007, the Canadian Marriage Fraud Victim society started a petition urging the Minister of Citizenship and Immigration and the Minister of Public Safety for an amendment of the Immigration Act. They asked for conditional immigration for spouse-sponsored immigrants to Canada similar to the system in countries like USA, UK, Australia and New Zealand which would stop fiancée visa fraud. The three-year probation period for immigrating spouses was not incorporated in immigration legislation, although the petition was signed by more than 20 000 Canadians.

Because of marriage fraud is such a sensitive topic in the Canadian society, about 15% of the 60,000 Canadians who marry abroad and then file international spousal sponsorships get a refusal of their fiancée visa application. The refusal rate in India is as high as 23%.

It is true that any person in Canada with access to a computer and internet can download and fill out the fiancée visa application forms and pay the relevant fees. This is approach is affordable; however, it has a lot of disadvantages. The major one is that it is not mistake-proof and could result in the refusal of the fiancée visa application or slow down the immigration process.

The advantage of proper immigration representation is that all application forms and supporting documents will be filed correctly, all fees will be paid and the fiancée visa application will be sent to the correct government authority. You will be kept up to date with the fiancée immigration process, moreover, you will benefit from the advice of an experienced immigration consultant.