Dear Miss Powell,
I have been in a relationship with a Canadian man and we were planning to get married in May, but with this virus, I’m really stressed and have a few questions. First, does Canada recognises Jamaican marriages? My main frustration is that my fiancé was scheduled to come to Jamaica, as it would be easier for his family to visit Jamaica than for my family to travel to Canada. Everything was planned, but with the coronavirus pandemic, my fiancé and his family can’t travel. We are now panicking and wondering if we can get married via Zoom or Skype, or if he can send a power of attorney for someone to sign the documents on his behalf. He wants to start the sponsorship process immediately, but we are not sure if we can get married online, or, if we do it, it would be valid. Can you please help us? We are so stressed right now and not sure what to do.
– V.M.
Dear V.M.,
Congratulations on your engagement. I can imagine how frustrated you and your fiancé are as you deal with the restrictions on travel due to COVID-19. Canada does recognise most international marriages. However, for the marriage to be accepted by the Canadian immigration authorities, the overseas marriage must be valid both under the laws of the jurisdiction where it took place and under Canadian federal law.
PROXY MARRIAGE
A proxy marriage is one in which one or both participants are not physically present at the ceremony, but is represented by another person who attends on behalf of the absentee spouse. It is a marriage where someone stands in for the other party. In some cases, the absent spouse is represented by someone who is authorised to do so by a power of attorney on behalf of the absent spouse.
A telephone, fax or Internet marriage is a marriage in which one or both of the participants are not physically present at the same location, but participate in the solemnisation of the marriage by telephone, fax, Internet or other means, such as Zoom, Skype, WhatsApp, FaceTime or other online applications.
Although several emergency amendments have been implemented by Immigration Refugee and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) to deal with COVID-19, a marriage where one or both parties are not physically present will not be considered to be valid and acceptable under any of the temporary and permanent immigration programmes. Simply put, online marriages are not acceptable for sponsorship purposes. For your marriage to be valid, both the applicant and the sponsor must be physically present at a marriage ceremony and must have participated in the ceremony in person.
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Applications received by IRCC before June 11, 2015, from persons married by proxy, telephone, fax or Internet are exempt from the general rule. Additionally, if your fiancé is a member of the Canadian armed forces, the marriage may be acceptable if the travel restriction is related to his service in the military and the proxy marriage is acceptable in the place where it is performed.
Marriage to a military personnel would need to be held in a country where marriage by proxy is legal. Jamaica does not allow proxy marriages. Some states in the USA, such as Texas, New Mexico, Montana, Colorado, allow marriage by proxy. However, there are many restrictions to travel to the USA, and you would also need to satisfy the requirements of the individual country before you are able to get a valid marriage licence.
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HOW TO DEAL WITH SPONSORSHIP APPLICATION
Do not be disheartened. Your option is therefore to postpone the wedding ceremony to a later date when travel restrictions are lifted. Alternatively, your partner could proceed with the sponsorship application, if you are able to qualify as common-law or conjugal partners, and then get married once you are able to.
To qualify as a common-law relationship, you must have resided together in a committed relationship for a minimum of one year. You must provide evidence of a stable and committed relationship.
A conjugal relationship is one in which there is evidence of some permanence. You must be able to demonstrate that you live outside of Canada and that your sponsor can’t live with you in your country of residence or marry you because of significant legal and immigration reasons.
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You and your fiancé will need to demonstrate that you are interdependent financially, socially, emotionally, and physically. You must provide evidence of a serious commitment to one another. Conjugal does not just mean ‘sexual relations’. It means that there is a significant degree of attachment between two partners.
Therefore, to qualify under this category, the critical issues are to provide evidence that demonstrate that there is the passage of one year, the building of intimacy, and strong emotional and financial ties between the parties.
Essentially, IRCC will be looking for evidence, such as naming one another as beneficiaries on insurance policies, wills and powers of attorneys, joint ownership of possessions, joint decision-making, and financial support of one another. A visa officer will assess the facts to see to see if there is a significant commitment, mutual interdependence, and proof that you are in a monogamous relationship of some permanence, like that of a married couple.
I suggest that you consult with an authorised immigration lawyer to guide you further. Most of us are available for consultation via telephone, Zoom and Skype.
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Deidre S. Powell is a lawyer, mediator and notary public who is a member of the Jamaican and Ontario, Canada bars, with office located in Ottawa, Ontario. Submit your questions and comments to email: info@deidrepowell.com. Subject line: Immigration. Find her on Twitter, Facebook, Instagram and LinkedIn or call 613.695.8777.
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