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Canadians, how to sponsor your Colombian Spouse...

For those interested in sponsoring a colombian spouse to come to canada as a permanent resident I will gladly tell you my experience.
Before arriving in colombia I went to the land registry office in my province and obtained a cerificate of marriage search, I then applied for the full form of my Birth Certificate,.. not the wallet sized one,..that doesn't work. This takes a lot of time allow for at least 3 months.
No idea what you need if you've been divorced,.. call the consulate of colombia.
These two documents I then sent to the consoluate of colombia in toronto and for a small fee they transalted and certified them
I then went to my catholic priest and had him send to the archdiocese of cartagena a letter stating that I was free to marry.
On January 21, 2006 I was married in colombia. Trust me a lot of bowing and scraping to the priest, and a very long and boring marriage course.. don't even think of doing it if your not catholic, they have to convert you as well
After the wedding I took the religious certificate of marriage produced by the parish to the local registry office,.. where everyone gets their cedula, this office is the Registradura, every municipality has one, you dont need a notary. In the eyes of colombian law a religious marriage is a legal marriage even though your girlfriend doesn't believe it, they passed a law in the 80's that maybe she didn't hear about. In the registry office they produce a document that's literally your registry of marriage they retain the original at all times, they can only give you a photo copy of the registration of your marriage, for some reason colombian law doesn't allow them to hand out original documents. There is no fee for registering your marriage. SO with this photocopy of the registry in hand I then went to the main office of Servientrega (Like Fed ex)at that office they had someone who does this all the time,..i'm not the only gringo doing this, Servientrega for a fee will courier the document to the ministry of the exterior in bogota where there the ministry stamps the copy of my registration of marriage,.. they give it an "apostlle" which makes it an official document that can be recognized by the government of canada. This cost me around 130,000,... 60,000 for translating which I shouldn't have done, i'll explain later. This took two weeks. My now wife then needed to go to the DAS office everyone in colombia knows where this is. Practically Every maid, security guard and anyone who wants a job or what ever needs to go there to recieve a security clearance document that their not criminals. You've also probably have been there to extend your visa. Anyway she had to go early and alone,.. no gringo,..its a crazy line-up and they only take first hundred or so. SO she had to pay someone who's a professional line waiter for his spot but the police are watching so I would have only made it impossible. By the way, before going she had to go to bancafe and pay the fee to DAS and bring the receipt and two photos i can't remember the fee was 30,000 not much. Overnight they produced the document and she returned in the morning to get it.
By the way, I also got a copy of her registry of birth at the registradura, and a photocopy of her passport (she needs one) and cedula. I don't know what documents you need if she has children but come on who would do that?
We then went to barranquilla to the office of the closest doctor who performs the canadian health exam, his name is Zurek or Marek and his phone number doesn't work, I guess he's really busy with this and it's too much trouble all the gringos calling him so I went to a couple of offices looking for him,... But his office is open you'll need to go there personally. Anyway he performed an examination on my wife I watched,.. Great Guy made me feel proud to be canadian. Don't be put off by the not being able to get a hold of him. The examination costs around 200,000 with courier costs and afterwards I needed to take her for x-ray exams and blood work that cost another 100,000 or so. The doctor gave me a piece of paper with my wifes photo glued to it which is your proof that the exam was done and the reference number for immigration later.
Before arriving in colombia I brought with me the package from immigration and citizenship canada for sponsoring my spouse in it was a form I needed to fill out before arriving at the doctor I brought that with me.
In cartagena there's a consulate for canada and I called them and asked for a registered translator and they gave me the number of a woman from manga whose translations are recognized by the government of canada,.. not everyone can translate for you. She translated the stamped certificate of marriage, the DAS police certificate which by the way doesn't look like much its a little green 2" x 3" booklet with her photo, the copy of her cedula, the copy of her registro de nacamiento, copy of the marriage certificate(the one from the parrish), She also translated completely for my wife the sponsorship agreement between her and I and only the questionaire form about how we met because these two parts of the application are what my wife needs to understand in order to sign. All these documents she completed in a week and I the took the documents and the translation to the consulate where the Consul of canada herself stamped them with an official seal. The transaltion was a lot 700,000,,,20,000 per page
worst of all the cosulate wants 50$CDN per seal.
By the way there's a company in Toronto called ALL Languages and they do these translations a lot cheaper, fax them the copies and they'll quote you a price in advance. the translator is a notary public so they do the seal and translation all at once.
Ok then I went back to canada and there I got a 8 x 11 x 4 box and put in it all these documnts the other completed forms loose photos of me, my wife, the wedding, our courtship, copies of 40 or so e-mails between her and I, a stack of calling cards, copies of phone bills and money transfers over the last two years.
I followed the rule that less is more, one CIC agent told me that they sometimes send back stuff if its too much, and I only used the space available on the forms for the questions, nothing too long like this essay I'm writing for you. I describe the size of my box because thats what worked for me.
I courierd the box to Citizenship and Immigration center in Mississauga on the 2nd of March 2006. On april 14, 2006 they sent me a letter stating that I had met the sponsorship requirements,(you DO NOT need to meet financial requirements to support your wife, however you still need to fill out that part of the application and provide your latest notice of assessment) they gave me a client number and told me that my application had now been sent to the High commission for canada in colombia. Then I waited
.... and everyday the chismosas in the pueblo told my girl he's never goin through with it
and where's your visa
so and so married a gringo and went to the us two months later why are you still here?
Baby you're going to canada it's a different country,.. Are we really married? ....
nothing for months, no one to call and the website only showing that I had been aproved she was still pending.
Then the website showed july 4, 2006 that the application had been received by the high commision in bogota, then nothing until october 23, 2006 when someone from the high comision in Bogota called her and told her that they needed her passport to complete her application and that if she didn't send it then she'd be put to the back of the line.
On that day the web site stated that her medical examination had been retrived. She couriered the passport to the high commission that day and then we waited nothing on the website and no one to call. Then on the 29th of november 2006 the visa arrived.
She now has it.
8 months from the moment I sent off the application. No lawyer no nobody not even my girl was much help all alone I did it no one believed in me but see she's a permanent resident now,.. well not until three months after she gets to canada then she receives the permanent resident card.
We'll arrive in Toronto after my winter in cartagena at the end of February,... think it'll be cold enough for her? I hope I can help any canadians in the same boat my e-mails on if you have any questions I'm sure I've left something out...
One other thing eight months of nagging and the minute the visa arrived "" I'm not Ready to go!!!!" " LOL

By tompower on Dec 30, 2006, 07:30 in Visa & paperwork.

chester says on Dec 30, 2006, 07:40:

Piss on the Catholic Church and every colombian notary.

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utopiacowboy says on Dec 31, 2006, 05:56:

From everything I've read and heard about the Canadian immigration process, it seems yours was handled in record time.

Disclaimer: any comment I make is inane and is not to be taken seriously, and is so patently ridiculous that no one should take it seriously, even as an insult.

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Terry2 says on Dec 31, 2006, 06:05:

Ah... thank you! tompower... thanks for your post. I too am about to go through the same hoops, albeit I'm not a Catholic and neither is the girl. We are currently awaiting a hearing for permission for her 10 yr old daughter to leave the country. I am also a Canuck and live in Prince George BC.

I am going to retain an immigration lawyer to hopefully speed up the process but won't hold my breath. I know most of the delay is in the hands of the Colombians where manana is the word of the day.

Thanks again for the post and I will contact you by email

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tompower says on Dec 31, 2006, 06:39:

Canadian Immigration not so slow. All I ever heard or read was people complaining about how long it was taking for Canada Citizenship and Immigration to process applications. However, I think maybe a lot of the complaining is people who DO NOT fill out the application correctly or don't provide the right documents and then C.I.C puts their application on hold until they get them,.. that's what I thionk takes those people so long.
You can see on the web site for C.I.C. the processing times for spouse sponsor applications for permanent residents in the high commission for Canada in Bogota and it says 30% in 6 months, 50% in 8 months etc( i think these times are starting from when they receive your application from canada that means add 4 months)
I honestly think that the people working there have a vested interest in processing the applications within that time because every delayed application makes their office look bad. I think that's why in my case they hurried my wife to send her passport. I don't think they want to delay an application that is obviously bona fied.
Also, there was a neighbour of my wife's aunt who married a canadian woman. This neighbour had been divorced and failed to provide the correct document and they contacted him and he rushed it to them and he got his permanent resident visa for canada almost exactly in the same time as my wife,... 8 months.
I think and it's just my opinion,.. those immigration people in the embassy are very smart. If your case is suspicious, they delay you it's so easy to find something you've missed, or request more information just to put you off.
YOU DO NOT need an immigration lawyer. All the hard work is getting the colombian documents and no IMMIGRATION lawyer can help you with that. He'll just say thanks for the 2K now go get the documents and I'll fill out the application for you. Hey I'll help ya for free just e-mail me,... cause were all in this together

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tompower says on Dec 31, 2006, 06:50:

On other thing about CATHOLICS Just a suggestion to my fellow poor but happiers;
God is the best thing that ever happened to me with my colombian girl.
Just between me and you religion is a joke that whole shepered and the wine nonsense is rediculous.
However, my beutiful RELIGIOUS wife doesn't need to know,..tht I don't believe.

"MI amor,.. when are the papers going to arrive?"
"Baby,... its in Dios's hands"
"Amen"

"Mi amor,... when are we going to colombia I miss my family?"
"Baby,... when Dios wills it.
"Amen"

"Mi amor,... were you talking to that girl?
"Baby,... I swear to Dios I didn't even look at her!!"
"Really?"
"I swear to Dios"
"AMEN!"

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anonimo says on Dec 31, 2006, 07:36:

Prince George?? Hopefully she is from a small town in Colombia, if you will be taking her to Prince George!!!

I am from Victoria.. just came back.

I found a girl I thought that I had lost forever 2 years ago, when she lost her cell phone and moved to Bogota. I met her 3 years ago.

When I go back next year, she want to get married and have a bambino, but she does not want to come to Canada... maybe I will move there with her in a couple of years.

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anonimo says on Dec 31, 2006, 07:40:

Prince George?? Hopefully she is from a small town in Colombia, if you will be taking her to Prince George!!!

I am from Victoria.. just came back from Bogota & Cartagena

I found a girl I thought that I had lost forever 2 years ago, when she lost her cell phone and moved to Bogota. I met her 3 years ago.

When I go back next year, she want to get married and have a bambino, but she does not want to come to Canada... maybe I will move there with her in a couple of years.

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Terry2 says on Dec 31, 2006, 08:34:

Yup... Prince George Actually she is from Barranquilla... in the south. PG is not so bad as the real estate prices have jumped 30% in little over a year and prospects are good for next year. I do travel to Vancouver often as I have friends there and like to travel to Las Vegas for the open road races so there will not be a shortage of BIG cities.

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anonimo says on Dec 31, 2006, 10:00:

PG Is there a place that sells arepas in PG??

I have been craving arepas but have not been able to find a latin grocery store in Victoria.. they were very easy to find in the Toronto area

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Terry2 says on Dec 31, 2006, 13:43:

Hahahahaha I don't think she fully understands the concept of MINUS yet! She is really excited about seeing the snow but somehow I haven't been able to convey the fact that its damn cold! She did live in southern Chile for a few years and she says it was really cold..... yeah..lol

anonimo.... nothing even resembling an arepas here!

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jinksmiester says on Jan 2, 2007, 07:19:

.im presently in the process of trying to get my wife to canada...much like you i did all the work myself...i exspect this saved a bundle.the important thing i believe is having all the documents correct and in order.i have been divorced once years ago so i also had to send a copy (translated and apostila)of the divorce certificate and also had to have a document showing im single...any registry office in canada will suppy that...about a week....before i started all this i asked canada imigration what was nessecary as well as the colombian embassy here in canada...(wanted to be sure everything was correct and legal)unlike you we used a notery for the wedding. we were married in aug /06 and the sponsorship papers took about 6 weeks for aproval...bogota recieved the p/r application late in oct/06 and thats where we are at right now....waiting in line for them look at it.my concern at this point is that her medical will exspire before they even go to look at it(website says its only good for 12 months)...so we are going to get a new medical and forward it to bogota and ask them to add it to my wifes file....im scared if i wait for them they will tack on anouther 3 or 4 months in wait times if the med is exspired(there website in bogota says the medical can be exspected to add 3 months more in wait time..im not waiting for them to look at the app and shove it back on the shelf because the med is exspired...getting a new one right away...they tell you to wait for them to send you for a medical, that is a sure bet that it will be delayed, my wife had her medical in jan/05..and at that time we had hoped she could come to canada for a visit...they refused that saying she might not return to colombia if they gave her a visiters visa(they were wrong..her family is important to her ...and me).
applying for the visiters visa was b.s....had to take documents to bogota in person or they don,t accept it...my wife spent 20 hours on a bus to get there ...and then they said come back in two weeks and refused to take the app from her hands..no one there to accept it..supposedly all on holidays...so she made two trips...80hours in bus rides ...lost time at her work and shelled out for hotels...all so they could send a form letter(sure they have a huge stack)dated a year old saying she might not return to colombia if she got a visa and don,t bother to reapply unless things change dramatically.
so far im not very impressed with the canada embassy in bogota...they should be ambassaders of canada and treat all people with respect...i thought they treated my wife like crap....no info on there web site the embassy was closed for 2 weeks ..and you can,t ph as all you get is a recording..no info there either.how manny other people traveled half way across colombia to that embassy and got told to come back in two weeks?i fired off a letter to the minister of imigration here in canada....oh ya...they also refused the international money order to the recievor general there web site says to send...had to arrange for payment in colombian...anyway ...ive gone to a lot of care with our p/r app so hopefully that will go better...my relationship is bonifide as well....if i get a hard time on this app i,ll live in the canada embassy in bogota ...eat smelly sadines and stink up the place untill they let me bring my wife home....yes i mean it.

A man is not old until regret takes the place of dreams

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tompower says on Jan 2, 2007, 16:19:

Probably a good idea I agree with you about doing the medical exam again and sending it off to make sure an expired medical exam doesn't needlessly delay the process.
The neighbour of my wife's sister was contacted around the two month mark after his application was received by the bogota high commission when they discovered he had incorrect documents.
For you that means late december or around now they must be looking at your application for the first time.
If there isn't any errors in your paperwork they move your application on to the next stage, so if you don't hear from them around now I think it's safe to assume she'll get the visa 2 months later like my wife did and the neighbour did.
So maybe end of february 2007 for your wife's visa.
Don't get too worried I'm sure you'll see that visa then... comeon it's canada we let everyone in.

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charles cappadocia says on Jan 13, 2007, 21:15:

sponsoring a spouse so you are saying you never had to leave cartagena? and how long did it take you to get all this done, just when you were in colombia? thanx so much.

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tompower says on Jan 14, 2007, 05:39:

8 months exactly I too was concerned that my wife would need to go to bogota to the canadian high comission for an interview, but it turns out they only require an interview if they doubt the veracity of your application.
I had to send off the marriage registry document to the exterior ministry of colombia in bogota but this was done by courrier. Also, I did have to go to Barranquilla for the medical exam because there is no canadian immigration approved doctor in cartagena.
I sent off the whole application in canada to mississauga C.I.C. office on March 2, 2006 and on November 29,2006 my wife received by mail her visa from the Canadian High Commission in Bogota.
Whatever help you need charles, my e-mail is on,
remember, were all in this together,
Tom Power

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charles cappadocia says on Jan 15, 2007, 23:32:

thanx, i feel reassured. you say 8 months, but i assume that was the time to get your wife into canada. how much time did you have to spend in colombia? how much time should i plan for being there. id love to just go and hang out indefinitely but there is only so much time i have. thanx, charles

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charles cappadocia says on Jan 18, 2007, 13:56:

you need a NEW full form birth certificate?? you can t use the one you already have?

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tompower says on Jan 23, 2007, 17:52:

Wallet size wont do. They wont accept the wallet sized one.
you´ll need to order one from your provincial bureau of statistics.
I´m in cartagena right now i´ve spent 5 months in the last two years here. And its not enough time, it never is. And not just for her, for me too.

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jinksmiester says on Jan 24, 2007, 05:42:

no help from immigration 8 months processing time is only if you are very lucky...i recieved a letter from the minister of immigrations office here in canada.it states that they try to process spousal applications in 6 months...but..every embassy is different...it then goes on to say that bogota processed applications 30% of the time in 8 months and 80% of the time in 15 months and this is within there service standards(obviously they don,t set the bar to high on service standards)....as for my case with my wife i know already that when they finally look at the app and blow the dust off it the medical will be exspired and they will tack on anouther 3 months and put it back on the shelf...we can,t just go get her a new medical on our own..we are told we have to wait for the embassy to send her for it...ive asked them to please let her go for anouther medical now so everything thing is in order when they do finally look at our app.they won,t do that...i can,t honestly think of any reason why she can,t just get her medical updated...we just want ALL our documentation up to date so we are not delayed un nessecarily..but the embassy in bogota is a stone wall...you can,t talk to them as they will not except a phone call and if you write to them its unlikley they will respond back ..i think its a lack of indifference and ...they don,t give a crap..... canada,s burocratic wheels of immigration at its best...you can bring a forien worker here in 5 or 6 weeks but the lady you love gets stuck in limbo..its frustrating.
if you are from europe you can take your wife home in about 20 days...if you are british...in about 3 days....and if you are canadian god help you because immigration canada will not.

A man is not old until regret takes the place of dreams

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charles cappadocia says on Jan 24, 2007, 21:39:

does it have to be a new long form birth certificate, or can it be an old long form birth certificate? cheers

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