Road To Canada Forums

So Joe will be here next week...we plan on having a quick wedding here in Canada. So he can stay for 6 months max...when he returns to USA how long does he have to stay there before revisting? Also can he open up a Canadian bank account here? When he crosses the border he should say he's coming to visit his girlfriend right?TIA

He can go back to the US border, turn around and come right back after 6 months.

Yes you can open a Canadian bank account, however some banks will not let you. I recommend using TD.

I'd take some proof of savings or other forms of money saved up in case they ask bout how he's going to support himself for that long in canada. They might not ask at all.

djbinsk Wrote:So Joe will be here next week...we plan on having a quick wedding here in Canada. So he can stay for 6 months max...when he returns to USA how long does he have to stay there before revisting? Also can he open up a Canadian bank account here? When he crosses the border he should say he's coming to visit his girlfriend right?TIA

justifun Wrote:He can go back to the US border, turn around and come right back after 6 months.

Yes you can open a Canadian bank account, however some banks will not let you. I recommend using TD.

I'd take some proof of savings or other forms of money saved up in case they ask bout how he's going to support himself for that long in canada. They might not ask at all.

Hold up, start again! No, he should not say he's coming to visit his girlfriend (especially if he's carrying something like wedding rings or a tuxedo)! The key to the entry interview at the POE is to be as non-specific as possible. What they're most concerned with is where he's from, why he's coming into Canada (business or pleasure), and when he intends to leave.

So:
1) He should say he's coming to visit family friends in (city) - if he mentions a "girlfriend", they have their excuse for a reason to believe he won't leave.
2) He needs to have a date in mind for when he "intends" to go back - and NOT six months from now. It needs to be within a few weeks and he needs to be able to prove it if they ask. If he's flying, he'll have a round trip itinerary - even if he's not going to use it. If he's driving, it will be harder to prove. He can't just come up and state that he intends to stay for six months, like it's a right - because it isn't - even though he's marrying a Canadian! He should also be prepared to show that he has "ties" to home - a job, a rental agreement, etc. They might not require that of him - depends on if they get suspicious - but smart travelers with so much to risk (not being there for their own wedding) are prepared.

Once he's admitted, he has implied authorization to stay for up to six months - but if he tells them he intends to stay that long, they're going to want to know how he's going to support himself and where he's going to live. Pretty soon that evolves into, "I have a girlfriend here" and then, "We're getting married" - because they WILL intimidate him and put him on the defensive - and when it finally all comes out, all he)) can break loose. It's not that it's illegal or anything for the two of you to marry - it's because then they have to assume he won't want to leave you again - or you won't want him to leave you again - and they have no way of knowing whether you know you have to sponsor him, or if you're even eligible. At that point, they have to keep him out.

That's why, after you have documentation of your marriage and a PR ap in process (before his six months expires), you leave Canada together and you re-enter with him and get him documented temporary status to stay with you until his PR is finalized. And please don't make the mistake of applying via the inland PR process - you can submit an outland application, that will be finalized a whole lot faster, even while he is staying with you in Canada. There's a lot more information about the process on the US2Canada site - and specifically about "Visiting" - so you should read through that and come back here, anytime, for clarification and help along the way.

Congrats and Good Luck!

PS - Canadian bank account - depends on the bank. My husband-to-be took me to TD Canada and I was able to open both Canadian and US $$ chequing accounts before we even got married. He wasn't even a co-holder on the accounts - but that was also five years ago. I've since read where some people have not been able to open Canadian bank accounts until they have status here, so I think you should just check with your bank and see what they say . . . especially about you adding him to your existing account once you're married, but before he has permanent status.

Emphatic Ditto!

Any hint of a lengthy stay is likely to result in being questioned further. Even if one is flying in and has a return ticket, if that return ticket is for a date more than a few weeks away it will, most likely, cause a referral to secondary and in some fairly intrusive, probing questions in secondary.

Crossing the border "to get married" is one of the more tricky circumstances. Crossing the border to stay any appreciable length of time with a significant other partner is a tricky circumstance.

Crossing the border can be very, very easy, and is for most, for the vast majority . . . which is why it is so taken for granted. But once there are questions, it is a different game altogether.

Foremost:
-- avoid, as best one can (recognizing that lying at the border is a losing proposition!), approaching the border in circumstances likely to draw attention . . . the longer the stay, the more attention it draws; the more ties on the Canadian side (like having a partner), the more attention it draws; and so on.
-- be prepared, as best one can, first to simply answer questions, and secondly to show ties in the States; remember, one really does not get much of a chance to "explain" things, since they ask the questions and there is never any guarantees about what questions they will ask, in what order, or such, so that if you find yourself in a position needing explanation, you are already on the harder side of the equation.

But, again, with some emphasis, most people find crossing the border pretty easy, very routine, "to visit friends for a couple weeks" is good (unless the car is packed in a way to suggest otherwise . . . be smart).

Congratulations and good luck!

I have just recently contacted the major banks and tried to open an account (TD, CIBC, Scotia and PC) and other than being added to my partners existing account as a cosigner...they would not allow me to open my own until I am a PR.

Do you have a provincial health card or a Temporary SI Number? Either of these, when accompanied by your passport (and preferably a letter of introduction from a current customer) is sufficient to open an account.

If your partner has a long standing relationship with her/his bank, then go and see a customer services representative taking along your passport and any other ID you have (and anything with proof of your address on it) and see if they will forgo the requirements.

We talked to our local bank about my son opening an account and she said as long as he had a passport and my husband vouched for him she could open one for him!

There is a handy pdf file that explains your rights and what is required.

There are other types of ID that you can present you can call to find out FCAC website


:)

I do not have any of the forms of ID in List A (Canadian passport drivers license etc everything i have is USA) because I am not a PR yet. So I guess we could try visiting a bank office but it seems that the Canadian governments requirements say I won't be able to. Gotta love "grey areas" :) But i'm glad your son was able to open one, may I ask which bank?

I "think" that if your partner has close ties to their bank and can vouch for you, they will not require everything. It was RBC, by the way.

I was reading a thread on another forum where one person stated they had found out that they could open a bank account using their Visitor Record (an extention would do too I believe).

Another person stated they went to the bank with their passport and US driving licence and told them they owned property here and needed a chequing account to pay bills etc. They were given one (using their address in the states) but could not get their address changed until PR was granted.

Might be worth a shot!

:)

We contacted RBC and they said they will open an account for us even with me being non-resident (they code the account as such) So we are going tomorrow to open a joint Canadian account and an "Access USA" account, since my payroll and bills are in the US... I can't believe how expensive banking is over in Canada!!

termike12 Wrote:We contacted RBC and they said they will open an account for us even with me being non-resident (they code the account as such) So we are going tomorrow to open a joint Canadian account and an "Access USA" account, since my payroll and bills are in the US... I can't believe how expensive banking is over in Canada!!

Oh I know, it just irritates the you-know-what out of me that we have direct deposit of his paycheque and we still pay $12.95/mo AND additional fees for the privilege of banking with TD. President's Choice has a relatively good no fees account - there are a few things you can't get, like international money orders, through them but we're in the midst of switching over. They didn't have a problem with me not being a PR yet - I used my Ontario DL and my US passport with no issue whatsoever.