How To Marry and Sponsor Your Spouse from Costa Rica

If you are a Canadian citizen or permanent resident, once you have married your Costa Rica fiance or you have lived together for one year as common-law partners, you can sponsor him or her for permanent residence in Canada.

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Requirements To Get Married in Costa Rica

Important:

Getting married in Costa Rica requires very little paperwork. There are no waiting periods, no blood tests, and no required documents other than your valid passport. You will complete a questionnaire that includes necessary data, and your Costa Rican lawyer will submit this as a sworn statement
Anyone can get married in Costa Rica, the people do not have to be residents of Costa Rica to get married on scenic beaches of this beautiful country
Costa Rican marriages are recognized all over the world. However, please note that gay marriages are currently not permitted or recognized in Costa Rica, mainly due to Costa Rican’s devotion to the Catholic religion which prohibits these types of unions.

Steps to get married:

Costa Rican law stipulates that two witnesses (non-family members) must attend the wedding.
Copies of couple’s passports
Statement of civil status, nationality, address and occupation.
On the day of the ceremony, two documents will be signed by bride/groom and witnesses:
1. Sworn statement attesting marital status
2. The marriage document

If the bride or the groom are Costa Rican:

Cedula/ CRIC (Costa Rican Identity Card): You will need a valid id which can be your cedula (Costa Rican identification card) or passport with a stamp permitting you to be in the country.
If you will be applying for residency you will need to bring your birth certificate, among other official documents (see instructions in residency section).
A sworn statement notarized in Costa Rica that you are not currently married in any other country. If you are marrying a Costa Rican you need a report stating that the Costa Rican citizen is not married from the Civil Registry.
If you have been married before you will need to present divorce papers or a death certificate of your previous spouse.
You will need to give your lawyer the following information at least 7 days in advance of the wedding so that he/she may prepare the data in their protocol book for the date: full names, parents’ names & nationalities, birth place, nationality, identification number, profession, and address. You can also provide a phone number and email address.
On the wedding day: you, your new spouse, and your two witnesses will sign this book. The lawyer/notary will then register this information at the Civil Registry which takes about 3 months to process before the official marriage certificate is ready.

If both of the bride and the groom are foreigners:

Passport copies
A sworn statement notarized in Costa Rica that you are not currently married in any other country. If you are marrying a Costa Rican you need a report stating that the Costa Rican citizen is not married from the Civil Registry.
If you have been married before you will need to present divorce papers or a death certificate of your previous spouse.
You will need to give your lawyer the following information at least 7 days in advance of the wedding so that he/she may prepare the data in their protocol book for the date: full names, parents’ names & nationalities, birth place, nationality, identification number, profession, and address. You can also provide a phone number and email address.
On the wedding day: you, your new spouse, and your two witnesses will sign this book. The lawyer/notary will then register this information at the Civil Registry which takes about 3 months to process before the official marriage certificate is ready.

Rush Wedding / Fast-track wedding:

Rush wedding is possible for additional fees. The certificate is ready in about 10-12 business days instead of 3 months. T
To have your marriage recognized in your home country you need to have the marriage certificate:
- Translated into English by an Official Translator accredited by the Ministry of Foreign Relations, and,
- Authenticated by the Ministry of Foreign Relations, and,
- Notarized by a Notary.
- Certified and signed by your embassy’s Consular Section.
You can have the certificate mailed via Fed Ex to you after the above process. Once the certificate is received, it must be registered in the city of residence of the couple at the local City Hall.

Get married in a church:

If you get married in the church the process is very different. Honestly, if you do not have your heart set on this type of marriage and are not very religious this option should be out of the question because it is rather complex.

You will need to provide the same information as above.
However, you will also need to:
- Take premarital classes which take about 8 weeks if you are lucky with your soon to be spouse.
- Take a final exam in your class. I will tell you that if the priest ask you who the boss of your household is, neither better answer one or the other. The correct response is both of you or God.
- You will need to reserve the church at least 6 months in advance. For more popular churches like the one in Cartago the waitlist is sometimes over a year.
- The couple must present certifications of any of the seven sacraments they have completed and prove their faith by demonstrating things from their first Holy Communion and confirmation.
- Then your selected witnesses will need to go in for an interview with the priest who will be preforming the ceremony and they ask TOUGH questions. Basically, if you are willing to swear on your life that the couple in question will NEVER get divorced. Plus they try and verify information to make sure it is not a pressured or false marriage.
- Then the couple has to do this same interview and give correct responses. The interrogations can last up to an hour.

Special requirements for women

If a woman has been divorced or is a widow, she can only remarry after 300 days have elapsed from the official issuance date of her divorce decree or her former husband’s death certificate.
She can waive this requirement if she proves that she is not pregnant before her marriage ceremony. To do so, she must take a pregnancy test administered by the Supreme Court of Costa Rica at the Forensic Medicine Office (Medicatura Forense de la Corte Suprema de Justicia) in San Joaquin de Flores in Heredia, Costa Rica. The telephone number is 2295-3000. If her pregnancy test is negative, she may marry immediately.

Validity of marriages

In Costa Rica, only priests, judges and lawyers are legally authorized to perform a marriage ceremony.
If you wish to have a religious, but non-Catholic, wedding ceremony, a judge or lawyer must also be present to make the marriage official.
Civil marriages legally conducted in Costa Rica are valid worldwide. It takes about three months for the Costa Rica Civil Registry to issue your marriage certificate, which your lawyer will have translated and then sent to your closest consulate or embassy to be authenticated. Be sure to stop by your local city hall or equivalent government office, and request the requirements for registering a marriage conducted abroad.
To be legally recognized in Canada, your Costa Rican marriage certificate must be:
- A passport valid for at least six months
- A Costa Rican identity card (Cedula de Identidad)
- A Certificate of Single Status (Certificado de Solteria) issued by the Civil Registry

Sponsoring Your Spouse From To Canada Costa Rica

Questions commonly asked at sponsorship interviews

Communications between the two of you

When and where did you meet your spouse for the first time?
Who initiated contact?
How often did you contact each other before your first meeting in person? How did you communicate? Where is your proof?
How often did you talk on the phone?
Do you have phone bills, e-mails, cards, etc., and can I see them?

Visiting Canada (if applicable)

Where (which airport) did you first Land in Canada? What date?
How many times have you been to Canada? How long did you stay each time?
Have you ever stayed in Canada without status (i.e. after your visa has expired)?
Why did you overstay?
What did you do to rectify the situation?
When did you leave Canada the last time? / When did you leave Canada when you didn’t have status? How long did you leave?
Have you been admitted back into Canada with legal status since?
Have you been issued any kind of document that authorizes you to live in Canada since you were without status? If yes what type and when is the expiry date?
Has your spouse been to visit you in your home country? When?
How many times has your spouse been to visit you?
Where did your spouse land when they visited you? (Which Airport?)
Did your spouse ever go to your home country prior to your relationship?
Did you go to Canada prior to your relationship with your spouse?

Relationship Questions

What is your husband’s/wife’s/partner’s name?
What do you call him/her?
How old is your spouse/partner? What is your spouse’s birth date?
What colour are his/her eyes and hair?
Does your spouse colour his/her hair?
Does your spouse wear glasses or contact lenses?
Does your spouse have any distinguishing features (birth marks, scars, disfigurements of the body)?
Where was your spouse born? Which country and city?
Does your spouse have any allergies?
What is your religion?
What is the religion of your spouse?
When you and your spouse were dating what would you do together?
Do you have any hobbies? Describe them.
Does your spouse have any hobbies? Describe them.
What type of music do you enjoy?
What type of music does your spouse enjoy?
What kind of movies do you enjoy?
What kind of movies does your spouse enjoy?
What kind of books do you read?
What kind of books does your spouse read?
Have you and your spouse ever exchanged gifts? Describe them.
Please explain the type of relationship you have had since your first meeting.
What makes your relationship with your spouse different from that of a female/male friend?
Does your spouse support you financially?
If I refuse this application what will you do?

Education

Where did your spouse go to school? (Elementary and high school)
How many years of school did your spouse Complete?
What degrees or formal training does your spouse have?
In terms of education, would you say that you and your spouse’s educational background are compatible?

Employment

Where did you work in your home country before coming to Canada?
What is the name of the company? What position did you hold? How long did you work there?
What did the job entail?
Did you like your job?
What was the salary?
What do you intend to do when you come to Canada?
What degrees or formal training do you have?
What degrees or formal training does your spouse have?
Where does your spouse work? What’s the name of the company? How does he/she travel to work?
How long has your spouse worked there?
What does the job entail?
does your spouse like his or her job?
What is the salary?

Living Situation

Where does your spouse live?
Whom does your spouse live with?
Does anyone else live in your household other than your spouse and children?
At what addresses have you lived at with your spouse?
Did you own any Property with your spouse?
What type of accommodation do you live in? House, condo or apartment?
Is it rental or do you own it? If rented, how long is your lease? Are you both on the lease?
How much is the rent?
Who makes sure the bills are paid? How much do you pay for Cable/phone/hydro etc.?

Marriage (if applicable)

When and where did the marriage proposal take place?
Was your marriage arranged?
When did you get married?
Where did you get married?
Who was at the wedding?
How many people were at the ceremony?
What day was the ceremony held on?
Who performed the ceremony?
Do you have pictures of the ceremony?
Who was at the ceremony from your side?
Who was at the ceremony from your spouse’s side?
Were any friends present?
Were your parents at the wedding? If not, why not?
Where your spouse’s parents at the wedding? If not, why not?
Were your spouse’s parents aware of the wedding? If not, why not?
Was a reception held? When and where was it held?
Who was present at the reception?
Did you receive any wedding gifts? Describe them.
Did you on a honeymoon? Where did you go and for how long?
Can you show me pictures and receipts from the honeymoon, wedding and reception?
Have you or your spouse been married before?
Why was that relationship ended?
Who initiated the divorce?
What were the reasons for the divorce?
What was the date the marriage was dissolved?
Why did you marry your spouse?
Since your marriage have you seen your spouse? If not, why not?
Tell me why this marriage or relationship is genuine.
Why were you so rushed to be married? How do you explain that?

Family members

Do you have any children form a previous relationship? If so what is their relationship like with your spouse?
What are their names and date of birth?
Who has Custody of these children?
Do you have visitation rights/spend time with them at your home or there’s?
How often do you see your children?
Does your current spouse have any children from a previous relationship? If yes
- What are their names and date of birth?
- Who has Custody of these children?
- Does your spouse have visitation rights/spend time with them?
- How often does your spouse see their children?
Do you have any children from your current marriage?
How many children?
What are the names and birth dates?
Where are the children now?
Who looks after the children?
How many brothers and sisters does your spouse have?
What relatives does your spouse have in Canada?
What relatives do you have in Canada?
What are their names and where do they live?
What relatives does your spouse have outside of Canada?
What relatives do you have outside of Canada?
Has your spouse met any of your relatives or friends? Who have they met and when did they meet them?
Have you met any of your spouse’s relatives or friends? Whom have you met and when did you meet them?

Miscellaneous

Did you get married to get to Canada?
Did your spouse pay you to go to Canada?
Did anyone pay you to go to Canada?
Did you pay your spouse to sponsor you?
If yes, How much?

What kind of documents are frequently requested?

Checklist

Document Checklist – Spouse (including dependent children of spouse) [IMM 5533] (PDF, 3.7 MB)
- Use your checklist to make sure you include all the latest forms and documents you need.
- Place the checklist on top, as a cover page for your application package

Sponsorship Application Forms for Costa Rican Applicants

Forms for the sponsor to fill out

Application to Sponsor, Sponsorship Agreement and Undertaking (IMM 1344) (PDF, 588.96 KB)
Sponsorship Evaluation and Relationship Questionnaire (IMM 5532) (PDF, 2.21 MB)
Use of a Representative [IMM 5476] (PDF, 648.31 KB)

For the person being sponsored (principal applicant):

Generic Application Form for Canada [IMM 0008] (PDF, 652 KB)
Additional Dependants/Declaration [IMM 0008DEP] (PDF, 433.80 KB)
Additional Family Information [IMM 5406] (PDF, 570.00 KB)
Schedule A – Background/Declaration [eIMM 5669] (PDF, 597.99 KB)
Use of a Representative [IMM 5476] (PDF, 648.31 KB)

Longer processing times than the official government listing of 12 months?

Both inside and outside Canada, the estimated time for spousal sponsorship is 12 months. However, it is stated in most websites that processing time outside Canada is less than inside Canada

Are documents issued in Costa Rica issued in any language other than English or French? If so, what language(s)?

Documents are generally in Spanish language. Therefore, you’ll need a certified translation of your marriage certificate and other important documents.

Unique Sponsorship Application Requirements from Costa Rica

Costa Rica- Additional forms for residents

There are no extra forms for this country.

Costa Rica- Additional documents, if so, what are they?

Costa Rica – Instruction(s) for documents

Official documents issued by this country must be government-certified true copies (copies certified as authentic by the issuing governmental authority, signed and sealed).
Marriage certificate issued by this country must be issued by the Registro Civil.

Is a TRV required for a person from Costa Rica to enter Canada for In-Canada sponsorship?

If you want to bring your Costa Rica spouse or partner to live in Canada, you must then file a sponsorship application for them to become a permanent resident. If they would like to visit you in Canada while their application is in process, they must also apply for a visitor visa.