Marrying and Sponsoring an Ethiopian Citizen

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  • Located in Eastern Africa west of Somalia
  • The weather in Ethiopia is tropical monsoon
  • The fact that the Great Rift Valley passes through Ethiopia makes it vulnerable to volcanic activity, there are frequent droughts as well.

 

Marriage to an Ethiopian Citizen

Every country has its own laws that apply to its citizens marrying a person from a different country. Getting married to an Ethiopian citizen with the goal of eventually bringing them to Canada to live is a process with many steps. The Ethiopian government imposes strict requirements on foreigners who marry Ethiopians as an indirect way of discouraging Ethiopian citizens from moving to other countries.

To learn more about marrying in Ethiopia, contact the Ethiopian Embassy.

If you want to bring your Ethiopian 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. For more information, please see our family sponsorship page and our visitor visa page.

Processing Time

Once the necessary documents are gathered, it usually takes the Ethiopian government up to 3 weeks to authenticate the documents.

If you then file a Canadian sponsorship application for your Ethiopian spouse or partner, this application takes an average of 10-12 months.

A visitor visa application for your spouse or partner to visit you in Canada while the sponsorship applications are processing takes an average of 3 –14 days.

Please see our pages on family sponsorship and Canadian visitor visa for more information on the processing times of these applications.

 

Ethiopian Marriage Basic Requirements

In order to marry a citizen of Ethiopia, you must demonstrate to the Ethiopian government that you are eligible to do so. This includes:

  • Proof of country of birth
  • Proof of single status
  • Proof of age requirement

Family Members

If your Ethiopian spouse has dependent children, this does not affect the Ethiopian Marriage document application.

If you have dependent children, they have no effect on the application to marry an Ethiopian citizen.

 

List of Ethiopian Consulates in Canada

Consulate of the Federal Democratic Republic of Ethiopia in Toronto, Canada

 

Calling Ethiopia from Canada

  • The country code is 251 to call you would dial 011 – 251 – area code – local numbers

List of Area Codes for Major Centres in Ethiopia

Addis Ababa 11 Dessie 33 Jijiga 25
Adigrat 34 Dila 46 Jimma 47
Arba Minch 46 Dire Dawa 25 Mekele 34
Asela 22 Ghedo 57 Nazareth 22
Awassa 46 Gonder 58 Nekemte 57
Debre Birham 11 Harar 25 Shashamane 46
Debre Zeyit 11 Hosaina 46 Sodo (Wolaita) 46

The above chart applies to landlines only.

The prefix fo cells is 9 and for satellite phones is 98.

 

Calling Canada from Ethiopia

Dial 00 – 1 – area code -local number

List of Canadian Area Codes

Province Code Province  Code
Alberta 403 / 587 (southern Alberta)

587 / 780 (central and northern Alberta)

Nunavut 867
BC 236 / 250 / 778 (majority of BC)

236 / 604 / 778 (Metro Vancouver)

Ontario 226 / 519 (southwestern Ontario)

249 / 705 (northeastern Ontario)

289 / 365 / 905 (Greater Toronto Area)

343 / 613 (eastern Ontario)

416 / 647 (Toronto)

807 (northwestern Ontario)

Manitoba 204 / 431 PEI 782 / 902
New  Brunswick 506 Quebec 418 / 581 (eastern Quebec)

438 / 514 (Montreal)

450 / 579 (Greater Montreal)

819 / 873 (remainder of Quebec)

Newfoundland and Labrador 709 Saskatchewan 306 / 639
Northwest Territories 867 Yukon 867
Nova Scotia 782 / 902

 

Time Difference

Ethiopia is in East Africa Time (GMT+3). Ethiopia does not observe Daylight Saving Time.

Canadian Time Zone # of Hours Ethiopia is Ahead # of Hours during DST
Pacific (BC, Yukon) 11 hours 10 hours
Mountain (Alberta, western Nunvaut, Lloydminster, Saskatchewan) 10 hours 9 hours
Saskatchewan 9 hours 9 hours
Central (Manitoba, Northwest Territories, central Nunavut, northwestern Ontario) 9 hours 8 hours
Eastern (most of Ontario, most of Quebec) 8 hours 7 hours
Atlantic (Labrador, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, PEI, eastern Quebec) 7 hours 6 hours
Newfoundland 6.5 hours 5.5 hours

 

Emergency Information for Canadians in Ethiopia

Embassy of Canada in Addis Ababa

Old Airport Area, Nefas Silk Lafto Sub City
Kebele 04, House No.122
Addis Ababa
Ethiopia

Postal Address:
P.O. Box 1130, Addis Ababa, Ethiopia

Telephone: 251 (0) 11 371 0000
Fax: 251 (0) 11 371 0040
E-mail: [email protected]
Website: canadainternational.gc.ca/ethiopia-ethiopie/


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