Marriage to a Tuvaluan Citizen

Every country has its own laws that apply to its citizens marrying a person from a different country. Getting married to a Tuvaluan citizen with the goal of eventually bringing them to Canada to live is a process with many steps.

If you want to bring your Tuvaluan 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

If you file a Canadian sponsorship application for your Tuvaluan 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.

 

Tuvaluan Marriage Basic Requirements

If you are planning to marry your Tuvaluan spouse in Tuvalu and sponsor him or her to Canada, then you have come to the right place. This page provides basic details that as a Canadian you need to know before traveling to Tuvalu to marry your Tuvaluan spouse and sponsor him or her for permanent residency

Marriage in Tuvalu

• There are two types of marriage in Tuvalu – civil and church (religious) marriages.
• There is no legal difference between a church and a civil marriage, what matters is that the person who marries you is registered to do so.

You can be legally married by any of these people:

• The Registrar General
• Any person appointed as a registrar by the Registrar General, or
• Any Minister of Religion who is registered by the Registrar General
• Any lay preacher who is appointed by the Registrar General.
• Nearly all ministers of established religions are registered, but you should ask before you marry whether the person who will be marrying you is registered.
• If you are married by a person who is not registered then you are not legally married.

Marriage Requirements

• You must be at least 16 years old
• If you are under 21 years old then you must get the written consent (permission) of your parents.
• If both your mother and father are dead, of unsound mind, or away from the island, then whoever is looking after you (your guardian) must consent to the marriage
• If there is no one who can give their consent to your marriage, then the Registrar General of births, deaths and marriages can allow you to marry.
• You must give 21 days notice of your intended marriage to the registrar of the district where your marriage will take place.
• Either you or your intended husband must have been living in the district for at least 28 days.
• The registrar will then show the notice to the public to see if anyone has an objection to your marriage.
• If there are any objections, then the registrar has to investigate and find out why
  people do not agree to your marriage. The registrar will only give you a certificate for marriage when he is sure that the objection is not a reasonable one.
• You can now go through the marriage ceremony at any time as long as it is within 3 months of the date that the Notice was first posted
• If for some reason you are unable to have the marriage ceremony within the 3 month period you will have to start the process again.

 

Family Members

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

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

 

List of Tuvaluan Consulates in Canada

Parmanent Mission of Tuvalu to the United Nations

 

Emergency Informatoin for Canadians in Tuvalu

Please note that Canada does not operate a diplomatic mission in Tuvalu. In an emergency, you should contact the Canadian High Commission in Wellington, New Zealand using the information provided below:

High Commission of Canada in Wellington 125 The Terrace, Wellington 6011, New Zealand Telephone: 64(4) 473-9577 Fax: 64(4)471-2082 E-mail: [email protected] Website: newzealand.gc.ca/

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To call Tuvalu from Canada

011 – 688- Area Code – TEL #

The format should be as follows dial 011 + 688 + phone number

Calling Canada from Tuvalu

Below is a 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 with Canada

Canadian Time Zone	# of Hours Tuvula is Ahead	# of Hours during DST
Pacific (BC, Yukon)	20 hours	19 hours
Mountain (Alberta, western Nunvaut, Lloydminster, Saskatchewan)	19 hours	18 hours
Saskatchewan	19 hours	19 hours
Central (Manitoba, Northwest Territories, central Nunavut, northwestern Ontario)	18 hours	17 hours
Eastern (most of Ontario, most of Quebec)	17 hours	16 hours
Atlantic (Labrador, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, PEI, eastern Quebe	16 hours	15 hours
Newfoundland	15.5 hours	14.5 hours

Learn more about how to sponsor your Tuvaluan spouse