Marriage to a Samoan Citizen

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

If you want to bring your Samoan 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 Samoan 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.

 

Samoan Marriage Basic Requirements

• The man has to be at least eighteen and the woman to be at least sixteen years old;
• Consent by one of the parents or guardian (if alive) is required for a man under the age of twenty one and a woman under nineteen;
• No restrictions relating to religion or nationality (although there are no mosques in Samoa), but marriages have to be solemnized by a properly licensed marriage officer;
• Marriage officer must be informed in writing by the couple ten days before the wedding;
• The form “Notice of Intended Marriage” has to be filled out and sent at least 14 days prior to the marriage to the Deputy Registrar in Samoa.
• Both parties must present a Certificate of Non-Impediment from the local Marriage Registry or other such authority to show that they are free to get married;
• Both parties must present their birth certificates.
• The Office of the Registrar of Births, Deaths and Marriages is the government agency responsible for wedding issues in Samoa.

 

Family Members

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

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

 

List of Samoan Consulates in Canada

Click here

Calling Samoa from Canada

011 – 685- Area Code – local number

Cellular phone numbers normally begin with a “7”.

 

Calling Canada from Samoa

0 – 1 – Area Code – TEL #

• 0- Exit code for Samoa, and is needed for making any international call from Samoa
• 1 – ISD Code or Country Code of Canada

List of 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

Samoa’s time is GMT+13. though they used to be on GMT-11 and switched for business reasons. Despite its proximity to the equator, Samoa now uses Daylight Saving Time, again for business reasons. This can make determining the time difference quite difficult.

Canadian Time Zone	Time of Year	Second Sunday in March to First Sunday of April and Last Sunday of September to First Sunday of November (DST)	November-March (Samoa DST)	Arpil to September (Canada DST)
Pacific		Samoa is 21 hours ahead	22 hours	20 hours
Mountain		20 hours	21 hours	19 hours
Saskatchewan		20 hours	20 hours	19 hours
Central		19 hours	20 hours	18 hours
Eastern		18 hours	19 hours	17 hours
Atlantic		17 hours	18 hours	16 hours
Newfoundland		16.5 hours	17.5 hours	15.5 hours

 

Emergency Information for Canadians in Samoa

There is no Canadian diplomatic mission in Samoa. For assistance, contact local authorities. For consular assistance, contact the Australian High Commission, which offers Canadian consular services and assistance.

High Commission of Australia in Apia Beach Road Apia Samoa Postal Address: P.O. Box 704, Apia Telephone: 68 (5) 23 411 Fax: 68 (5) 23 159 E-mail: No Email Website: samoa.embassy.gov.au/apia/home.html

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The diplomatic mission responsible for Samoa is the High Commission in New Zealand.

 

The Government of Canada’s Travel Alerts for Samoa

For travel alerts, click here

Sponsoring Your Samoan Spouse to Canada

The sponsorship process is drawn-out and can be difficult. To learn more about it, click the button below:

Learn More