Your Virtual Wedding in Utah Doesn’t Count for Canadian Immigration

With that public service announcement out the way, onto the positive – congratulations! You’re likely reading this page because you or someone you care about is getting married, we’re thrilled you found your person.  

In this article, we’ll outline the specific requirements for marriage and talk about a few cases where things have gone wrong. We hope this will help you avoid some common marriage mistakes we see when it comes to proving your marriage is valid to Immigration, Refugees, and Citizenship Canada.  

How we reported this story:  

I reviewed some recent cases published by Canada’s Legal Information Institute. The decisions are from the Immigration and Refugee Board of Canada from 2025 and 2026. I also spoke with Moving2Canada’s in-house Registered Canadian Immigration Consultant Rebecca Major to confirm my understanding of the marriage certificate requirements were accurate. She reviewed this post before publication as well.  

Marriage Requirements for Canadian Immigration 

There have been quite a few court decisions recently that have covered whether the marriage was valid for the purposes of Canadian immigration. This might be surprising. It seems like it should be as simple as getting the certificate and sending it in to IRCC.  

Spoiler: It’s not that simple.  

There are very specific requirements that IRCC has when it comes to what a valid marriage and marriage certificate for immigration purposes look like.  

Here’s exactly what IRCC says about the specific marriage requirements for Canadian immigration:  

“You can sponsor the person as your spouse if your marriage is a legally valid civil marriage.

Marriages:

• will be recognized for immigration purposes, where the marriage:

1. was legally performed in Canada, or
2. if performed outside of Canada, the marriage must be legally recognized both in the country where it took place and in Canada.

Note: IRCC does not recognize marriages performed outside of Canada by proxy, telephone, fax, Internet and other forms of marriage where one or both persons were not physically present at the ceremony.”

To really drive it home – “IRCC does not recognize marriages… where one or both persons were not physically present at the ceremony.” This means the classic virtual wedding ceremony where the celebrant is in Utah, or any other jurisdiction that allows virtual ceremonies, will not ‘count’ for Canadian immigration purposes.

Weddings that Don’t Count for Canadian Immigration 

Here’s what the IRCC’s policy actually means —  

If performed outside Canada, these wedding ceremonies generally won’t count for Canadian immigration purposes: 

• Proxy weddings, or ceremonies where one or both spouses are not physically at the wedding 

• Telephone weddings  

• Online or video-call marriages  

• Religious only marriages, if it did not create a legally valid marriage  

• Traditional or customary marriages if these are not legally valid under the laws of the country it’s performed in and Canada  

• Polygamous marriages  

• Child marriages  

• Forced marriages where both parties did not consent, or if there was fraud or mental incapacity  

• Marriages where one person is already married (traditional or religious divorce does not always count if it is not legally recognized in the country you ‘got’ divorced in). 

Sham marriages, or marriages for immigration purposes only, are also not accepted for Canadian immigration even if they are legally valid.  

There are very limited exceptions for people who applied before June 10 in 2015 and certain members of the Canadian Armed Forces.  

What About Online Marriage in Utah for Immigration to Canada? 

We keep seeing this – please do not get married online in Utah or any other jurisdiction offering online marriage if you want to use that as the basis for your Canadian immigration. It is not currently accepted by Canadian immigration laws.  

This is true even if your relationship is legitimate and you’re just in circumstances that make it tricky to get married where you are.  

For example, some refugees living in third countries may not know how to get married in that country due to language barriers or paperwork requirements. Other people may be in long distance relationships or may live in remote areas and want to get married online to get the process started.  

Regardless of your situation (with very few exceptions, IRCC does not usually accept a virtual marriage, or proxy marriage, or any marriage where both participants are not in attendance at the ceremony. This even includes situations where the two people getting married are together in the same country and the celebrant is appearing virtually in another country (as is the case with Utah’s online weddings).    

What happens if you get married online for Canadian immigration? 

There are a few court cases that give us some insights here. First, there’s the Fiddler case from 2025.

In this case, a sponsor Chad Fiddler and his wife Sana Parvez (the applicant) were denied when they submitted a Canadian spousal application. The couple met online in 2022 and married in Dubai, United Arab Emirates on December 6, 2023. Both Chad and Sana were in Dubai at the wedding ceremony – but here’s the kicker, their celebrant was in Utah.   

Their wedding had been facilitated by the online marriage service, Courtly. It states on its website that it can be used to ‘help with visa paperwork’.   

Unfortunately for Chad and Sana, this wedding was not recognized by IRCC, which decided that Sana was not a member of the family class.   

The reason is that they were not physically present for their wedding ceremony because the celebrant was not physically present with them.   

To be clear, we aren’t saying the Courtly service is bad. It seems like an incredible service that can be really helpful for many people, including those who are on military deployment or unable to access recognized same-sex marriage where they are. We are only saying that it is not a valid provider for Canadian immigration purposes at this point, even though it says it can help with visa paperwork.   

Next, there’s the Sheppard decision from June 1, 2026. Again, this case involved two people who were together, in Dubai, and were married legally in Utah by a marriage officiant there. The court once again decided that Matthew Sheppard’s wife was not a member of the family class and therefore couldn’t receive permanent residence on that basis.  

Proof of Marriage for IRCC  

You’ll need to have proof of marriage for IRCC to show that you are legally married for Canadian immigration purposes. You’ll need to base your individual application on the document checklist for your specific situation (find it here), but generally speaking IRCC asks for a marriage certificate “or other proof that your marriage is legally registered with governmental authorities in the jurisdiction where it took place.”  

It notes that a record of solemnization or marriage license is not acceptable. This can be tricky in some US states, since some states call a marriage certificate a marriage license. If you’re in this boat, you may need to provide a letter of explanation (plus links to the information for the specific state). It could be worth consulting with an immigration professional to be sure.

Generally speaking, it’s worth sending photos of the marriage ceremony showing your friends, family, and supporters there. If you don’t have any or you had a small ceremony, many applicants send a letter of explanation detailing why. 

Key Takeaways for Newcomers Getting Married 

Here are some tips for newcomers who are getting married, but also keeping immigration in mind:  

• Always be open and honest with IRCC about your marital status. If you get married and you have a PR application in process, let IRCC know about it.  
• Virtual or proxy marriages won’t work for immigration – even if they are legal in the country or US state they’re performed.  
• You should both be physically present at your wedding with the officiant also present, and you should register your wedding in the location of your ceremony.  

Love should be simple, but immigration rarely is. So, unfortunately, whether your ceremony will meet Canadian requirements should take up some of your mental time and space before your wedding day.  

Do some research about the validity of your wedding before your big day, so things can run more seamlessly afterwards – and your future self will thank you.  

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