Marrying and Sponsoring a Kosovar
Listen to this articleMarriage to a Kosovar Citizen
Every country has laws that apply to its citizens marrying a person from a different country. Getting married to a Kosovar citizen with the goal of eventually bringing them to Canada to live is a process with many steps.
If you want to bring your Kosovar 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 Kosovar 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.
Kosovar Marriage Basic Requirements
In order to marry a citizen of Kosovo, you must demonstrate to the Kosovar government that you are eligible to do so. This includes:
- Proof of country of birth
- Proof of single status
- Proof of age requirement
Kosovar Marriage Ceremony
The marriage ceremony to a Kosovar citizen can legally take place in Kosovo, Canada, or any other country as long as both parties have the necessary visas to enter this country legally. This marriage can then be recognized when applying for a permanent residence or a visitor visa for your Kosovar spouse. To learn more about ceremony customs, see below.
Family Members
If your Kosovar spouse has dependent children, this does not affect the Kosovar Marriage document application.
If you have dependent children, they have no effect on the application to marry a Kosovar citizen.
List of Kosovar Consulates in the United States
Calling Kosovo from Canada
Kosovo currently borrows its phone systems from three other countries. Therefore the country code for Kosovo depends on the type of phone number you are calling.
Dial 011 – appropriate country code – prefix – local number. There are no area codes in Kosovo.
| Type of Phone | Country Code | Prefix |
| Landlines | 381 (Serbia) | 28 |
| 29 | ||
| 38 | ||
| 39 | ||
| Cells | 377 (Monaco) | 44 |
| 45 | ||
| 386 (Slovenia) | 43 | |
| 49 |
Calling Canada from Kosovo
Dial 00 – 1 – area code – local number
It doesn’t matter which country code you are dialling from, the exit code of “00” is the same.
Area Codes of Canada
| 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
Kosovo is on Central European Time (GMT+1). Kosovo participates in Daylight Saving Time, however Europe begins and ends DST at slightly different times than North America, so there is are two periods each year – inlate March and late October – when the time differences below are 1 hour less. Also, Saskatchewan does not participate in DST so in the summer time the time difference is 1 hour greater.
| Canadian Time Zone | # of Hours Kosovo is Ahead |
| Pacific (BC, Yukon) | 9 hours |
| Mountain (Alberta, western Nunvaut, Lloydminster, Saskatchewan) | 8 hours |
| Central (Manitoba, Northwest Territories, central Nunavut, northwestern Ontario, Saskatchewan*) | 7 hours |
| Eastern (most of Ontario, most of Quebec) | 6 hours |
| Atlantic (Labrador, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, PEI, eastern Quebec) | 5 hours |
| Newfoundland | 4.5 hours |
Emergency Information for Canadians in Kosovo
Embassy of Canada in ZagrebPrilaz Gjure Dezelica 4 Telephone: 385 (1) 488-1200 or 488-1238 |
View Larger Map |
Sponsoring a Kosovar Spouse to Canada
The sponsorship process can be time-consuming and difficult. To learn more about it, click the button below:
Want to learn more about marrying in Kosovo? Let us know!
