Marrying and Sponsoring a Malawian Citizen
Listen to this article- Located in Southern Africa East of Zambia and west and north of Mozambique
- The weather in Malawi is sub-tropical the rainy season runs from November to May and the dry season starts from May to November.
Marriage to a Malawian Citizen
Every country has its own laws that apply to its citizens marrying a person from a different country. Getting married to a Malawian citizen with the goal of eventually bringing them to Canada to live is a process with many steps.
If you want to bring your Malawian 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 Malawian 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.
Malawian Marriage Basic Requirements
In order to marry a citizen of Malawi, you must demonstrate to the Malawian government that you are eligible to do so. This includes:
- Proof of country of birth
- Proof of single status
- Proof of age requirement
Malawian Marriage Ceremony
The marriage ceremony to a Malawian citizen can legally take place in Malawi, 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 Malawian spouse. To learn more about ceremony customs, see below.
Family Members
If your Malawian spouse has dependent children, this does not affect the Malawian Marriage document application.
If you have dependent children, they have no effect on the application to marry a Malawian citizen.
List of Malawian Consulates in Canada
Embassy of the Republic of Malawi in Canada
Calling Malawi from Canada
- The country code is 265, so to call you dial 011 – 265 – area code – local number
“Area” codes in Malawi are designated by provider:
| Access Communications | 2 (landlines) | TNM | 8 (cells) |
| Globally Advanced Integrated Networks | 7 (cells) | Zain Malawi | 9 (cells) |
| Malawi Telecom | 1 (landlines) |
Calling Canada form Malawi
Dial 00 – 1 – Canadian area code – local number
List of Canadian Area Codes by Region
| 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
Malawi is on Central African Time. Malawi does not observe Daylight Saving Time due to its proximity to the equator.
| Canadian Time Zone | # of Hours Malawi is Ahead | # of Hours during DST |
| Pacific (BC, Yukon) | 10 hours | 9 hours |
| Mountain (Alberta, western Nunvaut, Lloydminster, Saskatchewan) | 9 hours | 8 hours |
| Saskatchewan | 8 hours | 8 hours |
| Central (Manitoba, Northwest Territories, central Nunavut, northwestern Ontario) | 8 hours | 7 hours |
| Eastern (most of Ontario, most of Quebec) | 7 hours | 6 hours |
| Atlantic (Labrador, New Brunswick, Nova Scotia, PEI, eastern Quebec) | 6 hours | 5 hours |
| Newfoundland | 5.5 hours | 4.5 hours |
Emergency Information for Canadians in Malawi
Consulate of Canada in Blantyre-LimbeAccord Centre, M Chipembere Highway Postal Address: Telephone: +265 (0) 1 841-612, +265 (01) 1 845 269 Tel. |
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High Commission of Canada in MaputoKenneth Kaunda Avenue Postal Address: Telephone: 258 (21) 492-623 |
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The Government of Canada’s Travel Alerts for Malawi
Sponsoring a Malawian to come to Canada
The sponsorship process is long and complicated; to learn more click the button below:
Want to know more about marrying in Malawi? Let us know!
Sponsorship Review
Immigroup will review your completed spousal sponsorship application.. Immigroup will make sure you have not made any mistakes on your application or in gathering the documentation of your relationship. We will assess your sponsorship letter and give you peace of mind that you are submitting an application with a very good chance of success. Don’t lose sleep at night worrying about whether you’ve done enough. Call us at 1-866-760-2623 for a review.
