Tips on obtaining a visit visa for wife

[thelynx]

I am a Canadian citizen and have been married to my Thai wife, a housewife, for 8 years. We live comfortably in Thailand and have no intention of moving to Canada. Our daughter has dual Thai / Canadian citizenship. For my part, I have not lived in Canada for decades and am considered a non-resident of Canada.

All three of us would like to visit my family in Canada for three weeks in the spring. Would you recommend her to choose "To visit as a tourist" or "For a family visit" under Why are you visiting Canada?

She was denied in 2018 applying with the "family visit" option. They said they weren't sufficiently convinced that she would return to Thailand, so I thought maybe we should try the tourist visa option.

At this juncture, she has plenty of funds in two banks accounts (roughly $25,000), our house in Thailand in her name, and her mother lives with us. Unfortunately, my wife does not have any travel background apart from a trip to Malaysia which doesn't count.

If anyone has any suggestions or advice, we would be most grateful.

Thank you in advance.

 

[canuck78]

I am a Canadian citizen and have been married to my Thai wife, a housewife, for 8 years. We live comfortably in Thailand and have no intention of moving to Canada. Our daughter has dual Thai / Canadian citizenship. For my part, I have not lived in Canada for decades and am considered a non-resident of Canada.

All three of us would like to visit my family in Canada for three weeks in the spring. Would you recommend her to choose "To visit as a tourist" or "For a family visit" under Why are you visiting Canada?

She was denied in 2018 applying with the "family visit" option. They said they weren't sufficiently convinced that she would return to Thailand, so I thought maybe we should try the tourist visa option.

At this juncture, she has plenty of funds in two banks accounts (roughly $25,000), our house in Thailand in her name, and her mother lives with us. Unfortunately, my wife does not have any travel background apart from a trip to Malaysia which doesn't count.

If anyone has any suggestions or advice, we would be most grateful.

Thank you in advance.

There is only one type of travel visa so selecting that you are going for tourism doesn’t make a difference. It would also be odd for you not be visiting your family if traveling to Canada. What kind of ties do you have to Thailand? Do you work there? own a business? if so, how long has it been in business? are you traveling during school vacation? have you and/or your daughter traveled to Canada without your wife and returned to Thailand and if so how many times? If she is not working how has she saved so much? Bought a home? Are you able to own a home a foreigner in Thailand? The fact that her mother lives with you creates some ties but not especially strong ties since she is not considered a true dependent.

 

[thelynx]

My apologies for the delay in responding. I did in fact respond to your questions at the time, but it doesn't appear here for some reason.

At any rate, we are hoping to apply in early August in the hopes of being able to go to Canada in late September or early October for a maximum of 3 weeks. The purpose of our visit is solely to visit family, particularly my nonagenarian mother whom my wife has never met.

To answer your questions:

What kind of ties do you have to Thailand? I am retired and we live off my savings and investments. The cost of living is quite low here and we live very comfortably.

Are you traveling during school vacation? Yes, my daughter has holidays from the end of September till the end of October.

Have you and/or your daughter traveled to Canada without your wife and returned to Thailand and if so how many times? Once. After my wife was denied a visa in 2018, my daughter and I still went for 3 weeks.

If she is not working how has she saved so much? Being my wife I share my funds with her. She is a homemaker and she is quite frugal. Am I right to assume that the fact that she is a homemaker will reflect badly on her application, as she doesn't have "a job" to come back to?

Are you able to own a home as foreigner in Thailand? At present, foreigners cannot only land; only condos. She has a car and a motorcycle in her name, as well.

My daughter and I, obviously, will be accompanying her to Canada to visit my family. Would it help or hinder her application if she included my bank statements along with hers when we submit the application, just to show we have plenty of funds for this trip.

Are letters of invitation recommended for purposes of such family visits?

Thanks in advance for any advice you may have.

 

[canuck78]

My apologies for the delay in responding. I did in fact respond to your questions at the time, but it doesn't appear here for some reason.

At any rate, we are hoping to apply in early August in the hopes of being able to go to Canada in late September or early October for a maximum of 3 weeks. The purpose of our visit is solely to visit family, particularly my nonagenarian mother whom my wife has never met.

To answer your questions:

What kind of ties do you have to Thailand? I am retired and we live off my savings and investments. The cost of living is quite low here and we live very comfortably.

Are you traveling during school vacation? Yes, my daughter has holidays from the end of September till the end of October.

Have you and/or your daughter traveled to Canada without your wife and returned to Thailand and if so how many times? Once. After my wife was denied a visa in 2018, my daughter and I still went for 3 weeks.

If she is not working how has she saved so much? Being my wife I share my funds with her. She is a homemaker and she is quite frugal. Am I right to assume that the fact that she is a homemaker will reflect badly on her application, as she doesn't have "a job" to come back to?

Are you able to own a home as foreigner in Thailand? At present, foreigners cannot only land; only condos. She has a car and a motorcycle in her name, as well.

My daughter and I, obviously, will be accompanying her to Canada to visit my family. Would it help or hinder her application if she included my bank statements along with hers when we submit the application, just to show we have plenty of funds for this trip.

Are letters of invitation recommended for purposes of such family visits?

Thanks in advance for any advice you may have.

Would suggest applying now because processing times can be quite long and you may get denied and want to attempt to apply again. I would include an invitation from the family you are visiting. Would include school registration and proof of tuition payment for your child as proof that you plan and return. Would also include your lease as proof that to have longterm commitment for housing in Thailand. You’ll need to provide proof of funds that will show enough funds for you all to travel and cover any emergencies while in Canada. I would include proof of purchase of travel medical insurance if you can cancel if you are denied visas or at least declare you will be purchasing travel medical insurance. You can declare that as a spouse you support your wife financially. Does she care for her parents? If so proof of that would be something to include. In general you need to show proof that your family has to return to Thailand.

 

[thelynx]

Thank you so much for your response and recommendations. We will ensure that we include everything you mentioned with her application . . . apart from the housing lease, as the house we live in is our own. The title is in her name. I already have the house registration translated into from Thai to English, which we will submit.

If you think of any other supporting documents we could include, please let us know! Thanks again.