Need to apply for Visitor Visa for 4th time in the span of a year

[egiller]

Any advice for making this more likely would be appreciated.

I am a Canadian Citizen in a romantic relationship with a Chinese Citizen. We recently legally married in China. Our original plan was to marry in Canada so my family could meet him but Immigration denied his visitor visa so that didn't work out. Anyways, we've applied for permanent residency since then to eventually get around the huge headache of visa applications.

We are about to try applying for the fourth time while the PR is still in process. The last time we applied was about 5 months ago. Not sure if it will work out or not, or if it's wise. Honestly, I don't have a lot of hope. But I can't let go of the thought that *maybe* this time they can grant it and he can finally meet my family so we're willing to try one more time before just giving up and waiting for PR to go through. I noted IRCC recently updated their definition of "dual-intent" for foreign spouses wanting to reunite with Canadian spouses to increase the acceptance rate. It gives me a little hope. But perhaps you all can help by giving a little advice on what went wrong the last time and otherwise make this attempt a little more likely to succeed.

I have GMCS notes from the last time. See below their overall take on things.

"The applicant's assets and financial situation are insufficient to support the stated purpose of travel for themselves.
The applicant's plan of visit appears vague and poorly documented.
Taking the applicant's purpose of visit into account and the documentation provided the Applicant does not demonstrate sufficient establishment or sufficient family ties to motivate return. I am not satisfied PA is bona fide visitor and that the proposed visit would be a reasonable expense.
Given family ties or economic motives to remain in Canada, the applicant's incentives to remain in Canada may outweigh their ties to their home country.
Applicant has limited family in home country; strong pull factors to Canada. The purpose of visit does not appear reasonable given the applicant's socio-economic situation.
The applicant has significant family ties in Canada.
The purpose of the applicant's visit to Canada is not consistent with a temporary stay given hte details provided in the application."

What we had then:
-We listed reason for visit was to "get married in Canada." Perhaps they took that as him paying for the wedding?
-My foreign spouse has been a student for the last 6 months for work-related upgrade courses. So no, he did not have consistent income at the time. I realize that was a negative factor, but not much we could do about that.
-Despite being a student for a substantial period, he still has 30000 CAD+ in bank accounts, (we did not include my own Canadian assets) which was reflected in the previous application. But again, not sufficient.
-Family in China are just his parents and a bunch of cousins. Due to China's previous one-child law, most of China is much the same. He doesn't exactly financially support them other than paying for new appliances every now and then.
-"Family ties in Canada" is just me, the then-fiancee and now spouse. I suppose one fiancee outweighs his whole life in China. At the time I was even a student in China, so I was also not going to be in Canada long. So I'm not sure why they said he wasn't going to leave when I was also not going to be in the country. But I digress. I am now almost about to return to Canada and resume work.
- He does not own property. Because it's expensive to buy apartments in China. Not feasible to fix this in our time-frame.
- the "Plan of visit" at the time of previous application was visiting my parents, stay at their house, travel around the area, meet with marriage officiant to plan wedding, have wedding, then return to China. I gave specific dates for when he was to arrive and to leave. But I suppose that was too vague?

What we have for this time around:
-Legal marriage certificate
-PR application in process (dual intent, etc.)
-New, well-paying job post-studies with papers to prove.

We plan for a short period of two weeks to visit Canada.

Any advice?
Thanks in advance.

 

[scylla]

Any advice for making this more likely would be appreciated.

I am a Canadian Citizen in a romantic relationship with a Chinese Citizen. We recently legally married in China. Our original plan was to marry in Canada so my family could meet him but Immigration denied his visitor visa so that didn't work out. Anyways, we've applied for permanent residency since then to eventually get around the huge headache of visa applications.

We are about to try applying for the fourth time while the PR is still in process. The last time we applied was about 5 months ago. Not sure if it will work out or not, or if it's wise. Honestly, I don't have a lot of hope. But I can't let go of the thought that *maybe* this time they can grant it and he can finally meet my family so we're willing to try one more time before just giving up and waiting for PR to go through. I noted IRCC recently updated their definition of "dual-intent" for foreign spouses wanting to reunite with Canadian spouses to increase the acceptance rate. It gives me a little hope. But perhaps you all can help by giving a little advice on what went wrong the last time and otherwise make this attempt a little more likely to succeed.

I have GMCS notes from the last time. See below their overall take on things.

"The applicant's assets and financial situation are insufficient to support the stated purpose of travel for themselves.
The applicant's plan of visit appears vague and poorly documented.
Taking the applicant's purpose of visit into account and the documentation provided the Applicant does not demonstrate sufficient establishment or sufficient family ties to motivate return. I am not satisfied PA is bona fide visitor and that the proposed visit would be a reasonable expense.
Given family ties or economic motives to remain in Canada, the applicant's incentives to remain in Canada may outweigh their ties to their home country.
Applicant has limited family in home country; strong pull factors to Canada. The purpose of visit does not appear reasonable given the applicant's socio-economic situation.
The applicant has significant family ties in Canada.
The purpose of the applicant's visit to Canada is not consistent with a temporary stay given hte details provided in the application."

What we had then:
-We listed reason for visit was to "get married in Canada." Perhaps they took that as him paying for the wedding?
-My foreign spouse has been a student for the last 6 months for work-related upgrade courses. So no, he did not have consistent income at the time. I realize that was a negative factor, but not much we could do about that.
-Despite being a student for a substantial period, he still has 30000 CAD+ in bank accounts, (we did not include my own Canadian assets) which was reflected in the previous application. But again, not sufficient.
-Family in China are just his parents and a bunch of cousins. Due to China's previous one-child law, most of China is much the same. He doesn't exactly financially support them other than paying for new appliances every now and then.
-"Family ties in Canada" is just me, the then-fiancee and now spouse. I suppose one fiancee outweighs his whole life in China. At the time I was even a student in China, so I was also not going to be in Canada long. So I'm not sure why they said he wasn't going to leave when I was also not going to be in the country. But I digress. I am now almost about to return to Canada and resume work.
- He does not own property. Because it's expensive to buy apartments in China. Not feasible to fix this in our time-frame.
- the "Plan of visit" at the time of previous application was visiting my parents, stay at their house, travel around the area, meet with marriage officiant to plan wedding, have wedding, then return to China. I gave specific dates for when he was to arrive and to leave. But I suppose that was too vague?

What we have for this time around:
-Legal marriage certificate
-PR application in process (dual intent, etc.)
-New, well-paying job post-studies with papers to prove.

We plan for a short period of two weeks to visit Canada.

Any advice?
Thanks in advance.

Have you received AOR yet after filing the spousal sponsorship application?

 

[steaky]

- He does not own property. Because it's expensive to buy apartments in China. Not feasible to fix this in our time-frame.

In Zhongshan China, 3 bed + 2 bath apartments are selling for just about RMB 760K (about CAD 150 K) which is about the price of a starter home in Thunder Bay, Ontario. I don't think you can feasible fix this in Canada in your time-frame, too.

Btw, any travel history in Japan might also help.

 

[egiller]

Have you received AOR yet after filing the spousal sponsorship application?

Yes, we just received the AOR a week ago.

 

[egiller]

In Zhongshan China, 3 bed + 2 bath apartments are selling for just about RMB 760K (about CAD 150 K) which is about the price of a starter home in Thunder Bay, Ontario. I don't think you can feasible fix this in Canada in your time-frame, too.

Btw, any travel history in Japan might also help.

He's a seafarer as a trade so he's traveled many places. As a result, he's had many transit visas in his travel history, including from EU. I think from Japan as well. We uploaded scanned copies of the visas previously as part of his Travel History.

Edit: forgot to say that in China, you're correct that some places are indeed cheaper than others. I've never been to Zhongshan myself. Where we are living is a Tier 2 city (i.e. not Beijing or Shanghai expensive) but it's still like 400kCAD for a small two-bedroom in an average neighborhood.

 

[canuck78]

Any advice for making this more likely would be appreciated.

I am a Canadian Citizen in a romantic relationship with a Chinese Citizen. We recently legally married in China. Our original plan was to marry in Canada so my family could meet him but Immigration denied his visitor visa so that didn't work out. Anyways, we've applied for permanent residency since then to eventually get around the huge headache of visa applications.

We are about to try applying for the fourth time while the PR is still in process. The last time we applied was about 5 months ago. Not sure if it will work out or not, or if it's wise. Honestly, I don't have a lot of hope. But I can't let go of the thought that *maybe* this time they can grant it and he can finally meet my family so we're willing to try one more time before just giving up and waiting for PR to go through. I noted IRCC recently updated their definition of "dual-intent" for foreign spouses wanting to reunite with Canadian spouses to increase the acceptance rate. It gives me a little hope. But perhaps you all can help by giving a little advice on what went wrong the last time and otherwise make this attempt a little more likely to succeed.

I have GMCS notes from the last time. See below their overall take on things.

"The applicant's assets and financial situation are insufficient to support the stated purpose of travel for themselves.
The applicant's plan of visit appears vague and poorly documented.
Taking the applicant's purpose of visit into account and the documentation provided the Applicant does not demonstrate sufficient establishment or sufficient family ties to motivate return. I am not satisfied PA is bona fide visitor and that the proposed visit would be a reasonable expense.
Given family ties or economic motives to remain in Canada, the applicant's incentives to remain in Canada may outweigh their ties to their home country.
Applicant has limited family in home country; strong pull factors to Canada. The purpose of visit does not appear reasonable given the applicant's socio-economic situation.
The applicant has significant family ties in Canada.
The purpose of the applicant's visit to Canada is not consistent with a temporary stay given hte details provided in the application."

What we had then:
-We listed reason for visit was to "get married in Canada." Perhaps they took that as him paying for the wedding?
-My foreign spouse has been a student for the last 6 months for work-related upgrade courses. So no, he did not have consistent income at the time. I realize that was a negative factor, but not much we could do about that.
-Despite being a student for a substantial period, he still has 30000 CAD+ in bank accounts, (we did not include my own Canadian assets) which was reflected in the previous application. But again, not sufficient.
-Family in China are just his parents and a bunch of cousins. Due to China's previous one-child law, most of China is much the same. He doesn't exactly financially support them other than paying for new appliances every now and then.
-"Family ties in Canada" is just me, the then-fiancee and now spouse. I suppose one fiancee outweighs his whole life in China. At the time I was even a student in China, so I was also not going to be in Canada long. So I'm not sure why they said he wasn't going to leave when I was also not going to be in the country. But I digress. I am now almost about to return to Canada and resume work.
- He does not own property. Because it's expensive to buy apartments in China. Not feasible to fix this in our time-frame.
- the "Plan of visit" at the time of previous application was visiting my parents, stay at their house, travel around the area, meet with marriage officiant to plan wedding, have wedding, then return to China. I gave specific dates for when he was to arrive and to leave. But I suppose that was too vague?

What we have for this time around:
-Legal marriage certificate
-PR application in process (dual intent, etc.)
-New, well-paying job post-studies with papers to prove.

We plan for a short period of two weeks to visit Canada.

Any advice?
Thanks in advance.

Are you planning on moving back to Canada permanently when you get PR? Is he now working? Are you working or studying? If studying when do your studies end? Did you have a traditional wedding ceremony with his family? Any of your family? Friends? How long have you lived together? Do you have a lease and is there a firm commitment until a certain date?

 

[egiller]

Are you planning on moving back to Canada permanently when you get PR? Is he now working? Are you working or studying? If studying when do your studies end? Did you have a traditional wedding ceremony with his family? Any of your family? Friends? How long have you lived together? Do you have a lease and is there a firm commitment until a certain date?

Yes, planning to move back permanently. Obviously we'll still be visiting China as his parents are there. Right now we are both in China but he has already left for a far-away job contract and my studies finish in one month, after which I have to head back to Canada. So right now we are living separately. I still have a well-paying job waiting for me when I get back to Canada. No lease, still have permanent address as my parents house as I've been living abroad for a while now. My job is in healthcare so it's very stable and mobile. Obviously, living with parents is not the plan for when he gets here, haha. My current plan is to restart working when I get back and set up a place for him to settle in with me when processing is done in another year. We had a small, legal ceremony in China and then went to his parents to celebrate after.

 

[egiller]

Also, just got the request to pay biometric fees. I mistakenly thought he didn't need to pay them since he'd submitted them in previous visitor applications. Turns out all PR applicants need to do it, even if already submitted for a TRV. Hope that didn't delay things too much.

 

[canuck78]

Also, just got the request to pay biometric fees. I mistakenly thought he didn't need to pay them since he'd submitted them in previous visitor applications. Turns out all PR applicants need to do it, even if already submitted for a TRV. Hope that didn't delay things too much.

You should get a refund if already submitted biometrics in the past 10 years. If you don’t get a refund after your application is finalized ask for one.

 

[canuck78]

Yes, planning to move back permanently. Obviously we'll still be visiting China as his parents are there. Right now we are both in China but he has already left for a far-away job contract and my studies finish in one month, after which I have to head back to Canada. So right now we are living separately. I still have a well-paying job waiting for me when I get back to Canada. No lease, still have permanent address as my parents house as I've been living abroad for a while now. My job is in healthcare so it's very stable and mobile. Obviously, living with parents is not the plan for when he gets here, haha. My current plan is to restart working when I get back and set up a place for him to settle in with me when processing is done in another year. We had a small, legal ceremony in China and then went to his parents to celebrate after.

The fact that you aren’t living together and he has a contract to work somewhere far away and it’s unclear how long that contract lasts could cause issues for the TRV. The fact that you have a secure WP helps prove that you plan on returning to Canada for the sponsorship application but your spouse also needs proof that he will be moving to Canada. It is tough to predict what the outcome of the TRV will be. If denied you will have to return to Canada first.

 

[egiller]

You should get a refund if already submitted biometrics in the past 10 years. If you don’t get a refund after your application is finalized ask for one.

That would be nice, but unfortunately I still need to pay the biometrics fee. I realized too late that Immigration Canada recently changed their policy to reflect pre-COVID procedures. Basically, all PR applicants have to submit new biometrics, even if they submitted them in the past as part of a TRV, work permit, etc. I think the only ones who don't might be the people who've applied for PR before. Since this is our first PR application, we have to do them again. It doesn't make sense to me, but can't be helped. I only hope my late payment hasn't delayed things. On the application tracker, his Biometrics and Background check are both "In Progress." Just waiting for the Biometrics Instruction Letter now.

The fact that you aren’t living together and he has a contract to work somewhere far away and it’s unclear how long that contract lasts could cause issues for the TRV. The fact that you have a secure WP helps prove that you plan on returning to Canada for the sponsorship application but your spouse also needs proof that he will be moving to Canada. It is tough to predict what the outcome of the TRV will be. If denied you will have to return to Canada first.

Sorry, I didn't specify. His work contract states quite clearly how long his contract is, which is 2+1 months starting from November 13, wage, all signed/stamped, etc. which is uploaded to the TRV. For the sponsorship application I don't think we need to worry too much about that since they already approved my sponsorship of him and we went into much further detail as to our financial/resettlement plan into that application than what I have stated here. Not sure if uploading my flights back to Canada would strengthen the PR application, but it seems like they care more about my own employment/financial status than my husband's. For the PR, that is. That and I know the application approval for spouses is higher than 90%.

So right now, I'm more skeptical that his latest TRV attempt will get approved than the PR. The PR and the TRV are supposed to be assessed independently of each other. I think they only check whether PR has passed Stage 1 or not (Approval of the Sponsor) for a dual intent TRV. Navigating this whole situation feels like a careful balancing act between "yes we want to move here permanently" and "don't worry, this is just a temporary visit." Also, I am already departing for Canada first. I'm still in China, but I've got flights booked next month and immediately start picking up working where I left off.

 

[egiller]

Update: Paying the biometrics fee late only resulted in a very short delay. After I sent the payment receipt in the webform they uploaded it to our application after only three days.
We've submitted the TRV application. Recent news releases claim that spousal applicants should hear their results within 30 days, so we'll see if that's actually true or not. I will post again if successful or not.

 

[beni2023]

Update: Paying the biometrics fee late only resulted in a very short delay. After I sent the payment receipt in the webform they uploaded it to our application after only three days.
We've submitted the TRV application. Recent news releases claim that spousal applicants should hear their results within 30 days, so we'll see if that's actually true or not. I will post again if successful or not.

Hello,

Did you get any update on this? If accepted or denied, what was the timeline?

Thank you,

 

[egiller]

Update: It took 50 days to receive an answer in the spousal TRV application (so much for <30 days lol) and they refused him. Guess that's not such a big surprise. Anyways, no big deal as they just approved his PR. He can enter Canada anytime before November 24 this year

 

[beni2023]

Update: It took 50 days to receive an answer in the spousal TRV application (so much for <30 days lol) and they refused him. Guess that's not such a big surprise. Anyways, no big deal as they just approved his PR. He can enter Canada anytime before November 24 this year

And so much for "93%" approval rate. I think the new administration is going to bring down the approval rate over housing concerns.