Hello please assist. Applied for a super visa for father. Received Procedural Fairness Letter stating officer has concerns about response to questions if applicant ever served in military. Officer requested booklet and detailed response. Question answered no and applicant did not serve so answer was accurate and correct. Provided booklet as requested and translated it. Booklet clearly shows applicant never served. Wrote detail response explaining that the answer no is truthful. Based on this information what can we expect moving forward? Thank you!
Procedural Fairness Letter
- Thread starter No-family-around
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At this point you just wait. I would order GCMS notes while you are waiting just to see what they say and why IRCC thinks he served.
Sounds like you sent a good response back.
It can take anywhere from a week to a number of months to hear back.
Thank you so much for replying to me I truly appreciate it.
The officer asked for a military booklet and I did send it I also sent a detailed response. I think problem is applicant is in Syria making hard to confirm since there is no communication between Canada and the Syrian government and could be a name mix up because applicant did not serve and his response is 100% truthful.
Does it make sense to assume that since this is the only issue officer is inquiring about means nothing else should be an issue?
Thank you!
The officer asked for a military booklet and I did send it I also sent a detailed response. I think problem is applicant is in Syria making hard to confirm since there is no communication between Canada and the Syrian government and could be a name mix up because applicant did not serve and his response is 100% truthful.
Does it make sense to assume that since this is the only issue officer is inquiring about means nothing else should be an issue?
Thank you!
Possibly but there could also be concerns that your parent won’t return home after their visit as well.
Thank you @canuck78
the concern of not returning home is valid and standard specially for people from war torn countries. However in my father’s case we demonstrated his assets back home including his store a long with his family ties like wife and siblings. We applied for super visa instead of sponsorship because my father would rather travel back and forth and visit rather than settling/immigrating if that makes sense.
the concern of not returning home is valid and standard specially for people from war torn countries. However in my father’s case we demonstrated his assets back home including his store a long with his family ties like wife and siblings. We applied for super visa instead of sponsorship because my father would rather travel back and forth and visit rather than settling/immigrating if that makes sense.
Sponsorship isn’t currently an option so not actually a reason. If your father has a spouse in Syria without a TRV, a business that can support his family and to a lesser extent property then that should be enough ties. Your question was potential concerns other than military service issue. With the change regime there is at least much less fighting but the economy is in rough shape so many people are still trying to leave Syria and especially some specific groups like many Alawites and in general those who have worked for al-Assad. Isn’t there mandatory military conscription for men? Assume that is why there are concerns if your father says he didn’t serve.
Thank you so much @canuck78 and everyone else who has replied — I truly appreciate all the insights.
Just to clarify something important: the application was submitted over a year ago, before the recent changes in the Syrian regime. Yes, military service is mandatory for men in Syria, but there is also a legal option to pay an exemption fee instead of serving, which is what my father did.
We included his military booklet as requested by the officer, and it clearly shows that he never served. We also provided the official proof of payment for the exemption — including the invoice number, payment date, recipient, and a stamp of authentication. Everything was translated and submitted.
So far, the Procedural Fairness Letter only mentioned the military service concern, and we responded thoroughly. I hope this clears up any doubts for the officer.
Thanks again for the support. Now we wait — hoping for the best.
I hope you stressed the proof of exemption. Think the bigger issue is that these records are easily falsified and given the lack of communication with Syria and now lack of records after most were destroyed it is tough to verify. Did your father perhaps attend university after secondary school? Although there is not set timeline for military service I assume most do it in their younger years. If he has proof of going to school and working that could also be submitted.
Yes, you’re absolutely right.
My father was residing in Saudi Arabia during the years he would have been eligible for conscription, and this is reflected in the military booklet we submitted. It clearly shows his residency during that period, and we also indicated this in the work history section of the application.
We responded to the Procedural Fairness Letter the same day it was received, providing the military booklet, its translation, and all supporting documents — including proof of payment for the military exemption. We wanted to demonstrate transparency and that we have nothing to hide.
Maybe I’m just overthinking it at this point, but I truly believe we addressed the concern thoroughly. From the start, we answered “No” truthfully because he never served, and we didn’t omit or hide any information. I imagine it would be quite difficult for the officer to prove otherwise without making incorrect assumptions, since it would essentially require them to disregard the official documents we submitted.
Would love to hear your thoughts — do you think that a strong and prompt response like this is usually enough to satisfy the officer?
My father was residing in Saudi Arabia during the years he would have been eligible for conscription, and this is reflected in the military booklet we submitted. It clearly shows his residency during that period, and we also indicated this in the work history section of the application.
We responded to the Procedural Fairness Letter the same day it was received, providing the military booklet, its translation, and all supporting documents — including proof of payment for the military exemption. We wanted to demonstrate transparency and that we have nothing to hide.
Maybe I’m just overthinking it at this point, but I truly believe we addressed the concern thoroughly. From the start, we answered “No” truthfully because he never served, and we didn’t omit or hide any information. I imagine it would be quite difficult for the officer to prove otherwise without making incorrect assumptions, since it would essentially require them to disregard the official documents we submitted.
Would love to hear your thoughts — do you think that a strong and prompt response like this is usually enough to satisfy the officer?
For some reason I thought you’d already submitted the military booklet. If he has records of being in KSA that should obviously also help. I would assume that the various forms of proof should be sufficient but I am not IRCC.