How I got my vietnamese GF a TRV

[two.wheeled@hotmail.com]

I wanted to make this post to help others because there is not a lot of clear information anywhere online. We worked really hard on our visa application and it was very stressful because all we heard was other peoples opinion telling us we had no chances.

First she filled out a form to give me permission to apply on her behalf. We applied online, and there is so little information it is fustrating. I do believe that if you follow CIC's website instructions you would still have a very small chance of approval because they do not tell you all the documents you need. Vietnam is one of the hardest countries to get a Canadian visa. We didn't want to take the chance and lose the visa fee, so she also asked locals there what they had to use for their paperwork.

Here is the package I put together.

- First, All the application forms requested by CIC. (I don't have time to answer about this, all the info is there for you to read online)
- I wrote the letter of invitation explaining the dates of her vacation, i will support her, how long i knew her for, and NOTARIZED it.
- I also wrote a letter of financial support, showed 4 months of bank account history, and my credit card balances, NOTARIZED.
- Also my parents wrote her another letter of invitation because we are staying at their house. Signed and photocopy driver license only.
- I included receipts for her plane ticket and health insurance which I bought beforehand. (all refundable in case it was denied)
- I made a itinerary of her entire stay (3 months) broken down by weeks, budgeting around $500 a week, explaining our transportation, where we would stay, food and shopping costs, emergency costs. Also tourist destinations we will visit, friends/family, etc.
-I made a proof of relationship letter explaining how we met, how i returned to visit her several times, photos of me and her family, us going on dates, etc.

She prepared these documents:

-Letter of explanation, she wrote in her own words about our relationship, her family at home, living situation, school, volunteering, etc. She also explained the importance of her returning home to finish her degree, and her understanding she cannot work under the TRV.

-School records, her grades, her classes next semester, graduation date, scholarships and awards, and letter from the school confirming she is a full time student. All these were translated to english and notarized. Also included pictures of her volunteering in the community, and a letter of reference from one of her professors. This is all to prove her ties to her home.

-Police background report
-Vietnamese CV which contains history such as her parents occupations, her entire school history, DOB, etc.
-Family book containing birthdates and relation of her immediate family
-Land ownership of house where she lives with her parents
-Parents business registration
-Marital status and Birth Certificate

All these documents were translated to English by a government office. It took us 2 weeks to prepare everything. It took 23 days for the passport request to come in. She just dropped her passport off. I hope this can help some people. Beyond this, I don't know anything. I did so much research online and I don't even know where the application went, but it wasn't in Canada. Maybe Singapore (what??) or Vietnam. I also don't know if you need ALL these documents, or to book tickets in advance, but it cost me $185 to apply and I would rather get it right the first time. I will try to help with any questions but if you are too lazy to read then I don't have time to answer questions like "how can I apply online". Good luck, and remember to be positive.

 

[Sous02]

Too be honest I think you got lucky. I have seen stronger cases get denied. I am very happy for you both.

 

[mikeymyke]

Too be honest I think you got lucky. I have seen stronger cases get denied. I am very happy for you both.

Luck plays a role, but to be honest, I think most of it depends on the strength of the applicant's profile. Yes of course, there are cases where someone has a really strong profile, yet are refused, and someone with a weak one would get approved.

I'm really happy for the OP, since both him and I have Vietnamese partners, and that country is quite notorious for it's difficulty in obtaining TRVs. It's also one of the few countries that require biometric data, so you can see how CIC treats Vietnamese nationals wanting to enter here. Philippines, Thailand, etc don't even require biometric data.

Also I can kind of relate to the OP in that just like him, I was also told to forget about applying for the TRV since the it was "impossible" to get one while married, that it was a "99% refusal rate", etc, all this BS, even right now, I still see people continuing to spread this misinformation around. The truth of the matter is, yes it's more difficult to get approved for TRV if you're married or mention you have a g/f or b/f you want to visit. Yes, luck plays some role. Yes, even strong applicants can still be refused. But the truth is that the stronger someone can make their TRV profile, their chances of getting the TRV will be greater.

A couple things I myself wouldn't have done in the OP's case would be: (although he did go the extra mile, that's really just a nice little bonus)

-no need to notarize the letters
-don't need to buy the plane tickets, despite them being refundable to you, the itinerary would've been enough

I completely agree with what he did by writing the proof of relationship letter, and having the parents write a letter, despite both not being necessary. I also did the same thing, and felt this optional thing would give a more "personal" touch to the application and would give more insight into our situation. Also just like him, I also sent in the criminal record report, family book to show family ties, and a CV, which were all optional.

The naysayers can say what they want, but myself and the OP, despite the stacked odds, have demonstrated that by working hard and producing a good application, it's entirely possible to get a TRV. The OP definitely went above and beyond what a majority of TRV applicants did. Not many applicants were as detailed or provided enough documentation as he has, but now he's got his g/f a TRV.

Most common mistakes I see failed TRV applicants do is:

1) Purpose of visit: Saying "Just want to spend time with husband/wife". Extremely vague and general, not detailed enough.
2) Financials: Having the spouse deposit large amounts of money into the applicant's bank account.
3) Length of stay: Asking for months of stay rather than a few weeks.

 

[two.wheeled@hotmail.com]

thanks mikeymike. I read one of your posts as well to get your wife a TRV and it helped me quite a bit. I was doubtful, everything was against us and it was the most unfavorable circumstance. That's why I wanted to include all these extra documents to show the officer our position.

In vietnam it cost her about $50 to get all these documents translated and stamped. On my end the refund penalty on the plane ticket was $100, and notarizing the documents cost $30. In my mind it was worth the risk to spend this money rather than get rejected and lose $185 for the application, and most importantly lose time that we could spend together. And besides, all this hard work is not gone to waste, we can reuse many of these documents for any other visa's we apply for when we travel together in the future.

I suspected that the most important thing was proving strong ties to home, show the strength of our relationship (hence my promise to finance her stay), and show she ultimately had enough funds support herself and leave the country on her own in case something happened... ex. I get hit by a car, etc.

We did not try to lie or fake her bank accounts. Even though she had a low balance, we showed it anyways. And we showed a one time deposit of $1000 into her account from her parents. Then in the letter she explained "my parents are also providing financial support, they gave this money for use in case of emergency, and can wire me more to bring me home". Anyways good luck to all. Remember at the end of the day it is a human reading your application and your job is to prove to them the visitor is a responsible person, will not flee to become an illegal, and has enough money survive and return home in an emergency. I suspect that the reasons for denying a visa such as travel history, finances, all lead back to a weak or sloppy application without enough details.

 

[mikeymyke]

That's terrific! I hope that someday if you decide to marry your g/f and sponsor her, you'll put just as much effort into the application as you did for the TRV.

 

[Moyita]

In order to help us better prepare our applications and learn from your experience, could you tell us how much time you requested for then visit and what you identified as the purpose of your visit? My partner and I applied for a TRV a months ago, had a very complete application with extensive proof of several strong ties and we ultimately got rejected (see below for list of included documents). All of our documents were legally translated and legalized. We were asking for 8 days (we live in the same time zone in the Caribbean) for the baptism of our son and visit of tourist/historical sites to familiarize with son's Canadian heritage. We both live abroad and our son was born abroad but had dual citizenship. Would appreciate any help your experience can provide us! Thanks!

Proof of strong ties to my partner's country:

- Home ownership for property her leases
- Lease for our apartment (valid until January 2017)
- Car ownership
- Birth certificates for two children
- 4 letters from employers (confirming salary, years of service, position and responsibilities, approved vacation time and consequences for failing to return to work -- my partner works for the military and failing to return to work would be considered desertion of military duty and could be punishable by emprisonment)
- Letter from the bank stating available funds
- Letter from pension plan stating years of contributions
- Service contracts for phone, Internet and electricity
- Receipts for all furniture and appliances purchased and staying in current residence

Proof to support the purpose of our 1-week visit to Canada:

- Cover letter
- Statutory declaration of invitation from myself
- Letter from my bank confirming funds available
- Letter of invitation from my mother (who was providing us with food and accommodations)
- Letter from my mother's bank stating funds available (she was to serve as garantor in case my funds were insufficient)
- Flight confirmation and photos from my mom's visit 2 months ago
- Affidavit of intent to leave Canada
- Return flight ticket purchase confirmation
- Detailed itinerary within Canada for 1 week including estimated expenses
- Baptism ceremony contract for our son
- Restaurant reservation for a family gathering after the baptism

Finally, as if that wasn't enough to convince the immigration officer that we would leave Canada after our 1-week visit, we also provided a doctor's note and accompanying x-Ray confirming that my partner is scheduled to have dental surgery at the military hospital in May 2016.

 

[two.wheeled@hotmail.com]

I requested 3 months, and the purpose of the visit was to meet family and friends and tourism.

One thing I should also mention is I made sure the cover letter was well written and not too lengthy. It briefly listed the documents I had attached. And for the important documents I made a cover page, which was just a blank page with a title in the center like "police background check". Because it's a human reading each application and they go through thousands of these. When presented with a huge stack of difficult to read/translated paperwork, it's human nature to just glance at them and ignore the ones that take too long to understand. Your application sounds very strong so I can't give you much advice but to make it as painless to read as possible.

A lot of people say it is "luck", but I think it is more psychology. The officers are trained to look for certain patterns and profile people. I know when I read reports at work, a poorly written report that is messy and has a lot of attachments that aren't explained will give me a headache and irritate me. If the officer had a rough day of reading messy, unorganized applications, and then your neat, complete, formatted application hit their desk, would it have a higher chance of approval? To a machine, probably not. But to a human, probably yes.

 

[expectin]

In order to help us better prepare our applications and learn from your experience, could you tell us how much time you requested for then visit and what you identified as the purpose of your visit? My partner and I applied for a TRV a months ago, had a very complete application with extensive proof of several strong ties and we ultimately got rejected (see below for list of included documents). All of our documents were legally translated and legalized. We were asking for 8 days (we live in the same time zone in the Caribbean) for the baptism of our son and visit of tourist/historical sites to familiarize with son's Canadian heritage. We both live abroad and our son was born abroad but had dual citizenship. Would appreciate any help your experience can provide us! Thanks!

Proof of strong ties to my partner's country:

- Home ownership for property her leases
- Lease for our apartment (valid until January 2017)
- Car ownership
- Birth certificates for two children
- 4 letters from employers (confirming salary, years of service, position and responsibilities, approved vacation time and consequences for failing to return to work -- my partner works for the military and failing to return to work would be considered desertion of military duty and could be punishable by emprisonment)
- Letter from the bank stating available funds
- Letter from pension plan stating years of contributions
- Service contracts for phone, Internet and electricity
- Receipts for all furniture and appliances purchased and staying in current residence

Proof to support the purpose of our 1-week visit to Canada:

- Cover letter
- Statutory declaration of invitation from myself
- Letter from my bank confirming funds available
- Letter of invitation from my mother (who was providing us with food and accommodations)
- Letter from my mother's bank stating funds available (she was to serve as garantor in case my funds were insufficient)
- Flight confirmation and photos from my mom's visit 2 months ago
- Affidavit of intent to leave Canada
- Return flight ticket purchase confirmation
- Detailed itinerary within Canada for 1 week including estimated expenses
- Baptism ceremony contract for our son
- Restaurant reservation for a family gathering after the baptism

Finally, as if that wasn't enough to convince the immigration officer that we would leave Canada after our 1-week visit, we also provided a doctor's note and accompanying x-Ray confirming that my partner is scheduled to have dental surgery at the military hospital in May 2016.

Hi Moyita, theres a thret call Anybody from dominican republi? theres a lot info and knowlegble ppl there, good luck

 

[la94]

so is it important give proof pf relationship?

 

[alvero]

I requested 3 months, and the purpose of the visit was to meet family and friends and tourism.

One thing I should also mention is I made sure the cover letter was well written and not too lengthy. It briefly listed the documents I had attached. And for the important documents I made a cover page, which was just a blank page with a title in the center like "police background check". Because it's a human reading each application and they go through thousands of these. When presented with a huge stack of difficult to read/translated paperwork, it's human nature to just glance at them and ignore the ones that take too long to understand. Your application sounds very strong so I can't give you much advice but to make it as painless to read as possible.

A lot of people say it is "luck", but I think it is more psychology. The officers are trained to look for certain patterns and profile people. I know when I read reports at work, a poorly written report that is messy and has a lot of attachments that aren't explained will give me a headache and irritate me. If the officer had a rough day of reading messy, unorganized applications, and then your neat, complete, formatted application hit their desk, would it have a higher chance of approval? To a machine, probably not. But to a human, probably yes.

Good for you man. I'm proud of you for being so meticulous and understanding the importance of format, presentation, and details. I'm going to apply for my girlfriend as well and this was exactly what I had in mind. We're going to go the extra length with her. Wish me luck.