Hello All,
I thought I would post a summary of my experience obtaining a study visa, since it was a difficult process but ultimately it worked. Hopefully somebody else may benefit from this.
I am a full time employed single male living in a country in Central Asia. My visa office is Moscow. I applied and was accepted to a Diploma of Arts and Sciences at to a well known college in Vancouver, B.C. I have a bachelors in English translation and interpretation, and now am planning to study social sciences. I have been working for 5 years for a world renowned NGO in my country that provides medical services, and I would like to work for them long term, but require a Masters degree in a professional subject.
I applied initially with the support of a work colleague who lives in Canada and is Canadian. I am very lucky to have a close friend and colleague in Canada to help me with this, as I cannot afford to study on my small salary that I receive in my country, or go through the following process. So that made it all possible and they are incredibly supportive of my educational goals and giving me the opportunity. I know this isn't always the case for everyone.
It was rejected twice (evaluated in 3 days! Impossible) even though my application was solid (we had applied and received the CAIPS notes) The third time my colleague hired a Canadian lawyer (NOT a consultant, there is a big difference!) to consult and assist. They were impressed with the completeness of my application so we made a few adjustments and submitted the following for a third time:
- Extremely detailed SOP that addressed each concern for rejection separately, and included a detailed study plan. Total pages was 5
- Financial undertaking by my colleague and her friend that included their proof of employment, ownership of apartment, 3 years of tax returns, savings, investments, and letters committing to support me for my education.
- Letters of support from my colleagues friends who also felt it was unjust that I kept getting rejected
- An entire year of fees paid at school ($10,500).
- Notarized and translated documents proving ownership of family property
- Notarized and translated documents of all my educational transcripts
- Copies of all my employee contacts and evaluations from my employer
- Return ticket
- Copies of my travel outside my country
- Family photos
- 2 letters from my employer indicating a job upon my return and support.
- All the required application forms
- A letter from the lawyer detailing why I met the requirements, and stating if they had concerns they must, according to the law, call me for an interview, and call my sponsors.
In total it was about 82 pages that was sent through VFS. Again, within 2 days it was rejected. We filed for Judicial review 3 days later.
After filing for Judicial review, each side then puts together their arguments. We file our arguments, including sworn affidavits. Then the government responds. Then we respond. Then it goes before a judge where both sides argue it, and a judge decides if the VO made a mistake and it warrants another review. Before the government filed their arguments, the lawyers reached out and offered a settlement. The settlement DOES NOT mean a visa. All they are saying is that they will agree to having the file reviewed again by another officer in the Moscow office, which is the same outcome of judicial review if it goes all the way to court. All this took about 4 months, as there is time delays for each phase (usually 30 days).
Once we agreed to settlement, which was a tough decision, as there is no agreement about how long the second review could take, which you can specify in court, it was sent back. Luckily it went fast from there. 2 weeks later Moscow asked for additional documents that indicated they had actually read my application because they were specific. We sent those off. 1 week after that I got a medical request (even though I had already completed the upfront medical exam). I completed them again rather then delay, and they were evaluated after a week. Then I got a passport request 1 week after that. I sent in my passport, and received the official letter that my visa was accepted, and then my passport was returned with the TRV attached.
All in all, my first application was filed in February 2016, and I received my visa in Dec 2016. I had 3 rejections, and had to filed for judicial review but was lucky to receive a settlement. I know many of you say trust in God, but honestly, it wasn't that - it was hard work, being tenacious, working through the process, and having people that were willing to do the hard work and support my goals. Here are my tips:
- if you come from a country that has a low visa issuing rate, just get a lawyer right off the start for your application. Not a consultant, but a Canadian immigration lawyer. You can do that from abroad, you don't need to be in Canada. If I ever apply to have my mom come for a visit or graduation, I will just get the lawyer to do her application from the start so it's perfect and shortens the time.
- The SOP means something. Write every argument and address each and every reason for refusal with it's own dedicated paragraph
- Think outside the box for things to include, like work contracts, letters of support from community members, proof of finances etc. It all helps, especially for ties back home.
- File for judicial review if you aren't getting anywhere after the first rejection. I should have done that, considering that they evaluated it in 3 days, which was a clear indicator they weren't doing their due diligence.
- Pay your whole year of fees upfront. Have a clear plan for where you will live, etc and clearly, specifically articulate it, including budget, area etc. Show that you've done your research about how you will support yourself.
- Don't lie. I never did on my application, but I was upfront about my minimal finances, and my small travel history. I was honest about certain things in my application, rather then try and hide it or spin it in a different way.
Anyways, that's my short story. It was a bit of a long process, but I'm arriving in December, starting school Jan 3rd, and looking forward to checking out a hockey game and having New Years in Canada.
I thought I would post a summary of my experience obtaining a study visa, since it was a difficult process but ultimately it worked. Hopefully somebody else may benefit from this.
I am a full time employed single male living in a country in Central Asia. My visa office is Moscow. I applied and was accepted to a Diploma of Arts and Sciences at to a well known college in Vancouver, B.C. I have a bachelors in English translation and interpretation, and now am planning to study social sciences. I have been working for 5 years for a world renowned NGO in my country that provides medical services, and I would like to work for them long term, but require a Masters degree in a professional subject.
I applied initially with the support of a work colleague who lives in Canada and is Canadian. I am very lucky to have a close friend and colleague in Canada to help me with this, as I cannot afford to study on my small salary that I receive in my country, or go through the following process. So that made it all possible and they are incredibly supportive of my educational goals and giving me the opportunity. I know this isn't always the case for everyone.
It was rejected twice (evaluated in 3 days! Impossible) even though my application was solid (we had applied and received the CAIPS notes) The third time my colleague hired a Canadian lawyer (NOT a consultant, there is a big difference!) to consult and assist. They were impressed with the completeness of my application so we made a few adjustments and submitted the following for a third time:
- Extremely detailed SOP that addressed each concern for rejection separately, and included a detailed study plan. Total pages was 5
- Financial undertaking by my colleague and her friend that included their proof of employment, ownership of apartment, 3 years of tax returns, savings, investments, and letters committing to support me for my education.
- Letters of support from my colleagues friends who also felt it was unjust that I kept getting rejected
- An entire year of fees paid at school ($10,500).
- Notarized and translated documents proving ownership of family property
- Notarized and translated documents of all my educational transcripts
- Copies of all my employee contacts and evaluations from my employer
- Return ticket
- Copies of my travel outside my country
- Family photos
- 2 letters from my employer indicating a job upon my return and support.
- All the required application forms
- A letter from the lawyer detailing why I met the requirements, and stating if they had concerns they must, according to the law, call me for an interview, and call my sponsors.
In total it was about 82 pages that was sent through VFS. Again, within 2 days it was rejected. We filed for Judicial review 3 days later.
After filing for Judicial review, each side then puts together their arguments. We file our arguments, including sworn affidavits. Then the government responds. Then we respond. Then it goes before a judge where both sides argue it, and a judge decides if the VO made a mistake and it warrants another review. Before the government filed their arguments, the lawyers reached out and offered a settlement. The settlement DOES NOT mean a visa. All they are saying is that they will agree to having the file reviewed again by another officer in the Moscow office, which is the same outcome of judicial review if it goes all the way to court. All this took about 4 months, as there is time delays for each phase (usually 30 days).
Once we agreed to settlement, which was a tough decision, as there is no agreement about how long the second review could take, which you can specify in court, it was sent back. Luckily it went fast from there. 2 weeks later Moscow asked for additional documents that indicated they had actually read my application because they were specific. We sent those off. 1 week after that I got a medical request (even though I had already completed the upfront medical exam). I completed them again rather then delay, and they were evaluated after a week. Then I got a passport request 1 week after that. I sent in my passport, and received the official letter that my visa was accepted, and then my passport was returned with the TRV attached.
All in all, my first application was filed in February 2016, and I received my visa in Dec 2016. I had 3 rejections, and had to filed for judicial review but was lucky to receive a settlement. I know many of you say trust in God, but honestly, it wasn't that - it was hard work, being tenacious, working through the process, and having people that were willing to do the hard work and support my goals. Here are my tips:
- if you come from a country that has a low visa issuing rate, just get a lawyer right off the start for your application. Not a consultant, but a Canadian immigration lawyer. You can do that from abroad, you don't need to be in Canada. If I ever apply to have my mom come for a visit or graduation, I will just get the lawyer to do her application from the start so it's perfect and shortens the time.
- The SOP means something. Write every argument and address each and every reason for refusal with it's own dedicated paragraph
- Think outside the box for things to include, like work contracts, letters of support from community members, proof of finances etc. It all helps, especially for ties back home.
- File for judicial review if you aren't getting anywhere after the first rejection. I should have done that, considering that they evaluated it in 3 days, which was a clear indicator they weren't doing their due diligence.
- Pay your whole year of fees upfront. Have a clear plan for where you will live, etc and clearly, specifically articulate it, including budget, area etc. Show that you've done your research about how you will support yourself.
- Don't lie. I never did on my application, but I was upfront about my minimal finances, and my small travel history. I was honest about certain things in my application, rather then try and hide it or spin it in a different way.
Anyways, that's my short story. It was a bit of a long process, but I'm arriving in December, starting school Jan 3rd, and looking forward to checking out a hockey game and having New Years in Canada.
