Help with TRV for GF from Philippines please

[justinrmc]

I'm a Canadian citizen and I have been trying for a few months now to get my girlfriend from the Philippines to Canada on a visitor visa. I have learned a lot through the process but I still haven't been successful in getting her here. I have applied multiple times now on her behalf starting back in June 2017 when I was visiting her when she was working in Taiwan. Since then she left her job and moved back to Philippines and is living with her parents. I had her get a business license and a bank account and just recently (Sept 20th) a job at a local resort. She has over 100k php in her bank. She has business records and receipts which I submitted in the application as well as a letter from her employer and a vacation letter. I had booked a return ticket for her and she has medical appointment letter. I showed proof of my assets and investments and wrote her an invitation letter. I submitted an itinerary of what she will be doing here.

She has traveled to work in Taiwan 3 times in 10 yrs for contracts of 2-3 yrs and I showed proof of this with visas, resident card and passport stamps. I submitted a booking for a trip to Macau she did but there wasn't any stamps in her passport for that. Wrote about how all her family is there in Philippines and no family in Canada. I showed proof of our relationship and said I would cover all expenses when she was here. Originally I applied for 6 months trip which looking back I understand might not have been the best thing. Afterwards had applied for 1-2 months but this last time only 2 weeks, but I'm still waiting to hear back about it. I'm representing her in the applications so I'm doing all the forms, etc.

Reason for refusal the last time was "Travel History" but the time before didn't list that as a reason. This last time also only listed "I am not satisfied that you have sufficient funds, including income or assets, to carry out your stated purpose in going to Canada or to maintain yourself while in Canada and to effect your departure." but the time before didn't have that, but it had "Purpose of Visit" for the first time when that has never changed, "Family Ties", "Current Employment" and "Personal Assets and Financial Status". I'm just wondering what else I can do. The plan was to get her here soon but maybe that's just not possible given the situation. Thanks, hope you can help.

 

[canuck_in_uk]

I'm a Canadian citizen and I have been trying for a few months now to get my girlfriend from the Philippines to Canada on a visitor visa. I have learned a lot through the process but I still haven't been successful in getting her here. I have applied multiple times now on her behalf starting back in June 2017 when I was visiting her when she was working in Taiwan. Since then she left her job and moved back to Philippines and is living with her parents. I had her get a business license and a bank account and just recently (Sept 20th) a job at a local resort. She has over 100k php in her bank. She has business records and receipts which I submitted in the application as well as a letter from her employer and a vacation letter. I had booked a return ticket for her and she has medical appointment letter. I showed proof of my assets and investments and wrote her an invitation letter. I submitted an itinerary of what she will be doing here.

She has traveled to work in Taiwan 3 times in 10 yrs for contracts of 2-3 yrs and I showed proof of this with visas, resident card and passport stamps. I submitted a booking for a trip to Macau she did but there wasn't any stamps in her passport for that. Wrote about how all her family is there in Philippines and no family in Canada. I showed proof of our relationship and said I would cover all expenses when she was here. Originally I applied for 6 months trip which looking back I understand might not have been the best thing. Afterwards had applied for 1-2 months but this last time only 2 weeks, but I'm still waiting to hear back about it. I'm representing her in the applications so I'm doing all the forms, etc.

Reason for refusal the last time was "Travel History" but the time before didn't list that as a reason. This last time also only listed "I am not satisfied that you have sufficient funds, including income or assets, to carry out your stated purpose in going to Canada or to maintain yourself while in Canada and to effect your departure." but the time before didn't have that, but it had "Purpose of Visit" for the first time when that has never changed, "Family Ties", "Current Employment" and "Personal Assets and Financial Status". I'm just wondering what else I can do. The plan was to get her here soon but maybe that's just not possible given the situation. Thanks, hope you can help.

It would be easier to understand if you summarized your info. First app - details, dates, documents submitted, refusal reasons. Second app - same thing, what you did to overcome previous refusals. Third app - same thing.

At a glance, she has little chance of approval. She has no real travel history, little money (your finances are not important because you are not legally obligated to support her) and no strong ties to her country.

 

[justinrmc]

It would be easier to understand if you summarized your info. First app - details, dates, documents submitted, refusal reasons. Second app - same thing, what you did to overcome previous refusals. Third app - same thing.

At a glance, she has little chance of approval. She has no real travel history, little money (your finances are not important because you are not legally obligated to support her) and no strong ties to her country.

I didn't want to bore everyone with the details, but I can fill in some of the blanks. First application as June 23rd when I was in Manila with her didn't show any financial information for either of us so that's why it was refused. Second application was when I was back in Canada July 11th showed my finances, but not enough according to the refusal, as well as her travel history and assets. Third application July 27th, showed more finances mine & hers, more travel documents, only reason for refusal listed was "Other reasons:Given economic conditions, employment prospects, considering your travel history, economic establishment and family ties, I am not satisfied that you would respect the terms of your admission as a temporary resident in Canada." Fourth application Sept 2nd, submitted her new business license along with all the previous information and a more detailed letter of explanation. Pics in Macau & Hong Kong submitted. Refusal didn't mention travel history but mentioned, family ties, current employment, personal assets and for the very first time "purpose of visit" even though that never changed. Fifth application Sept 27th same info as before but with employment and vacation letter with business records, receipts. Refusal stated travel history again and "I am not satisfied that you have sufficient funds, including income or assets, to carry out your stated purpose in going to Canada or to maintain yourself while in Canada and to effect your departure." that's it.

So, working/traveling to Taiwan 3 times in 10 yrs and going to Macau, Hong Kong & China doesn't count as travel history? Having a business, a job, a bank account, all her family there, no family in Canada isn't strong enough ties?

 

[Bryanna]

I didn't want to bore everyone with the details, but I can fill in some of the blanks. First application as June 23rd when I was in Manila with her didn't show any financial information for either of us so that's why it was refused. Second application was when I was back in Canada July 11th showed my finances, but not enough according to the refusal, as well as her travel history and assets. Third application July 27th, showed more finances mine & hers, more travel documents, only reason for refusal listed was "Other reasons:Given economic conditions, employment prospects, considering your travel history, economic establishment and family ties, I am not satisfied that you would respect the terms of your admission as a temporary resident in Canada." Fourth application Sept 2nd, submitted her new business license along with all the previous information and a more detailed letter of explanation. Pics in Macau & Hong Kong submitted. Refusal didn't mention travel history but mentioned, family ties, current employment, personal assets and for the very first time "purpose of visit" even though that never changed. Fifth application Sept 27th same info as before but with employment and vacation letter with business records, receipts. Refusal stated travel history again and "I am not satisfied that you have sufficient funds, including income or assets, to carry out your stated purpose in going to Canada or to maintain yourself while in Canada and to effect your departure." that's it.

So, working/traveling to Taiwan 3 times in 10 yrs and going to Macau, Hong Kong & China doesn't count as travel history? Having a business, a job, a bank account, all her family there, no family in Canada isn't strong enough ties?

Four TRV applications in as many months!! STOP. Please do NOT reapply for several months, or maybe until summer next year at the earliest. But, as you've already applied then hope she gets an approval.

Applying so often after refusals indicates desperation + possibility that she won't respect the conditions attached to her visitor visa.

Don't go only by the refusal reasons stated on the refusal letter. These could be generic refusals + you must consider the entire application in totality, not just the specific refusal reasons.


She has a weak application.
1. Weak financial situation (your finances are secondary)

2. No travel history (Macau, HK, Taiwan and the like don't count as travel history + especially not Taiwan as she was working there = Long stay)

3. Getting a new business license proves nothing. Her business is super new. She must wait for several months to prove the business is actively trading supported by a good bank balance, not 1-off business transactions on-and-off.

Also, apart from this, her business ties are weak in other ways: If she can holiday in Canada for a few weeks/months and/or take up employment at a resort it means her business is not her strong tie/not her priority.

5. Her employment at the resort is super new too.... which does not make it a strong tie to return to. Generally, an employer won't allow a new employee to take time off work for a holiday. Or else someone can do the work she does which means her job doesn't really need her.

6. It's best to be honest but without revealing too many details of your relationship. To a visa officer, it would seem like she wants to come to Canada, get married and start the PR process inland

 

[justinrmc]

Four TRV applications in as many months!! STOP. Please do NOT reapply for several months, or maybe until summer next year at the earliest. But, as you've already applied then hope she gets an approval.

Applying so often after refusals indicates desperation + possibility that she won't respect the conditions attached to her visitor visa.

Don't go only by the refusal reasons stated on the refusal letter. These could be generic refusals + you must consider the entire application in totality, not just the specific refusal reasons.


She has a weak application.
1. Weak financial situation (your finances are secondary)

2. No travel history (Macau, HK, Taiwan and the like don't count as travel history + especially not Taiwan as she was working there = Long stay)

3. Getting a new business license proves nothing. Her business is super new. She must wait for several months to prove the business is actively trading supported by a good bank balance, not 1-off business transactions on-and-off.

Also, apart from this, her business ties are weak in other ways: If she can holiday in Canada for a few weeks/months and/or take up employment at a resort it means her business is not her strong tie/not her priority.

5. Her employment at the resort is super new too.... which does not make it a strong tie to return to. Generally, an employer won't allow a new employee to take time off work for a holiday. Or else someone can do the work she does which means her job doesn't really need her.

6. It's best to be honest but without revealing too many details of your relationship. To a visa officer, it would seem like she wants to come to Canada, get married and start the PR process inland

Thanks for your candid response. The whole process seems so bizarre to me since I can travel there at the drop of a hat and the Canadian government seems to let unlimited refugees in through the border and we pay for their food and lodging for months or years.

I only re-applied with new information and documents each time so I was hoping that would be enough that it didn't seem she was desperate. I was told by the Canadian immigration helpline that applying multiple times is no problem, but I guess like most of the information they provide it isn't useful or accurate.

I understand that her situation appears weak in the eyes of the visa officers reviewing the applications in the embassy so
I wrote in the letter of explanation that her parents and sisters would look after her business. I realize both the business and employment are new but it was all I could think of to try to get her here as soon as possible. I was just hoping someone would have a heart and cut her a break.

The reason I showed proof of our relationship was because I would be paying for everything while she was here and I thought they wouldn't believe someone who as only a friend would do that.

I was being to naive or too optimistic regarding the whole process. I don't understand the point of showing I have assets and writing that I will pay for her stay if they don't seem to care about that anyway? Would it have been better if we pretended to just be friends or if she had applied as a tourist with no Canadian contact?

Even if I married her while she was here, the longest possible visa would be 6 months and the sponsorship takes 12 months or more so what would be the point in that since she'd have to leave after 6 months unless they approve an extension or something?

I applied through freedom of information for the notes of the first 4 applications so they should be arriving in another 30-45 days.

I realize I've made mistakes and I wish I had found this forum sooner but things are what they are so what I'm looking for is advice and I appreciate the help and knowledge provided. So it's best to wait months, there's no point in applying for a student visa, or do anything else at this time other than trying to get her visas for other countries like Korea, Japan? I thought about traveling to Malaysia and Indonesia with her but she doesn't need visas to go there.

 

[TEOLO29]

Hello @justinrmc , i understand your situation. I am a Filipino working in Saudi Arabia. I applied for TRV second time. First was paper application and with in a week it was denied. That was 2015.. I have my Auntie who sponsored me.. She sent her citizenship, drivers license and tax assessment. but before I re-apply to TRV just Sep27, 2017 I have travelled to Dubai, France, belgium, netherlands in addition to my travels (SIngapore, Hongkong,Turkey).

I get a response to submit my passport after 32days of waiting and now my passport is with embassy in Riyadh for visa stamping.

Applying for a student visa needs a lot of funds..I suggest let her apply for Japan or Schengen visa to build a travel history. Then re-apply by next year.

cheers.

 

[justinrmc]

Hello @justinrmc , i understand your situation. I am a Filipino working in Saudi Arabia. I applied for TRV second time. First was paper application and with in a week it was denied. That was 2015.. I have my Auntie who sponsored me.. She sent her citizenship, drivers license and tax assessment. but before I re-apply to TRV just Sep27, 2017 I have travelled to Dubai, France, belgium, netherlands in addition to my travels (SIngapore, Hongkong,Turkey).

I get a response to submit my passport after 32days of waiting and now my passport is with embassy in Riyadh for visa stamping.

Applying for a student visa needs a lot of funds..I suggest let her apply for Japan or Schengen visa to build a travel history. Then re-apply by next year.

cheers.

Thanks for your message, you've done a lot of traveling. I'm glad it has worked out for you. Did you try for visas to Japan or Korea? They seem to be the easiest according to what I read online. I'm not concerned too much with the money if a student visa would work but I've heard it might seem suspicious since she originally applied for tourist visa.

 

[bellaluna]

Thanks for your candid response. The whole process seems so bizarre to me since I can travel there at the drop of a hat and the Canadian government seems to let unlimited refugees in through the border and we pay for their food and lodging for months or years.

I only re-applied with new information and documents each time so I was hoping that would be enough that it didn't seem she was desperate. I was told by the Canadian immigration helpline that applying multiple times is no problem, but I guess like most of the information they provide it isn't useful or accurate.

I understand that her situation appears weak in the eyes of the visa officers reviewing the applications in the embassy so
I wrote in the letter of explanation that her parents and sisters would look after her business. I realize both the business and employment are new but it was all I could think of to try to get her here as soon as possible. I was just hoping someone would have a heart and cut her a break.

The reason I showed proof of our relationship was because I would be paying for everything while she was here and I thought they wouldn't believe someone who as only a friend would do that.

I was being to naive or too optimistic regarding the whole process. I don't understand the point of showing I have assets and writing that I will pay for her stay if they don't seem to care about that anyway? Would it have been better if we pretended to just be friends or if she had applied as a tourist with no Canadian contact?

Even if I married her while she was here, the longest possible visa would be 6 months and the sponsorship takes 12 months or more so what would be the point in that since she'd have to leave after 6 months unless they approve an extension or something?

I applied through freedom of information for the notes of the first 4 applications so they should be arriving in another 30-45 days.

I realize I've made mistakes and I wish I had found this forum sooner but things are what they are so what I'm looking for is advice and I appreciate the help and knowledge provided. So it's best to wait months, there's no point in applying for a student visa, or do anything else at this time other than trying to get her visas for other countries like Korea, Japan? I thought about traveling to Malaysia and Indonesia with her but she doesn't need visas to go there.

Yeah, it's almost unfathomable to imagine someone having to go through this sort of scrutiny when you are in a position of privilege. It's not your fault, but apart from the repeated applications, you didn't do anything wrong. It's great you're showing a willingness to understand and work on this in a realistic, sincere, and lawful manner.

As much as there are guidelines and profiles for a successful TRV application, in the end, it's still a case to case basis. We've also seen many people with profiles similar to you and your girlfriend get approved, but it took a lot of hard work. We also wouldn't recommend applying as just "friends" (VOs can read between the lines and maybe presumably expect a romantic relationship). As mentioned earlier, your mistake was applying without really understanding just yet what it takes to get an application like your GF's approved.

In your case, there's already some damage done, so you have to do your best to work on it. As you suggested, it would be great if you could both travel to visa-required countries that you can sponsor, to give some heft to your relationship being bona fide. South Korea and Japan are certainly relatively easy for Philippine passport holders to get visas approved, not to mention really lovely countries to visit. Also, if the VOs look at her file 12 months from now and see you're still in this relationship, then it will work in her favor.

Since you're open to eventually marrying her and applying for spousal sponsorship anyway (you don't need to marry her in Canada to do so), not all avenues to bring her to Canada are lost.

Not sure if I made any sense or gave concrete advice LOL, but sometimes, I believe hindsight and perspective can help you work on future applications.

 

[TEOLO29]

Thanks for your message, you've done a lot of traveling. I'm glad it has worked out for you. Did you try for visas to Japan or Korea? They seem to be the easiest according to what I read online. I'm not concerned too much with the money if a student visa would work but I've heard it might seem suspicious since she originally applied for tourist visa.

Hi,

Yes let her apply for Japan&korea. Ive got my Japan visa here in Saudi Arabia.. its less expensive compare to travelling to Europe.. Once she has japan&korea, then let her apply either UK/Schengen Visa.. for me i think it helps a lot that I made some travels after i got rejected two years back.

 

[justinrmc]

Yeah, it's almost unfathomable to imagine someone having to go through this sort of scrutiny when you are in a position of privilege. It's not your fault, but apart from the repeated applications, you didn't do anything wrong. It's great you're showing a willingness to understand and work on this in a realistic, sincere, and lawful manner.

As much as there are guidelines and profiles for a successful TRV application, in the end, it's still a case to case basis. We've also seen many people with profiles similar to you and your girlfriend get approved, but it took a lot of hard work. We also wouldn't recommend applying as just "friends" (VOs can read between the lines and maybe presumably expect a romantic relationship). As mentioned earlier, your mistake was applying without really understanding just yet what it takes to get an application like your GF's approved.

In your case, there's already some damage done, so you have to do your best to work on it. As you suggested, it would be great if you could both travel to visa-required countries that you can sponsor, to give some heft to your relationship being bona fide. South Korea and Japan are certainly relatively easy for Philippine passport holders to get visas approved, not to mention really lovely countries to visit. Also, if the VOs look at her file 12 months from now and see you're still in this relationship, then it will work in her favor.

Since you're open to eventually marrying her and applying for spousal sponsorship anyway (you don't need to marry her in Canada to do so), not all avenues to bring her to Canada are lost.

Not sure if I made any sense or gave concrete advice LOL, but sometimes, I believe hindsight and perspective can help you work on future applications.

Thanks for your encouraging words. I hope to eventually figure it all out to get my girlfriend to come visit me here. In the meantime I will visit her and try to go to South Korea or Japan and give it some time.

 

[justinrmc]

One thing I forgot. My girlfriend's parents agreed to transfer their family home to her name but it would take 6 months because the land hasn't been surveyed. Is this worth doing this to get the home as an asset for her to show ties to Philippines and what would be the odds of them accepting after the multiple failed applications? It might look suspicious since it would be a new large asset in her name. I didn't do this earlier because of the cost and time involved but now I'm wondering. I could add more money to her account too. She has about 120k php or $3000 CAD. Thanks in advance for your help and advice!

 

[Bryanna]

One thing I forgot. My girlfriend's parents agreed to transfer their family home to her name but it would take 6 months because the land hasn't been surveyed. Is this worth doing this to get the home as an asset for her to show ties to Philippines and what would be the odds of them accepting after the multiple failed applications? It might look suspicious since it would be a new large asset in her name. I didn't do this earlier because of the cost and time involved but now I'm wondering. I could add more money to her account too. She has about 120k php or $3000 CAD. Thanks in advance for your help and advice!

Did you get a decision for her current application?

 

[scylla]

One thing I forgot. My girlfriend's parents agreed to transfer their family home to her name but it would take 6 months because the land hasn't been surveyed. Is this worth doing this to get the home as an asset for her to show ties to Philippines and what would be the odds of them accepting after the multiple failed applications? It might look suspicious since it would be a new large asset in her name. I didn't do this earlier because of the cost and time involved but now I'm wondering. I could add more money to her account too. She has about 120k php or $3000 CAD. Thanks in advance for your help and advice!

She needs to stop applying for TRVs for a good year. Based on your summary - it sounds like she's applied five times in as many months and has five refusals. If that's correct, she already has far too many refusals in far too short a period of time. Transferring the family home to her won't help at this point and (you're right) will simply look suspicious. Same goes for adding money to her account.

 

[justinrmc]

She needs to stop applying for TRVs for a good year. Based on your summary - it sounds like she's applied five times in as many months and has five refusals. If that's correct, she already has far too many refusals in far too short a period of time. Transferring the family home to her won't help at this point and (you're right) will simply look suspicious. Same goes for adding money to her account.

Why does Immigration Canada tell people that it's okay to apply multiple times if it really hurts applications. I specifically asked them after the 2nd refusal and they said it was fine as long as there is new information. Very frustrating. I mentioned the property transfer would take 6 months so I certainly wasn't talking about applying again right away. Some people say don't try to apply again for 6 months and you say 1 yr but nobody knows for sure since it's up to the officer in the embassy. It seems the only for sure way is to marry her and wait 12 months for sponsorship.

 

[justinrmc]

Did you get a decision for her current application?

Yes, they denied and checked a lot of boxes that weren't checked before. It seems random their reasons for refusal. Like they didn't check purpose of visit for 4 applications and then all of a sudden they check it when the purpose has never changed. The first 3 times they checked travel history then the 4th they didn't check it then the 5th they did. The checked length of stay for the first time when before I had it as long as 4 months and the last time was only 2 weeks. They checked personal assets and financial status when some times before they didn't check that. Employment prospects was checked when last time it wasn't. It seems like a sick twisted game they're playing with peoples lives.