Help needed to interpret GCMS case notes for rejected TRV

[cap23]

Hi all,

We applied for a visitor visa for my parents to visit me in Canada and it got rejected about a month ago. I am currently a PR living and working in Canada. My parents were PRs too but did not wish to move to Canada so they voluntarily renounced their PR and applied for TRV instead to come see me. I sent them the invitation letter to support their application. They stated in their application that they would be supporting their own visit financially and showed sufficient funds in their bank accounts. The rejection letter stated 'Purpose of Visit' and 'Family ties in Canada and country of residence' as the only reasons for rejection. Today I have received the case notes for their file. We intend to reapply for their TRV, so I would be really grateful if someone could help me make sense of these case notes or give me any other helpful advice.


NOTES: 1

Created Date: 2018/02/21 02:42:43 Created By: TR03047

Updated Date: 2018/02/21 02:42:53 Updated By: TR03047

Restricted: No Label: General Office: Abu Dhabi

Text: Based on host's declared income in CRA Notice of Assessment Iam not satisfied that sufficient ongoing funds are available for applicant's care and support.


NOTES: 2

Created Date: 2018/02/19 07:18:05 Created By: LA17120

Updated Date: 2018/02/19 07:18:05 Updated By: LA17120

Restricted: No Label: General Office: Abu Dhabi

Text: Group C COC: Pakistan COR: Pakistan HOF or PA's travel history - no Travel to 5CC? <5 yrs- no Travel to EU in <5 yrs- no COC of Accompanying Deps : Spouse- Pakistan Children-NA

The remaining few notes just mention the addresses that they said they will be visiting on their application.

These notes have me a little confused. They seem to be talking about my income, whereas we clearly mentioned several times in the application that my parents would be paying for their own visit. Also there seems to be something regarding my parents' travel history in the second part of the notes, but I don't understand all the codes being used. Does anyone know what this might mean? Lastly, to me it seems that the reasons mentioned in the rejection letter and the notes are quite different. If that is the case then which reasons should we focus on countering when reapplying? I would appreciate any advice on this matter. Thanks!

 

[Bryanna]

We applied for a visitor visa for my parents to visit me in Canada and it got rejected about a month ago. I am currently a PR living and working in Canada. My parents were PRs too but did not wish to move to Canada so they voluntarily renounced their PR and applied for TRV instead to come see me. I sent them the invitation letter to support their application. They stated in their application that they would be supporting their own visit financially and showed sufficient funds in their bank accounts. The rejection letter stated 'Purpose of Visit' and 'Family ties in Canada and country of residence' as the only reasons for rejection. Today I have received the case notes for their file. We intend to reapply for their TRV, so I would be really grateful if someone could help me make sense of these case notes or give me any other helpful advice.

Do post the last paragraph at the end of the notes. That would give an insight into their refusals

 

[cap23]

Do post the last paragraph at the end of the notes. That would give an insight into their refusals

This is how the notes and the document ends, so I am not sure what you might be referring to...

NOTES: 7

Created Date: 2018/02/08 23:32:23 Created By: EAIEAPP

Updated Date: 2018/02/08 23:32:23 Updated By: EAIEAPP

Restricted: No Label: General

Office: GCMS-System

Text: Signed By I Signe Par: XXXXXXXXXX (X/X/2018 1)

 

[Bryanna]

This is how the notes and the document ends, so I am not sure what you might be referring to...

No, not this.

It's a paragraph-long text detailing the circumstances/purpose/reasons why the visa officer has refused the applications. It would be on the last page of the notes

 

[cap23]

No, not this.

It's a paragraph-long text detailing the circumstances/purpose/reasons why the visa officer has refused the applications. It would be on the last page of the notes

The notes I have received consist of a 47 page long document which literally ends with Note 7 that I have quoted in my reply above. There is no more information there. No paragraphs detailing the reasons as such. Do you think these notes might be incomplete?

 

[Bryanna]

Text: Group C COC: Pakistan COR: Pakistan HOF or PA's travel history - no Travel to 5CC? <5 yrs- no Travel to EU in <5 yrs- no COC of Accompanying Deps : Spouse- Pakistan Children-NA

Group C:
Country classification as per IRCC

COC: Pakistan:
Country of Citizenship

COR: Pakistan:
Country of Residence

HOF or PA's travel history - no
Head of the Family/Principal Applicant's travel history = Your dad

Travel to 5CC? <5 yrs- no:
Travel to any of the five countries that constitute the FCC (Five Country Conference) i.e. Australia,Canada, New Zealand, the United Kingdom, and the United States of America

Travel to EU in <5 yrs- no
No travel to EU countries in the last 5 years

COC of Accompanying Deps : Spouse- Pakistan Children-NA:
This refers to your mom accompanying your dad + your parents do not have any dependent children in Pakistan
This will explain the 'Family ties' refusal reason

 

[Bryanna]

Text: Based on host's declared income in CRA Notice of Assessment Iam not satisfied that sufficient ongoing funds are available for applicant's care and support.

To understand this part of the GCMS, you would need to tell us:
1. What financial documents did you submit as their host?

2. What financials did your parents indicate + was it liquid finances or locked-in investments? Did it match their tax assessment?

3. How long did your parents want to visit + Purpose of their visit?

 

[cap23]

To understand this part of the GCMS, you would need to tell us:
1. What financial documents did you submit as their host?

2. What financials did your parents indicate + was it liquid finances or locked-in investments? Did it match their tax assessment?

3. How long did your parents want to visit + Purpose of their visit?

Thank you very much for breaking that down for me. Here are my responses to your questions:

1. What financial documents did you submit as their host?
I submitted my CRA Notices of Assessment for the past 3 years and my pay slips for 3 months.

2. What financials did your parents indicate + was it liquid finances or locked-in investments? Did it match their tax assessment?
My parents showed about $26000 CAD in their bank accounts for the trip plus some property and insurance policies worth much more in Pakistan. I am not sure if it matched their tax assessment but we did submit their tax returns for the past year as well.

3. How long did your parents want to visit + Purpose of their visit?
My parents' visit was meant to be 3 weeks long and their purpose of visit was to see me and also tour Canada with me.

HOF or PA's travel history - no: Does this mean that they are saying my dad's travel history was not submitted or not sufficient?

 

[Bryanna]

1. What financial documents did you submit as their host?
I submitted my CRA Notices of Assessment for the past 3 years and my pay slips for 3 months.

I would also include your bank statements.

2. What financials did your parents indicate + was it liquid finances or locked-in investments? Did it match their tax assessment?
My parents showed about $26000 CAD in their bank accounts for the trip plus some property and insurance policies worth much more in Pakistan. I am not sure if it matched their tax assessment but we did submit their tax returns for the past year as well.

In case their bank balance did not match their tax assessment/declared sources of income, it would be perceived as borrowed or inconsistent with their earnings.

My guess is that as the visa officer was not convinced with their financial documents, s/he then reviewed your financials but you did not provide your bank statement which would indicate the finances/funds actually available to support their visit.

3. How long did your parents want to visit + Purpose of their visit?
My parents' visit was meant to be 3 weeks long and their purpose of visit was to see me and also tour Canada with me.

'Purpose of visit' tends to be a generic refusal reason. It's best to assess their applications as a complete package to identify the gaps in documents/evidence/explanations

Maybe your parents did not include a number of documents to prove their strong ties to Pakistan.

HOF or PA's travel history - no: Does this mean that they are saying my dad's travel history was not submitted or not sufficient?

Based on the case notes, your dad has not traveled to any FCC or EU countries in the last 5 years. Any travel to countries that do not have stringent processes for issuing visitor visas won't count as travel history (for example, UAE/ KSA/ Singapore/ Thailand/ Mauritius, etc etc)

 

[cap23]

I would also include your bank statements.



In case their bank balance did not match their tax assessment/declared sources of income, it would be perceived as borrowed or inconsistent with their earnings.

My guess is that as the visa officer was not convinced with their financial documents, s/he then reviewed your financials but you did not provide your bank statement which would indicate the finances/funds actually available to support their visit.



'Purpose of visit' tends to be a generic refusal reason. It's best to assess their applications as a complete package to identify the gaps in documents/evidence/explanations

Maybe your parents did not include a number of documents to prove their strong ties to Pakistan.



Based on the case notes, your dad has not traveled to any FCC or EU countries in the last 5 years. Any travel to countries that do not have stringent processes for issuing visitor visas won't count as travel history (for example, UAE/ KSA/ Singapore/ Thailand/ Mauritius, etc etc)

Thanks a lot for your advice Bryanna! I just had a couple more questions based on your suggestions.

In case their bank balance did not match their tax assessment/declared sources of income, it would be perceived as borrowed or inconsistent with their earnings.
My parents submitted their income slips for the past 3 months, as well as letters from their employers which confirmed that they were earning enough to match the amounts shown in their bank statements. That is why it seems very strange to me that they would look into my financials. Also I wonder why nothing was mentioned about this in the actual rejection letter itself. In any case I will provide my bank statements this time around as well. Would 3 months of bank statements be sufficient?

Maybe your parents did not include a number of documents to prove their strong ties to Pakistan.
To prove ties to Pakistan my parents submitted property papers for properties owned by both of them, letters from employers granting leave for my mother (since my father is retired now), proof of financial investments in Pakistan and a statement of support for my grand mother who is dependent on my father. Other than that, we thought the fact that they are voluntarily renouncing their PRs would convince the visa officer of their strong ties to Pakistan and intention to return. Are there any other documents that they could provide as proof of ties?

Also when we re-apply, do we have to pay the biometric fees for the application again? Their biometrics were completed a couple of months ago and the biometric fee makes the biggest chunk of the application fee, so I was hoping they would not have to pay for it again.

I would be grateful for any other advice you might have for me about putting together a strong application. Thanks again!

 

[Bryanna]

Thanks a lot for your advice Bryanna! I just had a couple more questions based on your suggestions.

VFS Pakistan hasn't been accepting a number of documents from TRV applicants. Did your parents apply online or as paper submissions?

 

[cap23]

VFS Pakistan hasn't been accepting a number of documents from TRV applicants. Did your parents apply online or as paper submissions?

We applied online and submitted scanned versions of all the documents with the application.

 

[cap23]

I would be reapplying for my parents soon and was hoping someone could help me with the purpose of visit. Last time we mentioned tourism as well as family visit as the purpose of travel.

This time, I am not sure if I should emphasize the family visit or the tourism aspect more, or if there are any advantages or disadvantages of doing either. If anyone has any experience if this matter, I would be grateful for your advice.

 

[Bryanna]

I would be reapplying for my parents soon and was hoping someone could help me with the purpose of visit. Last time we mentioned tourism as well as family visit as the purpose of travel.

Why your parents would like to visit is something only you/your parents know. It's not possible for someone to help with this.

That being said, your parents would want to prepare a detailed day-by-day plan for each day of their intended visit.... with expense estimates.... and prove they have the finances to pay for this itinerary/plan for two person + airfare + surplus funds + general travel medical insurance (not mandatory, not super visa insurance).

This time, I am not sure if I should emphasize the family visit or the tourism aspect more, or if there are any advantages or disadvantages of doing either. If anyone has any experience if this matter, I would be grateful for your advice.

Mentioning a visit for tourism would seem unusual. It would be to meet you/your family + for sightseeing

 

[cap23]

Hi Bryanna. Thank you for your response. I'm afraid I didn't explain myself clearly last time. My question was more about how to present the purpose of visit rather than what the purpose of visit should be. Of course my parents want to visit to spend time with me and that is what I will mention in the application as well.

I am listing the documents that I plan to attach with my application below. Could you please go through them and let me know if these should suffice?

Host documents:
- Invitation letter stating that parents will be staying with me but paying for everything else themselves
- Picture of PR card
- Birth certificate
- My CRA Notices for the past 3 years
- My pay slips for the past 3 months
- My bank statements for the past 3 months (I don't have a lot of savings. Just around 5000 CAD over the last few months. I hope this won't go against us. I do have a steady job and bi-weekly payroll deposits shown in the bank statements.)

Guest documents
- Marriage certificate of my parents
- Bank statements for the past 3 months of both applicants showing about 26000 CAD in total for the trip
- Employer letters (stating employment history and granting leave for the visit) and pay slips for past 3 months for the principal applicant
- ITR for the past year for the principal applicant
- Property papers for property owned in Pakistan for both applicants
- Proof of financial investments in Pakistan for both applicants (these are in the form of insurance policies)
- Purpose of visit letter explaining that they want to visit to spend time with me, along with a day-to-day itinerary and estimate of expenses
- A letter of explanation highlighting all the important information and countering the previous reason for rejection (we are including my 2017 CRA Notice which just became available and reflects my employment income. The previous notices were based on my income as a student, which was much less. In addition we are highlighting that my parents have sufficient funds for their visit as shown in their bank statements.)

Additional
- A letter of support from an aunt of mine who is a Canadian citizen stating that my parents will be visiting her when they come, with her scanned passport.
- An affidavit of support for my widowed grandmother who lives back in Pakistan and depends on my parents.

The reasons stated in the rejection letter were i) Purpose of visit ii) Family ties in Canada and country of residence and the text given in the GCMS notes was as I mentioned in my earlier post. Please let me know if there is anything else I should include in the application. Thanks!