Procedural Fairness letter from embassy

[SAMANTALA]

Hi everyone, I received a procedural fairness letter from Canadian embassy Manila saying the officer is not satisfied with our cohabitation proofs.

March 15, 2018

Dear Applicant,

This is with respect to your application for a permanent resident visa as a member of the family class, the
class in which you applied.

An initial review of your application has raised concerns that you may not meet the requirements for
immigration to Canada since you may not meet the definition of a member of the family class.
Subsection 12(1) of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act states that a foreign national may be
selected as a member of the family class on the basis of their relationship as the spouse, common-law
partner, child, parent or other prescribed family member of a Canadian citizen or permanent resident.
You have indicated that you are the common-law partner of Sponsor; subsection 1(1) of the
Immigration and Refugee Protection Regulations defines a common-law partner as, in relation to a
person, an individual who is cohabiting with the person in a conjugal relationship, having so cohabited for
a period of at least one year.

However, based on the information and documentation before me, I am not satsified that you have
established having cohabited for a period of at least one year. You have not provided sufficeint
documentary proof of your decalred period of cohabitation.

It would therefore appear that you may not meet the definition of a common-law partner with respect to
Sponsor, and that you cannot be considered a member of the family class.

However, before rendering a final decision on whether you can be considered the common-law spouse of
Sponsor, you are being provided this opportunity to respond to the above concerns by way
of written submission(s). Any such submissions must be received by our office within THIRTY
(30) days of the date of this letter.

 

[SAMANTALA]

Hello there

I am the applicant from Philippines and my partner sponsor in Alberta. We have submitted our Common-law Application November 20, 2017. Sponsor Approved January 30, 2018. And I already submitted my police certificates and medical done. Application was forwarded to Canadian Embassy Manila February 20, 2018 then March 15, 2018 I received an email Procedural Fairness, giving me 30 days to submit more proofs and explanation letter. I already worked on it, just waiting from my sister's statement letter from Japan to arrived this week before I can send my documents... Most of it are already sent in the application, just sending them again maybe some of it are misplaced.

These were all the documents we have;

• Explanation Letter
• Statutory Declaration Common-law Union Form IMM5409
• Rental Agreement by Landlord and 12 months house rent receipts
• Joint Bank Certificate (it's late when we open an account,
• ID government card showing same address (my postal id and sponsor alien residence card from Philippine Immigration)
• Envelope showing same address ( letter of my friend Belen and sponsor lawyer envelope sent to our home address)
• Internet & Landline bill showing same address (it's in my name)
• Entry & Exit stamp on passport of Sponsor showing the 1 year stay
• Flight Itinerary of Sponsor 1 year
• Skype screenshots (of us talking to his friend Bob while he was with me in the Philippines, because his friend took care of his dog)
• Pictures of 1 year together (48 pieces) (because the 20 photos that I sent before was since the beginning of our relationship to present)
• Last Will Testament of Sponsor naming me as beneficiary
• SSS or Social Security System of mine naming him as my beneficiary
• and 10 statement letters from family and friends (the other 5 are new statement letters).

We lived together for September 1, 2015 to September 17, 2016 at rented house in Manila. Since the officer was requesting for common law proofs, I will submit the documents regarding common law, since I already submitted the other proofs of relationship in the application. My sponsor visited me 4 times, the 3 times were we stayed in the hotel and the 4th visit was we stayed together in the house rent..

Do you think the officer will now be satisfied? Especially the photos of 1 year, since we did a lot in the house like cooking, painting the ceiling, cleaning the ditch, etc...

Thank you for reading my post...

 

[Wakki]

Hello there

I am the applicant from Philippines and my partner sponsor in Alberta. We have submitted our Common-law Application November 20, 2017. Sponsor Approved January 30, 2018. And I already submitted my police certificates and medical done. Application was forwarded to Canadian Embassy Manila February 20, 2018 then March 15, 2018 I received an email Procedural Fairness, giving me 30 days to submit more proofs and explanation letter. I already worked on it, just waiting from my sister's statement letter from Japan to arrived this week before I can send my documents... Most of it are already sent in the application, just sending them again maybe some of it are misplaced.

These were all the documents we have;

• Explanation Letter
• Statutory Declaration Common-law Union Form IMM5409
• Rental Agreement by Landlord and 12 months house rent receipts
• Joint Bank Certificate (it's late when we open an account,
• ID government card showing same address (my postal id and sponsor alien residence card from Philippine Immigration)
• Envelope showing same address ( letter of my friend Belen and sponsor lawyer envelope sent to our home address)
• Internet & Landline bill showing same address (it's in my name)
• Entry & Exit stamp on passport of Sponsor showing the 1 year stay
• Flight Itinerary of Sponsor 1 year
• Skype screenshots (of us talking to his friend Bob while he was with me in the Philippines, because his friend took care of his dog)
• Pictures of 1 year together (48 pieces) (because the 20 photos that I sent before was since the beginning of our relationship to present)
• Last Will Testament of Sponsor naming me as beneficiary
• SSS or Social Security System of mine naming him as my beneficiary
• and 10 statement letters from family and friends (the other 5 are new statement letters).

We lived together for September 1, 2015 to September 17, 2016 at rented house in Manila. Since the officer was requesting for common law proofs, I will submit the documents regarding common law, since I already submitted the other proofs of relationship in the application. My sponsor visited me 4 times, the 3 times were we stayed in the hotel and the 4th visit was we stayed together in the house rent..

Do you think the officer will now be satisfied? Especially the photos of 1 year, since we did a lot in the house like cooking, painting the ceiling, cleaning the ditch, etc...

Thank you for reading my post...

Procedural fairness provides that before making a final decision that is based on evidence submitted by the Applicant, if the Visa Officer is not satisfied or reasonably convinced with the documents provided, the Applicant is provided an opportunity to address the Visa Officer concerns……so do not panic, you are been giving a 2nd chance to provide additional documentation, more evidence and explanation to convince the Visa Officer that you cohabited for a period of at least one year before final decision is made.


https://www.canadavisa.com/canada-immigration-discussion-board/threads/procedural-fairness-letter.473525/

 

[mikeymyke]

Those proofs you've submitted are not good enough. Why doesnt the rental agreement have both your partner's name and yours on it? Why doesnt your utility bills have both names? Screenshots dont prove common law and neither does the passport stamps, as he could just be simply staying in Philippines and not live with you. Youre going to have to get better proofs or your application will be refused again

 

[SAMANTALA]

Procedural fairness provides that before making a final decision that is based on evidence submitted by the Applicant, if the Visa Officer is not satisfied or reasonably convinced with the documents provided, the Applicant is provided an opportunity to address the Visa Officer concerns……so do not panic, you are been giving a 2nd chance to provide additional documentation, more evidence and explanation to convince the Visa Officer that you cohabited for a period of at least one year before final decision is made.


https://www.canadavisa.com/canada-immigration-discussion-board/threads/procedural-fairness-letter.473525/

Thank you

 

[Buletruck]

My sponsor visited me 4 times, the 3 times were we stayed in the hotel and the 4th visit was we stayed together in the house rent.

Perhaps it's a language barrier, but I am confused by this statement. So did your sponsor stay with you continuously between September 2015 and September 2016? and what happened after September 2016 until you applied in 2017? What were the reasons for the separation? Did you remain in a relationship during that time? How have you maintained the relationship over a long distance (I am assuming he/she returned to Canada)? Where is your partner from originally and how did you meet? How long were the first three visits and when did they happen? During the one year of co-habitation, did you go anywhere and do you have proof of travel, hotels, etc?

 

[SAMANTALA]

Those proofs you've submitted are not good enough. Why doesnt the rental agreement have both your partner's name and yours on it? Why doesnt your utility bills have both names? Screenshots dont prove common law and neither does the passport stamps, as he could just be simply staying in Philippines and not live with you. Youre going to have to get better proofs or your application will be refused again

Our Rental Agreement signed by landlord have our names on it and the date we stayed together at the address house rent. Plus we submitted the 12 months house rent receipts with our names on it.. Utility bills like water and electric, I attached an explanation, because those bills were under the name of the landlord.

 

[SAMANTALA]

Perhaps it's a language barrier, but I am confused by this statement. So did your sponsor stay with you continuously between September 2015 and September 2016? and what happened after September 2016 until you applied in 2017? What were the reasons for the separation? Did you remain in a relationship during that time? How have you maintained the relationship over a long distance (I am assuming he/she returned to Canada)? Where is your partner from originally and how did you meet? How long were the first three visits and when did they happen? During the one year of co-habitation, did you go anywhere and do you have proof of travel, hotels, etc?

Yes he stayed continuously with me Sep 1, 2015 to Sep 17, 2016 at the house rent. After that he returned to Canada for he was only in a visit visa in Philippines, extended his stay to make a 1 yr, he is retired and his dog was left behind by a friend and he needs to go back to Canada because of his check ups, kidney. Yes, we continuously communicated thru skype was submitted already in the application, so the photos that I will be sending this time were the photos of us 1 year living together. We only stayed in the house rent, the out town travel was 1 hour trip, sight seeing of volcano then travel back home. We met on the phone which was Riena introduced us to each other Dec 31, 2011. His 1st visit was October 21, 2012 to November 8, 2012, 2nd visit July 1, 2013 to July 19, 2013, 3rd visit December 16, 2013 to December 31, 2013. Those visits was I already submitted the proofs like the hotel receipts, our exchanging cards/letter, remittance receipts. He is a Canadian from Fox Creek, Alberta.

 

[Buletruck]

So the problem with resending the same documents again is that they don't address the concerns they have. You are going to have to provide significantly more proof of the cohabitation to satisfy the VO concerns. Given the difficulties you have had in the past with your applications, I would suspect you are going to have to do more than just provide additional pictures of activities around the house. Whose family and friends are providing the statements? They should be coming primarily from his friends and family, as your will, IMO, be considered secondary.

 

[scylla]

When is the last time you visited each other and spent time together? How many times have you seen each other since September 2016 and how long were these visits?

 

[Rob_TO]

Hello there

I am the applicant from Philippines and my partner sponsor in Alberta. We have submitted our Common-law Application November 20, 2017. Sponsor Approved January 30, 2018. And I already submitted my police certificates and medical done. Application was forwarded to Canadian Embassy Manila February 20, 2018 then March 15, 2018 I received an email Procedural Fairness, giving me 30 days to submit more proofs and explanation letter. I already worked on it, just waiting from my sister's statement letter from Japan to arrived this week before I can send my documents... Most of it are already sent in the application, just sending them again maybe some of it are misplaced.

These were all the documents we have;

• Explanation Letter
• Statutory Declaration Common-law Union Form IMM5409
• Rental Agreement by Landlord and 12 months house rent receipts
• Joint Bank Certificate (it's late when we open an account,
• ID government card showing same address (my postal id and sponsor alien residence card from Philippine Immigration)
• Envelope showing same address ( letter of my friend Belen and sponsor lawyer envelope sent to our home address)
• Internet & Landline bill showing same address (it's in my name)
• Entry & Exit stamp on passport of Sponsor showing the 1 year stay
• Flight Itinerary of Sponsor 1 year
• Skype screenshots (of us talking to his friend Bob while he was with me in the Philippines, because his friend took care of his dog)
• Pictures of 1 year together (48 pieces) (because the 20 photos that I sent before was since the beginning of our relationship to present)
• Last Will Testament of Sponsor naming me as beneficiary
• SSS or Social Security System of mine naming him as my beneficiary
• and 10 statement letters from family and friends (the other 5 are new statement letters).

We lived together for September 1, 2015 to September 17, 2016 at rented house in Manila. Since the officer was requesting for common law proofs, I will submit the documents regarding common law, since I already submitted the other proofs of relationship in the application. My sponsor visited me 4 times, the 3 times were we stayed in the hotel and the 4th visit was we stayed together in the house rent..

Do you think the officer will now be satisfied? Especially the photos of 1 year, since we did a lot in the house like cooking, painting the ceiling, cleaning the ditch, etc...

Thank you for reading my post...

What are your proofs that show you started living together specifically in Sept 2015? Do you have any docs dated Sept 2015?

 

[SAMANTALA]

What are your proofs that show you started living together specifically in Sept 2015? Do you have any docs dated Sept 2015?

12 months house rent receipts. passport entry & exit stamp of sponsor

 

[SAMANTALA]

When is the last time you visited each other and spent time together? How many times have you seen each other since September 2016 and how long were these visits?

The last time were together was Sept 17, 2016, that day afternoon was his departure back to Canada. Then we communicated through video chat and no visits from him anymore because he was doing check ups on his health. His visits was October to November 2012, July 1-19, 2013, Dec 16-31, 2013 then the last was Sept 2015-Sept 2016 were we lived together..

 

[scylla]

The last time were together was Sept 17, 2016, that day afternoon was his departure back to Canada. Then we communicated through video chat and no visits from him anymore because he was doing check ups on his health. His visits was October to November 2012, July 1-19, 2013, Dec 16-31, 2013 then the last was Sept 2015-Sept 2016 were we lived together..

That may be part of the problem. At this point it's been more than a year and a half since you've seen each other and IRCC may be wondering if your truly still in a relationship. Has something significant happened that's prevented you from seeing each other for that long? Simple check ups certainly shouldn't be preventing visits.

 

[SAMANTALA]

That may be part of the problem. At this point it's been more than a year and a half since you've seen each other and IRCC may be wondering if your truly still in a relationship. Has something significant happened that's prevented you from seeing each other for that long? Simple check ups certainly shouldn't be preventing visits.

I've sent video skype screenshots chat 10 pages in the app, we are still communicating...