Hi.Applied on Jan. 27, 2017 with outland spouse. Passed medical, paid all the fees, never got ADR.
None of us had criminal record, served in the military, or overstayed visas. We were not involved in any human rights violations. Never traveled to countries that could be considered high-risk by the Canadian government, such as Syria, Afganistan, Iran etc. We are citizens of Ukraine.
The only thing I can think of is that my spouse had several visa refusals by CIC. When I asked them if that is the issue, they said they don't know. I have always received all Canadian visas, work and study permits that I applied for. I have been in Canada 8 years.
I feel like CIC just forgot about me.
Just playing the devil's advocate here and trying to find issues on your profile. It seems like the problem may be in the relationship. But I'll ask about all possibilities.
1)So you have been in Canada for 8 years now and you are still not a PR. Why? Usually one would get enough English and points to get the PR through EE, or at least a nomination.
2)If you have been in Canada for 8 years, where have your spouse been during this time? Is he/she here now?
3)Having prior refusal IS a possible cause for the delay. If you had a real relationship before the refusal and he/she wanted to visit you, that is very uncommon, as even OWPs are issued because they cannot separate families. If so, it must be a very strong reason. But if he/she later got a visa, then it should be alright as the prior refusals won't matter much.
4)If you didn't declare to be married when coming for the first time to Canada, that could be an issue. If you stayed 8 years apart, and now want to reunite, that could be seen as marriage for convenience bc 8 years apart is too much. Or... if you were not married, but in a relationship, and you came for whatever reason, while later your spouse tried to come but got refused, and then you applied as a couple, that could be seen as a marriage for convenience as well. They will investigate to see if the spouse is trying to piggyback on you, because he/she could not get a visa by other means. But if you are definitely eligible, the marriage is real and you can prove it (Facebook or family photos older than 8 years), the spouse will get approved with you. It is possible to stay 8 years apart, and if you were in a distant relationship, you can still back your claim with communications (email, phone logs, letters with stamps), trips and photos from visits, and so on and it could work.
I'm not assuming the marriage is not real, I am just trying to cover all options. A year or two ago, they refused a couple for being just 2 years apart and because the woman was much older than the man, and the refusal said that this is not common in the culture in question. CIC was accused of racism and the couple is suing. CIC answered saying they did not provide the additional docs in time to satisfy that they were in a relationship. I never saw the resolution for that case.
Because marriage for convenience became a business for some people, CIC is going hard on these people. If you read along some threads here, you will probably notice one or two once in a while.
And finally, Ukraine is a country with good diplomatic relations with Canada. No issues there.
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