Should my BF apply under Tourism or Visit Family/Friends?

[rogue1]

Me:
-Canadian citizen (ethnicity: Chinese)
-Lives and works in Canada
-Wants BF to visit me and do some sightseeing together for 1-2 weeks

Boyfriend:
-Chinese citizen
-Lives and works in China
-Owns property in China
-Has UK, Schengen, and USA visa

I want to be honest and have him apply under Visit Family/Friends. But after looking at China’s visa office instructions/checklist (IMM5884) I found no option for visiting friends. There are only options for tourism or visiting family. Calling the visa office didn’t help, they ignored my question and just emailed me the same checklist.

I’m afraid of going the tourism route because although he has a USA visa, he hasn’t travelled to the USA yet. So wouldn’t the visa officer wonder why he’s choosing to go to Canada before the USA? We do plan to get married and settle in Canada (in the far future), and I only assume the tourism route will negatively affect his PR application because of the misrepresentation of facts.

Which TRV should we go for?

 

[steaky]

Your assumption is incorrect. Try the tourism route.

 

[rogue1]

Thanks!

Sorry if this is a stupid question:

By going the tourism route, my boyfriend shouldn’t mention me in his application (therefore no letter of invitation from me), right? It will just be an application strictly about tourism?

 

[Bryanna]

Thanks!

Sorry if this is a stupid question:

By going the tourism route, my boyfriend shouldn’t mention me in his application (therefore no letter of invitation from me), right? It will just be an application strictly about tourism?

1. Does he have someone else (a relative/family member or a friend) who can invite him?

2. Does he plan to visit the US/UK/Schengen country after his Canada trip before he returns to China?

 

[rogue1]

1. Does he have someone else (a relative/family member or a friend) who can invite him?

2. Does he plan to visit the US/UK/Schengen country after his Canada trip before he returns to China?

1. He doesn’t have any family or friends in Canada.

2. His UK and Schengen visas expired a year ago. His company doesn’t allow much time off for vacation, so at most he’ll have 7-10 vacation days. Depending on flight times, he could lose up to 3 days due to crossing time zones, leaving him with just 4-7 days for sightseeing. His proposed day-to-day itinerary for my city & surrounding area is already packed with typical tourist activities, so there’s not enough time to squeeze in a worthwhile trip to the US before heading back to China. My city is also quite far from any interesting/popular US destinations, unfortunately.

 

[Bryanna]

1. He doesn’t have any family or friends in Canada.

2. His UK and Schengen visas expired a year ago. His company doesn’t allow much time off for vacation, so at most he’ll have 7-10 vacation days. Depending on flight times, he could lose up to 3 days due to crossing time zones, leaving him with just 4-7 days for sightseeing. His proposed day-to-day itinerary for my city & surrounding area is already packed with typical tourist activities, so there’s not enough time to squeeze in a worthwhile trip to the US before heading back to China. My city is also quite far from any interesting/popular US destinations, unfortunately.

In that case, his application will raise big questions:
1. Wanting to travel for a vacation of just 7-10 days. Why not another country that's closer to where he is? And, he would be losing vacation days flying across time zones. Again, why Canada?

2. He has no friends/relatives in Canada to support his choice for a vacation. It might help if he has previously vacationed in other visa-required countries where he had no friends/relatives/as a tourist.

3. The city where you live. Why would he vacation there? Tourists tend to choose popular touristy type of destinations

 

[rogue1]

In that case, his application will raise big questions:
1. Wanting to travel for a vacation of just 7-10 days. Why not another country that's closer to where he is? And, he would be losing vacation days flying across time zones. Again, why Canada?

2. He has no friends/relatives in Canada to support his choice for a vacation. It might help if he has previously vacationed in other visa-required countries where he had no friends/relatives/as a tourist.

3. The city where you live. Why would he vacation there? Tourists tend to choose popular touristy type of destinations

1. Yeah. I’ve lost sleep trying to craft a convincing reason for him. Sadly I have no answers. The unused US visa is a big knife in our plans if he goes the pure tourism route (i.e., pretending I don’t exist and just coming to Canada for leisure).

2. He has no family/friends outside of China. His UK visa was for studying abroad. During that time, he got a Schengen visa to go sightseeing in Europe on school breaks. He got his US visa while he was in the UK because he wanted to visit the US before flying back to China, but the timing didn’t work out.

3. I live in Calgary, and the main draw to this city are the nearby mountains and lakes. There are hoards of tourists in the mountains, especially in the summer. Even the banner on this site (https://www.canada.ca/en/immigration-refugees-citizenship/campaigns/canada-china-2018.html) is a Chinese woman standing next to the mountains. (But it’s not compelling enough right? Because the US has mountains too!)


I don’t know why China’s visa office instructions only mention family and not friends. I checked the instructions of other countries and they all have a visiting friend option. I think I can build a strong application if we go the visit family/friends route. But of course, mentioning a GF in his application means tougher scrutiny! Should we just ignore China’s VO instructions and apply online under Visit Family/Friends?

 

[steaky]

1. Yeah. I’ve lost sleep trying to craft a convincing reason for him. Sadly I have no answers. The unused US visa is a big knife in our plans if he goes the pure tourism route (i.e., pretending I don’t exist and just coming to Canada for leisure).

2. He has no family/friends outside of China. His UK visa was for studying abroad. During that time, he got a Schengen visa to go sightseeing in Europe on school breaks. He got his US visa while he was in the UK because he wanted to visit the US before flying back to China, but the timing didn’t work out.

3. I live in Calgary, and the main draw to this city are the nearby mountains and lakes. There are hoards of tourists in the mountains, especially in the summer. Even the banner on this site (https://www.canada.ca/en/immigration-refugees-citizenship/campaigns/canada-china-2018.html) is a Chinese woman standing next to the mountains. (But it’s not compelling enough right? Because the US has mountains too!)


I don’t know why China’s visa office instructions only mention family and not friends. I checked the instructions of other countries and they all have a visiting friend option. I think I can build a strong application if we go the visit family/friends route. But of course, mentioning a GF in his application means tougher scrutiny! Should we just ignore China’s VO instructions and apply online under Visit Family/Friends?

Don't lose hope!

I had a Chinese friend and his family who applied for tourism visa several years ago, came to Vancouver BC, visited us before they joined a local tour to Banff AB. Their visit to Canada was short - about a week total.

Btw, there are tourist attractions in Calgary. What about the stampede? Fort Calgary in downtown? Banff is nearby. To me, Calgary is a shopping destination. Lower sales tax.

 

[Jakev]

Don't lose hope!

I had a Chinese friend and his family who applied for tourism visa several years ago, came to Vancouver BC, visited us before they joined a local tour to Banff AB. Their visit to Canada was short - about a week total.

Btw, there are tourist attractions in Calgary. What about the stampede? Fort Calgary in downtown? Banff is nearby. To me, Calgary is a shopping destination. Lower sales tax.

This is news to me- Calgary stampede is indeed a feast to watch out for

 

[Bryanna]

1. Yeah. I’ve lost sleep trying to craft a convincing reason for him. Sadly I have no answers. The unused US visa is a big knife in our plans if he goes the pure tourism route (i.e., pretending I don’t exist and just coming to Canada for leisure).

2. He has no family/friends outside of China. His UK visa was for studying abroad. During that time, he got a Schengen visa to go sightseeing in Europe on school breaks. He got his US visa while he was in the UK because he wanted to visit the US before flying back to China, but the timing didn’t work out.

3. I live in Calgary, and the main draw to this city are the nearby mountains and lakes. There are hoards of tourists in the mountains, especially in the summer. Even the banner on this site (https://www.canada.ca/en/immigration-refugees-citizenship/campaigns/canada-china-2018.html) is a Chinese woman standing next to the mountains. (But it’s not compelling enough right? Because the US has mountains too!)


I don’t know why China’s visa office instructions only mention family and not friends. I checked the instructions of other countries and they all have a visiting friend option. I think I can build a strong application if we go the visit family/friends route. But of course, mentioning a GF in his application means tougher scrutiny! Should we just ignore China’s VO instructions and apply online under Visit Family/Friends?

IMO, it would help if he could work out a trip where he could use his US visa even if the US visit is for just a couple of days, maybe for work reasons or sightseeing/meet friends.

His trip itinerary could be: China >> Canada >> US >> China

He would also need to focus on proving he has strong ties to China (which he does) + include a Travel History explanation (scanned visas, previous entry/exit dates and purpose of each visit).

He is eligible to apply for CAN+ processing if his US visa is valid

 

[Jakev]

IMO, it would help if he could work out a trip where he could use his US visa even if the US visit is for just a couple of days, maybe for work reasons or sightseeing/meet friends.

His trip itinerary could be: China >> Canada >> US >> China

He would also need to focus on proving he has strong ties to China (which he does) + include a Travel History explanation (scanned visas, previous entry/exit dates and purpose of each visit).

He is eligible to apply for CAN+ processing if his US visa is valid

Love the suggested workarounds that you provide applicants to ensure better business outcomes. Kudos to you for doing this !

 

[steaky]

IMO, it would help if he could work out a trip where he could use his US visa even if the US visit is for just a couple of days, maybe for work reasons or sightseeing/meet friends.

His trip itinerary could be: China >> Canada >> US >> China

He would also need to focus on proving he has strong ties to China (which he does) + include a Travel History explanation (scanned visas, previous entry/exit dates and purpose of each visit).

He is eligible to apply for CAN+ processing if his US visa is valid

Could also be:

1) China ->Canada -> US -> Canada -> US -> Canada -> China; and
2) China ->Canada -> US -> Canada -> China

 

[Bryanna]

Could also be:

1) China ->Canada -> US -> Canada -> US -> Canada -> China; and
2) China ->Canada -> US -> Canada -> China

Yeah.... more permutations and combinations

 

[rogue1]

Big thank you to Steaky and Bryanna for the helpful advice! And my apologies for the late reply, work has kept me busy.

 

[rogue1]

Don't lose hope!

I had a Chinese friend and his family who applied for tourism visa several years ago, came to Vancouver BC, visited us before they joined a local tour to Banff AB. Their visit to Canada was short - about a week total.

Btw, there are tourist attractions in Calgary. What about the stampede? Fort Calgary in downtown? Banff is nearby. To me, Calgary is a shopping destination. Lower sales tax.

Yup! Got Banff and the Stampede in the itinerary, those are a must!

And thanks for your personal story! I love reading about other’s visa experiences, it keeps me hopeful!

Hmm… perhaps your friend had an easy time obtaining a visa because he travelled with family (whereas my BF will be travelling as an individual). They also joined a local tour and if that was preplanned, the tour documents would have been very helpful for their application. My BF though, he’ll be exploring on his own.