Applying for visitor visa (extended family) for my girlfriend

[Worldapart]

Hello Everyone,

This could be a long post, and I’m aware that all of our time is valuable, so I’ve written a TLDR at the end of the post for those with limited time.

Government of Canada has recently announced visitor visa for couples (extended family) who have been in exclusive relationship for more than a year.

My girlfriend (Russian) and I (Canadian PR) have been in relationship for almost 2 years now, and it’s been extremely difficult for both of us, as we haven’t been able to see each other for almost a year (and will likely be more), due to COVID-19.

We met when I was working in Russia, and we were together physically for 6 months before my visa expired and I had to return to Canada.

Due to my busy work schedule in Canada, we decided to apply for a visitor visa to Canada for her, but she was denied twice, which I’m assuming, was due to her being a full time student at that time.

She now works full time as a high school teacher, and we want to apply for her visitor visa again because

1. to spend time in person
2. to introduce her to my parents

I’ve already met her side of the family, and my parents already know of her, but haven’t met her yet due to visa issue.

Neither of us plan on remaining on a long distance relationship, and we do want to marry each other. We have considered moving to another country together to start new life, but I‘d prefer us to stay in Canada for now, as I have a good salary, and thus be able to comfortably support our life financially, even if she doesn’t work.

So my question is, will her visa acceptance rate get compromised due to her past 2 refusal by the immigration office?

and if so, would marrying her in another country and filing for spousal visa be a better option?

thank you all in advance for all your help!

TLDR; I want to invite my girlfriend (Russian) of 2 years to Canada under visitor visa, but she was refused twice. What are the chances she could get the visitor visa? And if refused, should I marry her and file for spousal visa instead?

 

[steaky]

For a spousal visa, that's mean you and her would need to register somewhere (unless her Canadian visitor visa is approved)?

 

[scylla]

Hello Everyone,

This could be a long post, and I’m aware that all of our time is valuable, so I’ve written a TLDR at the end of the post for those with limited time.

Government of Canada has recently announced visitor visa for couples (extended family) who have been in exclusive relationship for more than a year.

My girlfriend (Russian) and I (Canadian PR) have been in relationship for almost 2 years now, and it’s been extremely difficult for both of us, as we haven’t been able to see each other for almost a year (and will likely be more), due to COVID-19.

We met when I was working in Russia, and we were together physically for 6 months before my visa expired and I had to return to Canada.

Due to my busy work schedule in Canada, we decided to apply for a visitor visa to Canada for her, but she was denied twice, which I’m assuming, was due to her being a full time student at that time.

She now works full time as a high school teacher, and we want to apply for her visitor visa again because

1. to spend time in person
2. to introduce her to my parents

I’ve already met her side of the family, and my parents already know of her, but haven’t met her yet due to visa issue.

Neither of us plan on remaining on a long distance relationship, and we do want to marry each other. We have considered moving to another country together to start new life, but I‘d prefer us to stay in Canada for now, as I have a good salary, and thus be able to comfortably support our life financially, even if she doesn’t work.

So my question is, will her visa acceptance rate get compromised due to her past 2 refusal by the immigration office?

and if so, would marrying her in another country and filing for spousal visa be a better option?

thank you all in advance for all your help!

TLDR; I want to invite my girlfriend (Russian) of 2 years to Canada under visitor visa, but she was refused twice. What are the chances she could get the visitor visa? And if refused, should I marry her and file for spousal visa instead?

If she already has two refusals then a third refusal is very likely unless she is able to overcome the reasons for the two previous refusals through strong evidence / demonstrating strong ties to her home country.

Canada hasn't actually announced a new visitor visa. When they have done is implemented an exception to situations such as yours where the visitor would have previously been not been allowed to travel to Canada (even with an approved TRV) due to COVID-19 related travel restrictions.

She can certainly try applying again if you want to give it a third go. I would recommend she place as much focus as possible on evidence of ties to her home country (e.g. proof of employment, proof of property ownership / rental, proof of other assets). She should also show she has sufficient funds to pay for the trip on her own (vs. you funding her trip). Stronger profile if she pays for everything herself.

It's hard to advise if applying for a thrid time is a good idea or not. Having multiple TRV refusals can impact a later spousal sponsorship application. Having said that, these are unusual times so maybe it's worth another try. I would plan for the fact there's a high chance of refusal again. Good luck.

 

[Buletruck]

Just to add, while there are exceptions to travel, the requirements to obtain a TRV remain the same as they were prior to Covid. There are no special exceptions based on your relationship.

 

[Worldapart]

For a spousal visa, that's mean you and her would need to register somewhere (unless her Canadian visitor visa is approved)?

It would mean that we’d need to marry somewhere outside of Canada, and then I’ll need to apply for spousal visa once we are married.

 

[Worldapart]

If she already has two refusals then a third refusal is very likely unless she is able to overcome the reasons for the two previous refusals through strong evidence / demonstrating strong ties to her home country.

Canada hasn't actually announced a new visitor visa. When they have done is implemented an exception to situations such as yours where the visitor would have previously been not been allowed to travel to Canada (even with an approved TRV) due to COVID-19 related travel restrictions.

She can certainly try applying again if you want to give it a third go. I would recommend she place as much focus as possible on evidence of ties to her home country (e.g. proof of employment, proof of property ownership / rental, proof of other assets). She should also show she has sufficient funds to pay for the trip on her own (vs. you funding her trip). Stronger profile if she pays for everything herself.

It's hard to advise if applying for a thrid time is a good idea or not. Having multiple TRV refusals can impact a later spousal sponsorship application. Having said that, these are unusual times so maybe it's worth another try. I would plan for the fact there's a high chance of refusal again. Good luck.

Thank you so much for taking your time to reply. She can certainly obtain a employment letter without a problem, but being 24, I don’t think she really own anything as of yet..

As for finance, I’m understanding that she needs to have enough funds for her stay, without any financial help from me? (Meaning I cant write a letter assuring that I will take full responsibility for her during her stay).

At the end of the day we just want to be together. Neither of us really care where, but with me being a PR, I can only stay outside of Canada for no more than 3 years...

Do you have any advice as to what course of action we should take?

 

[scylla]

Thank you so much for taking your time to reply. She can certainly obtain a employment letter without a problem, but being 24, I don’t think she really own anything as of yet..

As for finance, I’m understanding that she needs to have enough funds for her stay, without any financial help from me? (Meaning I cant write a letter assuring that I will take full responsibility for her during her stay).

At the end of the day we just want to be together. Neither of us really care where, but with me being a PR, I can only stay outside of Canada for no more than 3 years...

Do you have any advice as to what course of action we should take?

You can show that you have funds to support her stay as well and you can certainly write the letter. However it will give much more weight to the application if she shows she has sufficient funds.

Focus needs to be on her showing ties to her home country to prove she is only coming to Canada as a visitor. The more you provide which shows her connection to you and to Canada, the higher the chance IRCC will think that she plans to use the visa to come to Canada, get married here and then be sponsored inland (i.e. intentions really aren't those of a visitor). They may already suspect this give the two previous refusals.

Ultimately up to you what you do. If you end up applying for the TRV and it's refused, then you'll need to get married somewhere outside of Canada and then sponsor her for PR. Be aware this process generally takes a year (slower now) and you must be living in Canada while the application is process.

 

[Worldapart]

You can show that you have funds to support her stay as well and you can certainly write the letter. However it will give much more weight to the application if she shows she has sufficient funds.

Focus needs to be on her showing ties to her home country to prove she is only coming to Canada as a visitor. The more you provide which shows her connection to you and to Canada, the higher the chance IRCC will think that she plans to use the visa to come to Canada, get married here and then be sponsored inland (i.e. intentions really aren't those of a visitor). They may already suspect this give the two previous refusals.

Ultimately up to you what you do. If you end up applying for the TRV and it's refused, then you'll need to get married somewhere outside of Canada and then sponsor her for PR. Be aware this process generally takes a year (slower now) and you must be living in Canada while the application is process.

I cannot thank you enough for your help, and it is certainly very insightful.

Something I can’t quite wrap my head around is that if someone’s in a serious relationship, you’d think that the normal course of event would be a marriage (naturally this would mean an immigration to Canada in my situation), but the government doesn’t seem to want this to happen?

I feel like CIC always sees the invitation of foreign partner to Canada in a negative light, and I’m not sure how we are supposed to get past this stigma..

I do want to marry this girl simply because I love her dearly, and our relationship is sincere. We are open about our relationship and both side’s family acknowledges the relationship, but it just feels like we have to climb an Everest just to be together...

 

[canuck78]

I cannot thank you enough for your help, and it is certainly very insightful.

Something I can’t quite wrap my head around is that if someone’s in a serious relationship, you’d think that the normal course of event would be a marriage (naturally this would mean an immigration to Canada in my situation), but the government doesn’t seem to want this to happen?

I feel like CIC always sees the invitation of foreign partner to Canada in a negative light, and I’m not sure how we are supposed to get past this stigma..

I do want to marry this girl simply because I love her dearly, and our relationship is sincere. We are open about our relationship and both side’s family acknowledges the relationship, but it just feels like we have to climb an Everest just to be together...

It is very hard to deport people from Canada so getting a visa to visit Canada can be very difficult to get. There is also still quite a bit of immigration fraud so Canada only wants to admit spouses they are sure are in a genuine relationship. Many spouses would not qualify for health coverage before receiving PR and many get pregnant soon after marriage but would not have provincial healthcare creating issues because many people can't afford to pay out of pocket for care . As a school teacher, applying for travel during the school year would be a red flag especially if you have to factor in a 1 day quarantine period. any visit requests should coincide with long school holidays. There are also no spouse visas just a normal TRV. It is actually harder to get a TRV after you get married to a Canadian PR or citizen. If you got married you'd need to return to Canada and sponsor her for PR.

 

[scylla]

I cannot thank you enough for your help, and it is certainly very insightful.

Something I can’t quite wrap my head around is that if someone’s in a serious relationship, you’d think that the normal course of event would be a marriage (naturally this would mean an immigration to Canada in my situation), but the government doesn’t seem to want this to happen?

I feel like CIC always sees the invitation of foreign partner to Canada in a negative light, and I’m not sure how we are supposed to get past this stigma..

I do want to marry this girl simply because I love her dearly, and our relationship is sincere. We are open about our relationship and both side’s family acknowledges the relationship, but it just feels like we have to climb an Everest just to be together...

This is the process because too many people with profiles similar to your fiance have absued their TRV privileges in the past.

That's the simple answer.

 

[Worldapart]

This is the process because too many people with profiles similar to your fiance have absued their TRV privileges in the past.

That's the simple answer.

Yes, I do hear that there are lot of cases of marriage fraud... Really ruined it for people who actually have a genuine relationship.

 

[Worldapart]

It is very hard to deport people from Canada so getting a visa to visit Canada can be very difficult to get. There is also still quite a bit of immigration fraud so Canada only wants to admit spouses they are sure are in a genuine relationship. Many spouses would not qualify for health coverage before receiving PR and many get pregnant soon after marriage but would not have provincial healthcare creating issues because many people can't afford to pay out of pocket for care . As a school teacher, applying for travel during the school year would be a red flag especially if you have to factor in a 1 day quarantine period. any visit requests should coincide with long school holidays. There are also no spouse visas just a normal TRV. It is actually harder to get a TRV after you get married to a Canadian PR or citizen. If you got married you'd need to return to Canada and sponsor her for PR.

Really appreciate your advice here, it’s very helpful. Is it mandatory that I return to Canada to sponsor her visa? Would I be able to file it outside of Canada, or stay with her in another country while we wait for the visa to process? (If I need to remain in Canada after filing for the visa I mean)

 

[maryms23]

Hello Everyone,

This could be a long post, and I’m aware that all of our time is valuable, so I’ve written a TLDR at the end of the post for those with limited time.

Government of Canada has recently announced visitor visa for couples (extended family) who have been in exclusive relationship for more than a year.

My girlfriend (Russian) and I (Canadian PR) have been in relationship for almost 2 years now, and it’s been extremely difficult for both of us, as we haven’t been able to see each other for almost a year (and will likely be more), due to COVID-19.

We met when I was working in Russia, and we were together physically for 6 months before my visa expired and I had to return to Canada.

Due to my busy work schedule in Canada, we decided to apply for a visitor visa to Canada for her, but she was denied twice, which I’m assuming, was due to her being a full time student at that time.

She now works full time as a high school teacher, and we want to apply for her visitor visa again because

1. to spend time in person
2. to introduce her to my parents

I’ve already met her side of the family, and my parents already know of her, but haven’t met her yet due to visa issue.

Neither of us plan on remaining on a long distance relationship, and we do want to marry each other. We have considered moving to another country together to start new life, but I‘d prefer us to stay in Canada for now, as I have a good salary, and thus be able to comfortably support our life financially, even if she doesn’t work.

So my question is, will her visa acceptance rate get compromised due to her past 2 refusal by the immigration office?

and if so, would marrying her in another country and filing for spousal visa be a better option?

thank you all in advance for all your help!

TLDR; I want to invite my girlfriend (Russian) of 2 years to Canada under visitor visa, but she was refused twice. What are the chances she could get the visitor visa? And if refused, should I marry her and file for spousal visa instead?

Hi. I previously had 2 declined TRVs as well. And at that time reason for rejection was insufficient travel history (which was not true because it was evident on my passport that i travel 3-4x a year back & forth across USA and Europe) but for some reason they deemed that not enough. For both instances reason was the same. Eventually, I applied for PR and in 6 months it got approved. So I’m not entirely sure what the relevance or correlation of previously declined visa applications are but as long as you state that in the PR application you should be good and of course provide the necessary documents. I saw a post in a thread earlier that someone was banned for 5 years because of failing to include previous visa refusals. Now that your girlfriend’s situation has changed and she’s now working that should show strong ties to her country, hopefully you get approve on your next go.