Case Assessment, preparing for TRV application

[PerpetualTraveler]

Good afternoon fellow CanadaVisaers, I'm on the verge of applying for a TRV visa for my Thai wife to come to Canada for Christmas. I understand that I have pretty much 1 chance of making it right, so I want to make it right the first time and I'm planning on applying for her at the end of next week. By what I've read, it is extremely hard for Thai ladies to get a TRV visa to Canada. She's 31 and I'm 26. We have gathered the following documents:

- Completed application forms
- 6 months of Thai bank statements, showing a balance of CAD $250,000 in her account
- Proof of house and 2016 BMW ownership
- Return flight tickets (total trip duration is 1 month)
- Signed invitation letters + passport copies from me and both of my parents + pictures with everyone together in Bangkok
- Private medical insurance
- Proofs of previous travels to Japan, Singapore, and other countries around Thailand
- Cover letter. a.k.a. "letter of intent"

Strong points:
- I mentioned that she has no debt of any kind, and that her house and BMW are completely loan-free.
- I plan on returning to Thailand after the trip as well. Our return flight is together. I studied Thai language for 10 months in Bangkok last year.
- Comes from a complete family with married parents and no step children

Points that I believe to be weak:
- Her employment letter mentions a monthly salary of CAD $1,000, but her bank account shows CAD $250,000, due to most of the money coming from my online trading. Might be hard to explain to the embassy.
- Her employment letter says "temporary worker", but she's been with the company for 5 years but works one contract at a time. We explained that in the cover letter.
- She has no kids in her home country, which shows less "ties" (no pun intended). In fact, she never had a boyfriend before me.

I also ordered a copy of my full file at immigration / CBSA using the Privacy Act, and there doesn't seem to be anything adverse. She has no file in the GCMS system either.

Is there any area of concern that you see with this application, or any change that I should make?

 

[scylla]

I would personally recommend a trip duration of 2-3 weeks rather than a month.

I agree the very high bank balance may concern CIC given she only makes $1K monthly.

Also agree the "temporary worker" bit in the employer letter isn't great. Does the letter indicate that they know she is leaving on vacation and when she will return - or does it just confirm her employment? Does the letter indicate how long she has been working for them?

 

[PerpetualTraveler]

We'll try to shorten it to 3 weeks - I booked a cheap fully-refundable economy flight, which I'll cancel upon approval and book a proper flight. We have no intention of overstaying as we want to avoid problems in the future.

The letter doesn't mention the 5-year duration, nor the vacation allowance, but considering that this is Thailand, this can probably be arranged with a small "tip".

If CIC asks, I have screenshots of her online trading (it's under her name), so we might have a plausible explanation.

 

[Bryanna]

IMO, the concern points are:
1. The bank balance of CAD 250,000 (none of it re-invested) + a house and BMW (loan-free).... on a salary of CAD 1,000. IMO, you must explain it.

2. Is the online trading registered?

3. Is this a joint bank account with yourself?

4. You may want to get her employer to explain her employment situation on company stationery.... instead of an explanation from yourselves.

5. Only Japan will count as travel history

6. Does she pay taxes? Can she include tax returns for the last 2 years (this could support her claims for the high bank balance)?

If CIC asks, I have screenshots of her online trading (it's under her name)

CIC will not ask for evidence. You must include it when you apply

 

[PerpetualTraveler]

1) Part of the money has been used to purchase the house and the car but there remains a large chunk there. However the account shows activity and gradual accumulation over a long period, and isn't just one large "lump sum" deposited before the application.

2) Yes, it is a fully legal recognized entity that complies with AML / CTF standards and require ID / source of funds verification.

3) No it isn't

4) We'll try our best for that - in case we aren't able to, we'll use the cover letter for that

5) All right. It was a 7-day stay and we have pictures if required

6) She does - however online trading including Forex, cryptocurrencies, and binary options isn't taxable income in Thailand. The laws are pretty lax regarfing that, but she's only paying tax on her salary. We have the returns to show that.

 

[Bryanna]

1) Part of the money has been used to purchase the house and the car but there remains a large chunk there. However the account shows activity and gradual accumulation over a long period, and isn't just one large "lump sum" deposited before the application.

It would help to explain that the bank balance + high-value purchases are from income earned through online trading with evidence.... although there are no taxes on the capital gains.

Her employment is a good reason to return (she can work remotely for the online trading). You may want to include a leave approval letter stating she will have her job when she returns + 6 months pay stubs + 2 years tax returns (salary income) + an explanation from her employer about her employment situation and tenure

 

[PerpetualTraveler]

All right, for the employment letter, we'll try to get that, I perfectly agree that it might be required. They don't actually give "pay stubs" but there are monthly incoming transfers in the bank account that clearly match what's on the employment letter, which is the standard way of doing things in Thailand. We have the tax returns from the past years too.

Shall we include all trade screenshots & evidence, which may span nearly 40 pages, or just a paragraph of explanation on the cover letter? Just wondering whether they normally just want to see a proof of sufficient financial resources (best scenario), or if they really dig into that? We can provide all necessary proofs but I'm afraid that it'll be a huge brick that will draw attention out of the key points of the visa application, cause a headache to the agent, causing a denial...

 

[Bryanna]

Shall we include all trade screenshots & evidence, which may span nearly 40 pages, or just a paragraph of explanation on the cover letter?

Just a few key screenshots (recent and old trading) + the explanation + proofs of registration for online trading.

In the case of your wife, it is necessary to explain the online trading + high bank balance as it does not match her salary.

Just wondering whether they normally just want to see a proof of sufficient financial resources (best scenario), or if they really dig into that?

The visa officer would like to see that she can afford her trip (including airfare) based on her salary and declared sources of income. Hence, financial documents and available funds for the visit must match.

Generally speaking, a good financial situation also means someone is not likely to work illegally as a visitor

 

[PerpetualTraveler]

That's some solid advice, thanks. If anyone has additional tricks, feel free to chime in. We'll submit the application at the end of next week and I'll update this thread with the result.

 

[PerpetualTraveler]

Two more questions that came in my mind today:

1) Can obtaining a Chinese visa + booking a trip to China in late January add credibility to the cause, since the VO will see that she got a visa and has plans outside Canada at the end of her stay? We can get a visa in 24 hours here.

2) I just remembered that 4 months ago, she tried to apply online for a e-Visa for Antigua & Barbuda but hit submit without having uploaded all the required documents online, which quickly caused a denial. Should this be mentioned on the application, or are the 2 systems not (yet) linked together?

 

[Bryanna]

1. You may want to consider applying for a UK/ Schengen/ Australia visitor visa instead of a Chinese visa

2. Yes, she must declare any previous visa refusals/ entry denied.... for any country (if applicable) in the TRV application form

 

[PerpetualTraveler]

Will consider this. Are 6-month bank statements sufficient to prove funds?

 

[Bryanna]

Yes, 6-months' bank statements (any large deposits must be explained).

You can also include foreign currency purchase receipts (if purchased from a government recognized dealer), bank drafts, etc.

If she has credit cards then do include 2-3 months statements (this will prove she is creditworthy)

 

[PerpetualTraveler]

All right. We added:

- Letter from direct supervisor allowing vacation
- Plane ticket with total trip of 22 days
- Letter from her parents stating that they are retired and need her financial support

 

[Bryanna]

Letter from her parents stating that they are retired and need her financial support

A letter from her parents will not work.

Has she done any bank transfers to her parents' bank account? Does she pay for the house expenses? And can she include evidence to confirm this?