common-law partner DELETED from my FSW application by Visa Office

[toliko]

Hello fellow-forumers,

I've got bad news from the Canadian Embassy in Poland. My application and that of my common-law partner was processed by CIO in December 2011. Then the documents were transferred to the Canadian Embassy in Poland for processing (letter of acknowledgement dated Jan 3rd, 2012). Two weeks later I was told to provide additional documents/clarification regarding our common-law relatioship as the visa officer was not satisfied with the information provided. As we live in a third-world country, my same-sex partner and I can't produce any legal documents. The embassy informed us a few years back that we can produce other docs to prove our relationship (letters of acknowledgement from family and friends, etc). It states the same on the CIC site.

We've done that (7 letters of acknowledgement, numerous post, medical policies, etc). The embassy also informed us that they give us 30 days. I sent them docs by FedEx two weeks after the letter.

They went through my file and said again that they are not satisfied and now removed my partner from my application (10 days before the 30-day period was over). I also sent more documents to them (before the 30 days ran out, which is this Friday) but no response. I emailed them asking why the heck they made a decision BEFORE 30-day period lapsed, and no answer.

AND they sent me the medical forms TODAY, and they are for me only (as re-confirmed with the embassy).

Could anyone pls advise on what to do?!!!
It seems like they do whatever they want and are not held accountable.

 

[Tim Hunter]

Probably they didn't like u 2 being together.

 

[thebeast184]

I would advice to hire an attorney or a god consultant for immigration. May I ask you what type of proofs did you submit? Bank Statements? Mail addressed to both at the same location? Photos of trips together? Also, this website provides great information for same sex couples

http://www.legit.ca/

Rod

Hello fellow-forumers,

I've got bad news from the Canadian Embassy in Poland. My application and that of my common-law partner was processed by CIO in December 2011. Then the documents were transferred to the Canadian Embassy in Poland for processing (letter of acknowledgement dated Jan 3rd, 2012). Two weeks later I was told to provide additional documents/clarification regarding our common-law relatioship as the visa officer was not satisfied with the information provided. As we live in a third-world country, my same-sex partner and I can't produce any legal documents. The embassy informed us a few years back that we can produce other docs to prove our relationship (letters of acknowledgement from family and friends, etc). It states the same on the CIC site.

We've done that (7 letters of acknowledgement, numerous post, medical policies, etc). The embassy also informed us that they give us 30 days. I sent them docs by FedEx two weeks after the letter.

They went through my file and said again that they are not satisfied and now removed my partner from my application (10 days before the 30-day period was over). I also sent more documents to them (before the 30 days ran out, which is this Friday) but no response. I emailed them asking why the heck they made a decision BEFORE 30-day period lapsed, and no answer.

AND they sent me the medical forms TODAY, and they are for me only (as re-confirmed with the embassy).

Could anyone pls advise on what to do?!!!
It seems like they do whatever they want and are not held accountable.

 

[computergeek]

Poland is a Visa Exempt country according to the CIC website (http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/visit/visas.asp#exemptions). So, unless there is some reason your partner cannot visit Canada, I'd say just go ahead with your medical.

Get your permanent residency.

Have your partner come for a visit to Canada, and then while together decide to get married - and DO it. Now you can file for spousal sponsorship (can do it inland at that point, so your partner can stay, applying to extend visitor status while the application is being approved.)

It's annoying, but it's a potential path forward. CIC cannot argue you didn't disclose your partner in your initial application - you did. THEY are the ones who said it wasn't enough. Well, a marriage certificate should be enough, especially given that this is an ongoing relationship.

 

[toliko]

Hello guys,
The thing is that I am a citizen of Belarus and my partner is a citizen of Russia. The Warsaw embassy is the one processing applications for the residents of Belarus. Thus, I specified this embassy as the one to send my application form for processing.
I've been residing in Russia since my return from the UK in 2007. As this is the country that does not acknowledge same-sex relationships there is nothing we can provide in terms of legal documents, as we can't open the bank account in both names (plus, we are residents of different countries) and it would be impossible to rent out an apartment in both names too.. as most of the people are homophobic.
But what we did provide were the letters of acknowledgement from the family and friends, photos, correspondence to confirm we've lived at the same address, postcards sent to us both by our family and friends in the past 4 years, medical insurance slips for our trips (in both names), travel itineraries for our previous travels (to show we've booked double rooms everytime we traveled).
When the embassy first said they needed additional information, i provided a letter of acknowledgement from my mother. We didn't include any letters of acknowledgment from my family first time, as i didn't want my family to know i am immigrating before it's all done. The first batch of letters of acknowledgment included 3 letters from my friends who i have been friends with for 10 years. As well as the letter from us both.
The embassy gave us 30 days to provide additional docs. We provided them within 2 wks. Within two days they reviewed my application and said NO, not satisfied.
I then sent them email and fax to tell them they made a premature decision as 30 days period hadnt lapsed and secondly i never said i would not provide any more documents. After a week of emailing them and getting standard responses that "please refer to our email dated"... I got a response to them saying that yes, i can still send them additional information if i wish to within the 30 days period.
I faxed them another two letters of acknowledgement from my twin-brother + his wife and my sister. and since then no response at all from their side.
I emailed them on Monday (27 Feb) to ask if they went through my file again (30 days period lapsed on 18 Feb) as since they issued the medical form for me only i have 30 days to undergo medical checks. I advised them that i hadn't booked doctors appointments yet as they advise that family member should undergo medical checks jointly. No response.
I tried calling them they don't answer the phones.
Will try calling them next Monday...

 

[toliko]

FYI for some reason, I am not allowed to send personal messages here.... strange

 

[Sanam Pao]

Poland is a Visa Exempt country according to the CIC website (http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/visit/visas.asp#exemptions). So, unless there is some reason your partner cannot visit Canada, I'd say just go ahead with your medical.

Get your permanent residency.

Have your partner come for a visit to Canada, and then while together decide to get married - and DO it. Now you can file for spousal sponsorship (can do it inland at that point, so your partner can stay, applying to extend visitor status while the application is being approved.)

It's annoying, but it's a potential path forward. CIC cannot argue you didn't disclose your partner in your initial application - you did. THEY are the ones who said it wasn't enough. Well, a marriage certificate should be enough, especially given that this is an ongoing relationship.

+1 for constructive thinking.

@toliko, you need 10(or is it 15) posts to enable sending PMs.

 

[toliko]

Cheers, Sanam Pao!
To the post you've cited, my partner will require the visa to Canada, as he's a resident of Russia. Thus we are quite weary of whether they will give him a visa at all, if I am successful and move to Canada..

 

[scylla]

FYI for some reason, I am not allowed to send personal messages here.... strange

You don't have enough posts on the forum yet.

 

[computergeek]

Not being visa exempt does make it a bit more challenging. I don't know your financial circumstances, either, but certainly one option is to hire an attorney experienced in conjugal relationship filings (not all attorneys will be familiar with same).

Of course, in the interim, the key here is to get your partner into Canada legitimately. Once in Canada, you can marry and file for sponsorship. Has your partner ever obtained a TRV for Canada previously? If so, obtaining another is likely to be fairly straight-forward (since there is already an established record of behaving properly.) The downside here is that you have to show ongoing ties to home (since they don't want you to "visit" Canada, and not leave, which is of course what you're trying to accomplish here.)

For about the same cost as a good lawyer, your partner could go to language school in Canada. While not necessary if you're coming for less than 6 months of study, student visas are not that difficult to obtain, and coming to Canada to improve English and/or French skills is perfectly reasonable/normal. That justifies a longer TRV period anyway, giving you plenty of time to get this all settled.

Once in Canada, you can marry and apply for inland spousal sponsorship.

The key here is to get your partner into Canada legitimately. Once you have your PR, a marriage to your partner makes the sponsored application process much simpler.

I don't suppose you can both take a vacation to Canada? Again, go on Vacation, get married, then submit that back to the visa office. That's a "change in status" and they'd have to reconsider your partner (ah, but look! they already have your partner's paperwork!)

Or travel to a European country with same-sex marriage and get married. Again, adding that document to your file is likely all it will take to push through the visa office's reluctance in your case.

I'm suggesting these other alternatives largely because hiring a lawyer in a case like this is going to cost as much as doing these things, and frankly has a longer time frame and lower likelihood of success (I would know. I'm in the middle of appealing my first rejection in the skilled worker category - filed the formal application two days ago - and simultaneously preparing together a new spousal sponsorship application. Legal costs so far $12k. 32 months into this process and it looks like completion via either path is at least 18 months out.)

 

[toliko]

Hi computergeek! thank you for your detailed response and help. Sorry to hear about all that you are going through with your application. I hope everything will work out for you fine and this will be all over once and for all.

regarding getting married ... impossible in the EU as one of us has to be a EU resident...
We did think about getting married in Canada.. but never got to it, even though are engaged to be married... planned it when moved to Canada. We both now got new jobs thus can't take any time off

thought about hiring an attorney, but i don't see much help from their side as there's nothing else we can provide documents-wise. My friend who introduced me to my partner in 2007 works for Irish ministry of international affairs and was a friend of late Sean O’ Sullivan - Canadian MP - groomed to be the PM - and he (my friend) wrote a letter of acknowledgement of our relationship. seems like it didn't count either... i.e. a letter from a person, I wouldn't doubt the sincerety of.
I'll see what the next week brings and will keep you posted on what's happening... still hopeful (and naive i come to think)

 

[computergeek]

Then worst case, take your own PR, move to Canada, and then figure out a way to get your partner to Canada. Or the US (where there are now a half-dozen US states that allow same-sex marriage and none have residency requirements.) In either case, having that extra bit of paper may be the best route.

If you choose to challenge the decision of CIC in your case, (assuming they don't reverse themselves) you'll need an attorney. Going to federal court on your own is not a particularly viable course of action. Federal Court is a low yield approach though (I put the odds of success via this course at less than 10%, since about 20-25% of all applications for review are accepted, and less than 50% of those have positive results for the applicant.)

Hmm, I assume your partner won't qualify for FSW independent of you? Otherwise, I suppose your partner could try that route as well.

Have you ordered your CAIPS/GSSM notes? If not, I'd strongly recommend doing so. Since you aren't in Canada, you have to have someone else order them for you, but that will give you a copy of the computer case notes and would provide some insight into what the visa officer is doing.

 

[toliko]

Hi computergeek.
Thanks once again for your ideas. I finally got some sort of response from the embassy on whether they have re-considered their decision. They wrote "You will be advised as soon as the decision is rendered". So I guess I have to wait till they get back to me. I am not sure now if I have to go ahead with the medical checks or wait for their decision. I think I am going to wait coz they may be reconsidering the whole immigration file all together...
My partner does not qualify to immigrate on his own, unfortunately.
How do you order those notes? I presume I need to have an official response (refusal) from them in order to initiate the process?
thanku

 

[ezinne]

You said u dt hv documents to show
What about pictures
Items or goods you bought together
Bills like rent water etc you paid together
Credit card u used together
Bank accounts u shared together. Even if you never shared it together am sure she or u would hv withdrawn money from each others account at one point
Hospital bills etc common

Its nt late u can still submit all these
If you need a good lawyer use David cohen

0091-888-947-9445

 

[computergeek]

I would suggest getting your medicals anyway. If they are willing to grant you the visa on your own (which it sounds like they are) then their decision regarding your partner won't impact on that decision.

CAIPS/GSSM notes may be ordered at any point in time during the process. I recall reading a post by someone who requested their notes every five WEEKS throughout the process, so they could track the status of their file. I waited until they had rejected my first application to do so (and realized they'd not even recorded receiving some of the documents that I had sent to them.) I won't make that mistake again (we submitted a new application yesterday, this time in family class, since my spouse is a Canadian Citizen, and the grounds they used to reject my initial application are not a factor for spousal sponsored applications.) As soon as I have a tracking number I will order my notes and keep ordering them until the process is done.

See: http://www.canadavisa.com/canada-immigration-discussion-board/-t11124.0.html for a thread on how to order notes. However, you need to have someone in Canada who can receive them. There are services that will order your CAIPS notes for you as well, although there is an additional fee involved for that. For a fee they will also interpret them for you (they are a bit cryptic) although that information is also available online (including this forum.)

I found several services via a web search. I've used one of them (http://www.caips.ca/index.shtml) although since I'm in Canada, I will simply order them on my own in the future.

Good luck!