Many of the forms (I was going to say all the forms but hesitate to say that since I have not studied all the forms) are very badly drafted and it is a disgrace that CIC causes so much difficulty to honest applicants who want to give correct information. Filling up an application form should not be an exercise in ingenuity. Perhaps it is time that a draftsman from CIC joined this forum (identifying himself as such) in order to learn about the defects and the hassle this causes to so many people. Issues I have come across include the following:
(1) Application to sponsor: IMM1344. Boxes 2 and 9 will not expand to accommodate more than one previous marriage. Although it is clear that one can apply to sponsor a common law partner even if still married to another, box 9 only asks for details of a 'previous spouse'. It even asks for the end date without allowing the sponsor to write in 'the present'. Under sponsor contact information on the second page the sponsor cannot fill the address section in box 2 if he lives in the countryside with only a house name and no street number, common enough in the UK.
(2) Sponsor questionnaire IMM 5540. Box 14 What on earth is the point of asking which close friends or family your partner has met without asking for their contact details? Box 17: 'have you ever been married..? Same point as in Box 9 of IMM 1344
(3) IMM 0008 Generic Application. Box 3 causes a lot of difficulty. It would be so simple to make it clear either in the form or the guide that a Canadian family member is not counted in the total. Box 14 same point as before: 'previously been married'. Contact Information Box 1: same point as before. I had to enter the name of my house and of the village under street name because there was no other way to do it. Ditto Box 2: impossible to complete correctly save by typing in the name of the house under street name or writing it in.
(4) IMM 5669 Background declaration. Box 9 (organizations etc). There are no time limits: it contains a whole of life request. So they want to know about wolf cubs, boy scouts (or female equivalents) Sunday school, primary school football team and other potentially subversive organizations! Box 11. As it happens my National Service in the army was nearly 60 years ago. I no longer have any idea of the unit numbers of the various regiments I was in and if I ever knew the names of the commanding officers I have long since forgotten them.. No ex soldier ever forgets his army number but CIC does not ask for that!
(5) IMM 5406 (additional family information.) See Ponga's issue with this form in his post above, dated 18 December. The guide to completing IMM0008 and 5669 does not mention the form at all: the instructions appear in the guide IMM 3998 (sponsorship of adopted children and other relatives) which most applicants would not need to read; but anyway it is not all that helpful; in particular it does not cover Ponga's point.
(6) IMM 5490 (questionnaire). Question 10 Did your sponsor meet..close friends or family. What on earth is the point of this without contact details, which are not requested. Questions 24 and 25 are impossible to answer if sponsor and applicant live together. It is a toss-up whether the correct answer is yes or no. Box 28 does not enable you to write in 'the present', though Box 29 enables you to get around that problem by answering yes.
(7) Appendix A checklist. This is where you find the instruction to send photocopies unless otherwise instructed. Why is that not in the guide, which is the obvious place to put it.
I am sure there are lots more including the form IMM5563 (Access to Information request) I tried to complete yesterday with a BC telephone number which contains 10 digits (Section B Box 7) A pity the form would only accept 9 digits! But it did me a good turn because I then discovered I could apply on line using a different form. That also caused me difficulties but this post is already too long!
(1) Application to sponsor: IMM1344. Boxes 2 and 9 will not expand to accommodate more than one previous marriage. Although it is clear that one can apply to sponsor a common law partner even if still married to another, box 9 only asks for details of a 'previous spouse'. It even asks for the end date without allowing the sponsor to write in 'the present'. Under sponsor contact information on the second page the sponsor cannot fill the address section in box 2 if he lives in the countryside with only a house name and no street number, common enough in the UK.
(2) Sponsor questionnaire IMM 5540. Box 14 What on earth is the point of asking which close friends or family your partner has met without asking for their contact details? Box 17: 'have you ever been married..? Same point as in Box 9 of IMM 1344
(3) IMM 0008 Generic Application. Box 3 causes a lot of difficulty. It would be so simple to make it clear either in the form or the guide that a Canadian family member is not counted in the total. Box 14 same point as before: 'previously been married'. Contact Information Box 1: same point as before. I had to enter the name of my house and of the village under street name because there was no other way to do it. Ditto Box 2: impossible to complete correctly save by typing in the name of the house under street name or writing it in.
(4) IMM 5669 Background declaration. Box 9 (organizations etc). There are no time limits: it contains a whole of life request. So they want to know about wolf cubs, boy scouts (or female equivalents) Sunday school, primary school football team and other potentially subversive organizations! Box 11. As it happens my National Service in the army was nearly 60 years ago. I no longer have any idea of the unit numbers of the various regiments I was in and if I ever knew the names of the commanding officers I have long since forgotten them.. No ex soldier ever forgets his army number but CIC does not ask for that!
(5) IMM 5406 (additional family information.) See Ponga's issue with this form in his post above, dated 18 December. The guide to completing IMM0008 and 5669 does not mention the form at all: the instructions appear in the guide IMM 3998 (sponsorship of adopted children and other relatives) which most applicants would not need to read; but anyway it is not all that helpful; in particular it does not cover Ponga's point.
(6) IMM 5490 (questionnaire). Question 10 Did your sponsor meet..close friends or family. What on earth is the point of this without contact details, which are not requested. Questions 24 and 25 are impossible to answer if sponsor and applicant live together. It is a toss-up whether the correct answer is yes or no. Box 28 does not enable you to write in 'the present', though Box 29 enables you to get around that problem by answering yes.
(7) Appendix A checklist. This is where you find the instruction to send photocopies unless otherwise instructed. Why is that not in the guide, which is the obvious place to put it.
I am sure there are lots more including the form IMM5563 (Access to Information request) I tried to complete yesterday with a BC telephone number which contains 10 digits (Section B Box 7) A pity the form would only accept 9 digits! But it did me a good turn because I then discovered I could apply on line using a different form. That also caused me difficulties but this post is already too long!
