I want to visit Canada in the next few months. I would appreciate your advice.

[ChrisC]

Greetings everyone.

I am a self employed writer, who has self published an ebook online. My next project will be about the experience of travelling abroad as a first timer. As you can probably tell, this will be my first time travelling abroad. I have already decided to visit Hong Kong and Sri Lanka first before trying for a TRV visa.

I had also thought about visiting Nepal and Bhutan, but I had second thoughts after finding out that Indian Nationals don't need passports to go there and hence don't receive stamps on their passports if they do bring them. This brings me to the first point I would like your thoughts on. Would visiting Nepal or Bhutan still count towards my travel history, even if I didn't have the stamps on my passport to prove it?

I have also considered visiting Serbia or Indonesia or Maldives, if you think any of them would count positively towards my travel history or improve my chances of getting a Canadian visa. As a consequence of my self employment, I don't have any tax returns or salary slips to show. I have less than 1L in my bank account to reserve for my Canadian trip, which I think is more than sufficient for the short period of time I intend to stay.

What do you think of my chances of getting the Canadian visa? What can I do to improve my chances?

 

[scylla]

For travel history - CIC is looking for past travel to countries such as the US, UK, Australia, etc.

The travel you have mentioned probably won't help you.

 

[Bryanna]

@ChrisC

To add to scylla's reply....

1. No, INR 1,00,000 is not sufficient to cover the cost of your Canada visit. It would barely pay for the airfare leaving you with little/no money to pay for the actual expenses during your visit.

2. Your self-employment which is not registered, no taxes are paid.... will work against you getting a Canada visa approval.

3. As you can work remotely anywhere in the world, your employment does not necessitate that you must return to India = Potential to overstay your visit in Canada and/or Potential to work illegally when you're in Canada.

4. As a first time traveler abroad, the visa officer who assesses your application would question 'Why do you want to visit Canada? Why not another country?"

5. None of the countries you have mentioned would help towards your Canada TRV.... especially not Nepal or Bhutan where you only need an ID proof to get an entry (for Bhutan, it helps if you have your passport too)


In short:
I would recommend you completely hold off all plans of visiting Canada until you first establish stronger financials + more concrete employment + other ties

 

[ChrisC]

Thank you for your insight, especially for reminding me about areas I overlooked.

I understand 1L is insufficient. What amount would you recommend?

As to my employment and ties to India: the reason I am self employed is because I also have to care for my parent, who lives with me in a house registered to my name. This is also the reason my stay would be very brief - no longer than two days, since my parent cannot manage alone for long. Would this prove my ties to India, especially in terms of family and real estate property?

As to my first time travelling, by my plans I would have already visited Sri Lanka and Hong Kong (and possibly other countries as well). So it wouldn't be my first time travelling, nor would Canada be the first country I visited. The reason I want to visit Canada is so I can write about my experience as a tourist.

"5. None of the countries you have mentioned would help towards your Canada TRV"

Not even Hong Kong? My reasoning was, at the very least they establish travel history. Isn't that better than nothing?

 

[scylla]

Thank you for your insight, especially for reminding me about areas I overlooked.

I understand 1L is insufficient. What amount would you recommend?

Not even Hong Kong? My reasoning was, at the very least they establish travel history. Isn't that better than nothing?

Ideally 5x to 10x that amount in funds.

Again, for travel history, CIC is looking for previous travel to countries that require visas such as the UK, US, Australia, etc. You can enter Hong Kong visa free - so CIC won't count this as travel history.

 

[ChrisC]

I see. Do they consider it equal to never having traveled abroad at all?

To get a visa, you have to had previous visas. It seems like quite the paradox! Much like - to get a job you need experience, to get experience you need a job. Haha. Everybody has to start somewhere... how do people get their first visas without having any priors? Does Visa on Arrival (like Thailand) count?

Also, I had forgotten to ask this in the original post: Does booking an all inclusive package through a travel agency look better to the visa officials than booking your flights and accommodations yourself?