Hi CharlieD, Welcome to the Forum,
I understand exactly how you feel, it can be quiet daunting just getting the evidence together to submit your application, I know this cos I'm not easily overwhelmed but felt quiet overwhelmed when I was filling the forms.
I like you also applied for a TRV and was also turned down. so do not be alarmed.
You would like to think that since immigration knows that sooner or later they will eventually give you the permission to live in Canada Permanently, that a TRV should be 123 . oh well not so at all.
you'd have to be pregnant or about to be there for the birth of your Child,
Even so, some of these applicants also got refused. so do not be dismayed. or by no means feel you are isolated in this TRV Issue.
Here's what I did when we decided to work on the application to submit for Permanent Residency.
Research Research Research
After doing extensive research on the process. we decided to save the money on the legal expenses, the fees are expensive enough as they are.
You are on this Forum so clearly you too have been researching.
Download the forms and go through them , familiarise
yourself with the content of the forms, and find out what you will need when you are ready to submit the Application.
Think of what your answers will be to the questions on the forms.
This should be easy,
You are after all answering questions about your Relationship how you met Etc. and how your relationship evolved.
Although this should be straightforward,
Please take your time to answer the questions well , as you are making an application that will determine the way you will spend the rest of your life with Hubby.
So its Important you take your time and while being Honest about your answers, take care to present your facts well.
Gather Photos, letters, emails , photocopy your Spouses passport pages that shows when he visited you during the course of your relationship.
get anything you can lay your hands on that will proof how Genuine your love is for each other. Phone records...... for example
I personally, photocopied our Wedding pics and other photos as I did not want to lose originals , and wrote at the top what the setting was and dated the ones I could remember the dates for etc.
send photocopies of Birthday cards etc, from you and Hubby to each other, we even sent copies of our wedding cards given to us by family and friends.
We also included the Police checks and medicals, and both parts of the application and fees at the same time. wether you choose to do this is optional.
However they will still be required of you and it saves alot of time, and may even shorten the time your application takes to be processed, if you reduce the documents they have to ask you for.
all in all, be as thorough as you can be, make sure you go over the application a few times before finally submitting it.
Wether or not you choose to use a lawyer, its best to go through the forms first, see if you feel less Confident about doing it yourself. this is something only you can decide.
What I can tell you though is, if you dont decide to do the application on your own. it will be well worth it to still read up all you can, and you will find, Lawyer or no Lawyer you will need to submit the same volume of Evidence. but do go with your gut instinct on this. after all we can only share our xperiences on here, but ultimately you are making a decision that will impact the rest of your life.
All the best with sending off the forms.
P.S There are alot more seasoned members on here who will be more than happy to add their experiences thus far , and help along the process by answering questions as they come up.
Try adding your case to trackitt.com and compare timelines with others, this helps you to stay up to date on how far you are in the process
Hope this Helps
Godbless
