Manila Tread for English Speakers - join here!

[doljan]

I will question whatever I want to question. This is my country and until you are a citizen you are a guest. Plain and simple.
When you are a citizen of your country it does matter that those people who have just arrived seem to get preferencial treatment. If I was to move to the Philippines I certainly wouldn't expect to be treated like a local.

yes, you wouldn't expect to be treated like local because white foreigners are treated better than locals here in the phils.,. i don't know what will be your reaction if you go and get a driver's license and there a lot of people waiting in line, then you patiently wait in line as well, when its your turn to the counter the license officer will tell you - oh sir, you are not filipino born and raised, please sit aside coz i need to process first the filipino born and raised application for driver's license and then when they are done, i will process your's.....

we are on the same boat here, waiting.... i just can't help but react when someone sounds as they should be process faster because they are this and that. you are not the only white canadian born and raised applicant here, there are a lot, including my wife, i don't know who's ancentors migrated to canada first..your family or her's......

 

[CanadianJeepGuy]

yes, you wouldn't expect to be treated like local because white foreigners are treated better than locals here in the phils.,. i don't know what will be your reaction if you go and get a driver's license and there a lot of people waiting in line, then you patiently wait in line as well, when its your turn to the counter the license officer will tell you - oh sir, you are not filipino born and raised, please sit aside coz i need to process first the filipino born and raised application for driver's license and then when they are done, i will process your's.....

we are on the same boat here, waiting.... i just can't help but react when someone sounds as they should be process faster because they are this and that. you are not the only white canadian born and raised applicant here, there are a lot, including my wife, i don't know who's ancentors migrated to canada first..your family or her's......

I have never made mention that colour was an aspect of citizenship. Canadian citizens are all shapes, sizes and colours. I'm 7th generation Canadian but a citizen is a citizen regardless if they have been one from birth or from 2 weeks ago.

For the most part you and Kickass have failed to see the point that was being made. Those of you who are PR's sponsoring your families feel that you have some entitlement because of the sacrifices you have personally made. Why should you have any equal or greater entitlement to a citizen? Cititzens vote and by that measure are involved in the democratic process that allow for the existence of the PR process. I should not have to be inconvenienced by a population of people that just got here and have only begun to contribute. Should I not have some entitlement based on my birthright?

Any favouritism allowed me in the Philippines is done so to get access to my money. I don't get charged the Filipino price I get charged the foreigner price. So if PR's want to pay $3000 for their spousal application than that is fine with me. Maybe that would mean cheaper fees for me.

 

[scos]

Hey gortandmugs, it takes so long because somehow, it took 4.5 months to approve me as sponsor. My sponsor approval was mid September which pretty much makes me an August applicant.

You would be a lucky August applicant. Ours is August and I didn't get my approval till mid-October (2.5 months).

 

[bartjones]

I think the thing that really irks me about the long waits is this. I cannot imagine that the entire time it takes to process a half way organized and mostly complete sponsor and principal applicant application from beginning to end could be more than 5 or 6 man hours. We each pay close to $1100 for the processing of our applications, so what gives? At $1100 a pop I find it hard to believe these visa offices (manpower and overhead included) aren't fiscally self-sufficient and if they aren't, then there is something seriously wrong somewhere. I stand to be corrected, but in my view, the fees paid by the applicants must cover the entire cost of processing the application and cost the Canadian taxpayer nothing or next to nothing.

I don't mind waiting for government services and have gotten used to long waits for things like passports and other things, but I think if I'm funding the entire cost of a service myself, a different standard ought to apply and I should be able to expect a little more.

 

[Steph C]

I think the thing that really irks me about the long waits is this. I cannot imagine that the entire time it takes to process a half way organized and mostly complete sponsor and principal applicant application from beginning to end could be more than 5 or 6 man hours. We each pay close to $1100 for the processing of our applications, so what gives? At $1100 a pop I find it hard to believe these visa offices (manpower and overhead included) aren't fiscally self-sufficient and if they aren't, then there is something seriously wrong somewhere. I stand to be corrected, but in my view, the fees paid by the applicants must cover the entire cost of processing the application and cost the Canadian taxpayer nothing or next to nothing.

I don't mind waiting for government services and have gotten used to long waits for things like passports and other things, but I think if I'm funding the entire cost of a service myself, a different standard ought to apply and I should be able to expect a little more.

They do - our fees are meant to cover the whole operation. I heard that's why they actually reduced fees a while back.

 

[doljan]

For the most part you and Kickass have failed to see the point that was being made. Those of you who are PR's sponsoring your families feel that you have some entitlement because of the sacrifices you have personally made. Why should you have any equal or greater entitlement to a citizen? Cititzens vote and by that measure are involved in the democratic process that allow for the existence of the PR process. I should not have to be inconvenienced by a population of people that just got here and have only begun to contribute. Should I not have some entitlement based on my birthright?

Any favouritism allowed me in the Philippines is done so to get access to my money. I don't get charged the Filipino price I get charged the foreigner price. So if PR's want to pay $3000 for their spousal application than that is fine with me. Maybe that would mean cheaper fees for me.

then if that's the case, I myself together with your wife and some others should have long been in Canada ahead of those PR sponsored applications...

why does your spouse allow it for you to be charged higher than what should be in the phils?... would i also assume that you will allow anyone in canada to treat your wife racially without you coming to the rescue?.......
i'm saying this base on my experience as my wife have been here in the phils 4 times already and spent more than a year in total staying at our place...

 

[Rosey_L]

everyone.. take a deep breath and relax.. we're all victims of "bureaucracy" here. what we had to go through to be reunited with the one we love is very much underrated, and i understand where everyone is coming from. but then again, there's still a thing called "delayed gratification".

good vibes everyone! we don't need any other stress in our life right now. a little more patience, it's hard but everything will be oh-so worth it!;D

 

[Steph C]

everyone.. take a deep breath and relax.. we're all victims of "bureaucracy" here. what we had to go through to be reunited with the one we love is very much underrated, and i understand where everyone is coming from. but then again, there's still a thing called "delayed gratification".

good vibes everyone! we don't need any other stress in our life right now. a little more patience, it's hard but everything will be oh-so worth it!;D

I think a little healthy discussion and conflict is fine! It helps us grow.. and doesn't mean any harm. I think that's a big difference between our cultures. It's all friendly fire.

 

[doljan]

I think a little healthy discussion and conflict is fine! It helps us grow.. and doesn't mean any harm. I think that's a big difference between our cultures. It's all friendly fire.

agree.... just trying to express ourselves, no personal harm meant...

 

[Steph C]

why does your spouse allow it for you to be charged higher than what should be in the phils?... would i also assume that you will allow anyone in canada to treat your wife racially without you coming to the rescue?.......
i'm saying this base on my experience as my wife have been here in the phils 4 times already and spent more than a year in total staying at our place...

We don't have a problem with prices either, if we anticipate a problem I will hide until the price is agreed upon ;D I think foreign guys get ripped off more, especially if their ladies take a back seat in regards to negotiating everything. Perhaps young canadian ladies are more beloved in the Phils then our uncles : : :

 

[Dan_from_Surrey]

Yeah no one ever got hurt by friendly fire before ......... oh wait a sec it is just venting, and in no way should be taken as personal towards anyone. Besides this will help thicken our skins a bit should we need to deal with anyone from the various VO offices later on

 

[Rosey_L]

that's good to hear guys. ;D my husband always tells me how Canadians are a lot nicer and friendlier than *you-know-who-they-are* ;D

 

[shekinah]

I feel and understand each point of you and the real problem here is the long processing time. If all of us (whether with PR's or Citizen sponsor) are all process in time (6 months max) I think we will not be stressed too much.

And it's not the PR or Citizen sponsor that is being assessed too long but the sponsored person. So that's make us all (sponsored person) in same category. I don't think I have a better application as I have a Citizen sponsor.

Btw, my husband (and his ancestors) are born & raised Canadian but he is more patient than me and he is thankful he is born in Canada.

And yes I'm the one who negotiate with prices whenever my husband is here as I know foreigners tend to be ripped off. And I also give suggestion with my husband where we can save like suggestion about air promo, hotel promo....

 

[doljan]

that's good to hear guys. ;D my husband always say how Canadians are a lot nicer and friendlier than *you-know-who-they-are* ;D

ahahaha... i get that.... sometimes my wife don't like it when people assume that she is *you-know-who-they-are*

anyway....i don't have any prejudice for whatever race as long as they respect me as a person then i will do the same....

 

[lk4adeal]

I am awaiting news for my daughter in law and 2 grandchildren. The kids have Canadian passports and my son is sponsoring. They applied in july and received approval on oct 11, 2012. They are still waiting. In the meantime my son's grandmother is very sick in the hospital. If my daughter in law wants to come to Canada to visit while awaiting approval is this possible? Would she apply for a visitors visa? Would she be able to come to Canada without denial?