Mother-to-be, sponsor-to-be

[Yelsew]

Here's the situation: A pregnant Canadian citizen wants to be able to sponsor her boyfriend, who is living in a non-exempt Caribbean country. They are not married and have not lived together for 12 months to meet the common-law requirement, so at present she can't sponsor. I believe they intend to get married, but she wants him to first come to Canada to be present for the child's birth. From what I know, he has sufficient ties to his home country to satisfy that part of the TRV requirements. He has not previously visited Canada. In his application, should he specifically mention that his purpose (under 'other' on the form) is to visit his girlfriend and be there to celebrate their child's birth? Or can being honest like that actually work against him--ie, the powers-that-be will conclude that he has no intention of leaving Canada and deny the visa? I'm not 100% sure if they plan to get married during such a visit, but I should think that would greatly help their cause, as it would enable them to at least begin the sponsorship process. If they choose a common-law arrangement, even if he gets a six-month visitor visa, he would have to request and hope to be granted another six months to meet the 12 months' requirement. Any thoughts?

 

[charliem]

Indicating that he is visiting a girlfriend is a NO-NO for a visitor visa application.
They can expect the usual response: 'I am not convinced you will leave Canada after your visit...'

 

[SenoritaBella]

Having a romantic interest in Canada automatically gives him strong ties to Canada and is likely to result in a refusal, unfortunately. The challenge will be showing stronger ties to his home country. Evidence of strong ties include but are not limited to:
1. proof of employment with long term history, preferably
2. letter from employer, granting leave of absence and expected date of return to work
3. sufficient funds for his trip
4. ownership of properties, land, business, etc. Basically, someone with such assets wouldn't "easily" relocate to another country.

Honesty is very important... it sets the tone for future applications. If he is coming to visit her and also be there for the birth of the child, it's better to be honest about it. She can explain in the invitation letter why she needs him there, the support she needs and how his presence will help, etc. No guarantees it will be successful but she can't know for sure without trying. They could be lucky.

 

[Kan_Sri]

Dear SenoritaBella,

Indicating a spouse or girlfriend or sponsorer to be is a BIG ground for refusal - even with employment history, employer approval of leave and sufficient funds for travel. Ownership of Land etc could indicate good ties to home country. But the chance is very low. However it also depends on the Visa officer checking the application.

If you fail to mention in this application, about the girlfriend, that could also account to misrepresentation! and lead to future problems in sponsporship application, so it is a tough choice.

Try and find a good travel agent, who helps organize group holidays in canada from his home country, that could help because he would be having a return ticket perhaps.

Warm Regards
KanSri

 

[Yelsew]

You have all confirmed what I thought--he could be setting himself up for disappointment if he mentions about visiting his girlfriend. And yet at the same time, I'm inclined to agree with SenoritaBella--take a chance by coming clean, provide lots of supporting evidence of ties to his own country, and a strong letter of invitation. Worst case scenario is that he gets rejected, so she has to fly to his country and get married there.

 

[SenoritaBella]

Yeah...it's sad that there is a potential of missing the birth, but honesty is better. On one of the sponsorship forms, they ask if the applicant has visited their sponsor. If he applied and was rejected, he can put that information there to show he tried. If he hasn't visited her and did not even try, depending on the officer, it could be questioned.

The problem with applying under the pretext of a "group holiday" is CIC will expect to see a lot of money for hotels, food, return ticket, receipts for booked events, etc.

You have all confirmed what I thought--he could be setting himself up for disappointment if he mentions about visiting his girlfriend. And yet at the same time, I'm inclined to agree with SenoritaBella--take a chance by coming clean, provide lots of supporting evidence of ties to his own country, and a strong letter of invitation. Worst case scenario is that he gets rejected, so she has to fly to his country and get married there.

 

[Yelsew]

On one of the sponsorship forms, they ask if the applicant has visited their sponsor. If he applied and was rejected, he can put that information there to show he tried. If he hasn't visited her and did not even try, depending on the officer, it could be questioned.

Very good point. When I sponsored my own partner from the Philippines several years ago, we used the TRV denial to lend credibility to the PR application.

 

[mikeymyke]

Yeah...it's sad that there is a potential of missing the birth, but honesty is better. On one of the sponsorship forms, they ask if the applicant has visited their sponsor. If he applied and was rejected, he can put that information there to show he tried. If he hasn't visited her and did not even try, depending on the officer, it could be questioned.

The problem with applying under the pretext of a "group holiday" is CIC will expect to see a lot of money for hotels, food, return ticket, receipts for booked events, etc.

Hi Ms. Bella, I disagree with the notion that if someone doesn't attempt a visit, CIC will question it. They may or may not, but I think that's better than having CIC question why an applicant checked "YES" under "Have you ever been refused refugee status, or visitor visa or TRV to Canada?". This is a red flag question, and unfortunately, they grouped TRV denial with refugee status on the same question, and by answering YES, it will lead CIC to question it.

I agree that spouses do and should visit each other, and TRV denials happen often, but checking "YES" to any red flag question will just lead to delays. My wife and I, on one of the forms asks if she has ever visited me, she will reply NO, and the reasoning we gave was that she's from Vietnam, a non visa exempt country, and we felt due to strong family ties to Canada (only myself as the spouse), she is highly likely to be refused, and we would have to indicate that on IMM 5669, and we are afraid of it causing delays, and we wish to have our application processed as quickly as possible, hence she hasn't visited me, but that has not stopped me from visiting her numerous times.

So that was our explanation. Honestly I feel a TRV is a waste of time and a huge risk on future PR applications, even it's not a terribly big red flag, but can still cause delays nonetheless. I think the OP here in this case, is in a difficult spot, I don't believe she should travel to her boyfriend's country to give birth, because their health services are likely substandard. At the same time, he is very likely to be refused a TRV, even if that happens, I think having their PR application delayed slightly is better than missing out on the child's birth, and they should try for the TRV.

If he is refused, that would be unfortunate he will miss out on the birth, but at the same time, they are 2 grown adults, and made the decisions that they did, and have to kind of live with it, for better or worse.

 

[SenoritaBella]

@mikeymike, I understand what you mean. Notice, I said "depending on the officer, it could be questioned" meaning it is not certain that will happen.

Eventhough the question, "Have you ever been refused refugee status, or visitor visa or TRV to Canada?" is grouped together, there is space at the bottom to provide details. This is where you can specify the type of visa you applied for and state the reason for refusal or attach the refusal letter.

It is not a "red flag" question. The only time you can get in trouble is by lying e.g. if you answer 'No' to that question when in fact you have been denied any type of visa(including work permits and study permits) to Canada, you will be guilty of misrepresentation and may be banned for 2 years. There are two cases on this section just this week charged for misrepresentation - one was due to the visa question and the other due to the criminal conviction question.

I was once refused a student visa, but got approved on my second attempt. I got work permits without problems and got my PR in less than 6 months. I just answered truthfully to that question each time and attached a copy of the refusal letter.