Need to attend a conference as a speaker but Visa refused

[iamabhi9]

Hi Everyone,

I am supposed to attend a conference in Ottawa, Canada next month as a speaker. I applied for a visitor's visa at the VFS office in New Delhi, India last week. I received back my passport along with a letter yesterday. My visa has been refused, as per the letter the visa officer was not satisfied that I will be returning back to India after my scheduled stay in Canada. The other reasons which were checked off in the list were:

Travel history (This was going to be my first visit to Canada, so I am not sure what does it mean)

Employment situation (I graduated from University few months back and I have been working on a project independently since then without taking up a job, my plan is to go for post-graduation this year and therefore I wrote unemployed in the application form.)

Lack of sufficient funds to support myself in Canada (All the travel and stay in Canada is being paid by the conference organizers. Besides that I showed bank statements of worth INR 60,000 and USD 3000 in my two bank accounts which I thought would be enough for a 6 days stay in Canada)

I attached following documents with my application form:

Letter of invitation from the conference (it was not notarized)
Bank statements
University degree and marksheets (as I did not have any employment history to show)
A planned itinerary of my travel to Canada and back to India. The tickets are to be bought by the conference organizers and they said they will buy them only once the visa is granted, to save themselves any loss.

I really wish to attend this conference, it is really a big platform for me. I am not sure what to do now What do you suggest ?

Thanks

 

[shaznaz75]

I don't know what else to say other then it's very hard for individuals without any company backing behind them to go attend a foreign conference. Like you said you dont have a job, no travel history that all works against you. Your bank balance is "nothing" I mean its something you can just take all that with you to Canada and never come back You should show property in your name, family ties like parrents, siblings live and work in your home country. The refusal rate for all Visitor visas in South Asia is 6/10 so that means 6 people out of 10 who apply in a day will be declined a visa. To improve your application I would suggest show a balance of $10-15000 (minimum) some property in your name. Show you have strong ties to your home country. Write a very detailed introduction letter explaining your purpose,why is it important to visit the conference and why will you come back. Like I said the chances of you getting visa are pretty less unless you improve your bank balance and have property in your name.

Hope this helps answer some of your queries.
Good luck

 

[shaznaz75]

the no.1 reason they declined you as i see it is that you're working as an individual (is your company registered??) are you a licensed consultant?? how is that a conference has invited a new graduate to come to a conference to speak ...i mean all these things seem a little fishy to a VO...if your company is registered you're self employed not "un-employed" like you mentioned in your application and you will also have to show a company bank account ....tax papers...business license...things like that to make your case strong. There are thousands of people every month who apply for visas to attend various conferences but so many are not able to because they are declined visas. If you're an important speaker at a conference then usually the company/govt org hosting the conference put in a word on behlaf of you to the govt immigration department that why you're participation is important at the conference etc and then you visit Canada and they become your guarantors making sure you leave Canada after conference.

 

[iamabhi9]

Thanks for your response, it does answers the questions about the refusal of my application.

My story is more complicated than it seems. During my last few months at University, I got a project sponsored by Google, on which I worked as a student software developer. I received USD 5000 for that project, and after my college got over, I continued working on that project to finish it off, even though I was no longer being paid. I have been invited at this conference to present a paper on this very project. I already attended a conference in Tokyo, Japan related to this project last week as well (I am sure the VO would have seen the Japanese visa stamp in the passport)

I don't have anymore money to show in my account, it is hard to expect from a college graduate to show money in excess of $10,000. In fact I have an education loan from a bank for my undergraduate education. There are a few properties but all in my father's name.

I have notified the conference people about the situation, waiting for their response. I guess if I could meet the VO, I could explain my situation better. I can't see how a bag of documents can tell the whole story to the VO.

Thank you again for explaining the things in detail

 

[shaznaz75]

I understand the predicament you are in. And you're right a bag of documents being mailed to the visa office doesn't help anybody. Face to face interview should have been the order of the day, Canadian TRV system is flawed and they themselves have mentioned it recently.

Dont apply again (my personal suggestion) ask the event organizers to help you out and be the guarantors of your trip or else don't waste money and apply again your case seems weak otherwise. Sorry.

 

[iamabhi9]

Yes, I am not going to reapply unless I have a strong reason to do so, for example some new documentation from the conference or so.

Anyway, I might get another chance to attend this conference next year (if my project remains relevant by that time). It is very easy for me to take a job any time in India, I have been trying and waiting to apply for post-grad admissions. So by next year either I will have a job or I will be a student in a university. According to your experience would that make a difference ? I might also get some property on my name transferred from my father.

Thank you.

 

[shaznaz75]

Ofcourse that will make a difference in your application. Make sure you have worked for the company for atleast 6 months before you apply..Some money upwards of $7500-10000 will be beneficial and property in your name. In the interim I would also suggest you to apply for UK/US visa maybe visit some euro countries build a travel history that will always be helpful.