Photocopies of pictures

[thanh245]

Hey,has anyone sent in photocopies(either black and white or colours) of their wedding pictures,and had no problems? I am hearing some people do not get their pictures returned to them. I do not want to lose my pictures. Cheers.

 

[canadiangirl78]

Scan them in color.

 

[mapplelover]

i think they need the original photos. prints r not that expensive nowadays

 

[Fencesitter]

If you have photos saved on your computer, you can nest them in MS Word or another software and print in colour, no problem. For older pictures not saved electronically, scan them and print them in colour. It doesn't say you MUST submit originals anywhere in the guides, and I have read numerous cases where people submitted scans without a problem.

Prints are cheap these days, but it's not as organized as nesting in MS Word.

FS

 

[nole73]

Send pictures, no photocopies of any kind. You should have your pics in digital format anyway (those are your wedding pics), just do an extra set of prints and send them along with your application. I sent around 70 of them, mix of wedding, reception, and different outings with friends. Put an elastic band around them when sending your application.

 

[KangaRuthie]

If you have trouble with the suggestions above, you could scan the photos you need to send at a photo kiosk. I noticed the other day that Wal-Mart have that service and are cheap too ;D
You will not get the photos back if you send originals.

 

[missmymexi]

We did scan's of all of our pictures then put them in a powerpoint presentation - 6 pictures per page with descriptions, colour copies. According to our lawyer this is totally acceptable. There is no such thing as an original picture anymore in the digital age, they are all printed, just ensure they are colour and its a good clear print.

 

[greenoil]

We did scan's of all of our pictures then put them in a powerpoint presentation - 6 pictures per page with descriptions, colour copies. According to our lawyer this is totally acceptable. There is no such thing as an original picture anymore in the digital age, they are all printed, just ensure they are colour and its a good clear print.

Straight from CIC:
Photos must be loose; do not send them in binders, albums, frames or other such containers. Do not send video discs or video cassettes. Do not send musical greeeting cards or other similar documents containing electronic or mechanical devices. Proof of your sponsor’s visits such as airline ticket coupons, boarding passes, copies of pages of your sponsor's passport showing entry/exit stamps.

So, in short, no electronic docs. Double-check what your lawyer said, not always correct.

 

[Fencesitter]

Sorry, but I think your interpretation is incorrect. What that says is that they do not want electronic 'objects' sent such as USBs, discs, etc. No where does it state that you cannot scan and print several pictures to one page.

Many people have sent colour scans or colour prints printed on A4 paper without a problem. As long as the pictures are in colour and are clear, no worries. The pictures are meant to show that the relationship is real, so as long as they do that, it is totally fine.

The same is true for boarding passes or other such documents. Scans are fine.

If they really want to see originals (whatever that means in this day and age), they can request it later...but from what I have read, this never happens.

The lawyer is correct.

FS

 

[greenoil]

Sorry, but I think your interpretation is incorrect. What that says is that they do not want electronic 'objects' sent such as USBs, discs, etc. No where does it state that you cannot scan and print several pictures to one page.

Many people have sent colour scans or colour prints printed on A4 paper without a problem. As long as the pictures are in colour and are clear, no worries. The pictures are meant to show that the relationship is real, so as long as they do that, it is totally fine.

The same is true for boarding passes or other such documents. Scans are fine.

If they really want to see originals (whatever that means in this day and age), they can request it later...but from what I have read, this never happens.

The lawyer is correct.

FS

You are correct but to be safe, I would do one by one, no computer modification to retain originality of the photos. Then it's up to the VOs to accept or not and most important thing is how convincing the photos are.

 

[canadiangirl78]

I wonder if people photoshop pictures to construct a wedding in order to try and prove a marriage is legit. LOL. It is hard to tell if photos are legit nowadays especially on the cover of magzines!

 

[Fencesitter]

Photoshopping is a concern, but I think an experienced VO would be able to tell the difference, plus if you send a lot of pictures, the VO should be able to determine if the pictures are real or a forgery. At the end of the day, you could still print photoshopped pictures on photo paper or regular A4 paper...but I reckon that the VO will look at the pictures and also other supporting evidence (plane tickets, lease agreements, health insurance, and so on) to make an informed decision.

Photocopying, in my view, is not a good idea because you would have to hand write the descriptions. It looks a lot more professional if everything is typed.

To conclude, photos printed on photo paper or A4 are both acceptable as long as the quality is good and they are in colour. Why anyone would submit black and white is beyond me.

FS

 

[BCgirl2012]

I really don't think that there's any issue sending printout using a pagesetting software, or a wordprocessor. If anything, it makes things much tidier, since pictures can have captions typed, and since it's setup as a small collection, hopefully with numbers and it can be used as a reference in the relationship essays, or when answering the IMM5490 (The Sponsored spouse/partner questionnaire).

why should printing several photos per one A4 or letter sheet be a problem? All they ask is to leave the pages loose, not to put photos in an album, binder, or in a container. They never mention anything about multiple photos per page.

As for copying, I'd think about it this way: these photos are a very important part of representing the relationship: it is a visual representation, and it puts a face of what up to that point is described in words in all those formal forms. The challenge here is to represent how loving and genuine the relationship is, and in my mind, it will definitely need more that words alone. I'd think we need to show a more complete picture. So the emails, photos, boarding passes, greeting cards, etc will each become a piece in the puzzle, that will make up the complete picture of the relationship in front of the VO, and hopefully, (s)he will see it the way it is and the way it functions. So bottom-line, the more clear the photos are the better.

My 2cents
BCG

 

[canadianwoman]

I wonder if people photoshop pictures to construct a wedding in order to try and prove a marriage is legit.

Yes, they do. I have read appeal cases where one reason for rejection was that the photos were faked.

Photocopies of your pictures would be accepted, but I would worry about the quality of the pictures. You want them to be as clear as possible for the visa officer. I would either send actual prints or print several photos to a page with descriptions using some computer program.

For the appeal, they will photocopy any photos sent. When I saw the quality that resulted, I was horrified. No judge or gov't lawyer would be able to tell anything about anyone's relationship from the photocopies I saw.

 

[missmymexi]

Straight from CIC:
Photos must be loose; do not send them in binders, albums, frames or other such containers. Do not send video discs or video cassettes. Do not send musical greeeting cards or other similar documents containing electronic or mechanical devices. Proof of your sponsor's visits such as airline ticket coupons, boarding passes, copies of pages of your sponsor's passport showing entry/exit stamps.

So, in short, no electronic docs. Double-check what your lawyer said, not always correct.

A printed page of photos on photo paper is not an electronic document !