Please Help.Wanted to Visit My girlfriend But Just got refused.. Can I reapply ?

[SenatorT]

Dear All,

Please I need your advice.

I have recently applied for TRV to visit Canada next year. My girlfriend is a student in Canada and i want to visit her.

I compiled all my documents to the best of my abilities and submitted it. But CIC just got back to me with a refusal notice. Below are the reasons for their action:

1. Your Family ties in Canada and in your country of residence.
2. Purpose of Visit
3. Your personal Asset and Financial status.

Please note that I informed CIC that I was just going to Visit my girlfrnd for 1month.

Help needed.

I have planned to re-apply asap. but how do you think I can improve my situation in the aspect they have mentioned above.

For the application that just got rejected, I attached Picture proofs (about 10 Pictures of myself and my girlfrnd before she traveled.)..... Were these pictures too much ? does it suggest that we are too close ? I also stated in my application that we have been dating for almost five years.

I also submitted Pics of my self and my family taken in UK while we were there on a visit.

Please what exactly does CIC mean by: Your Family ties in Canada and in your country of residence.

As for my purpose of visit, I informed CIC I was going to visit my girl friend (attached invitation Letter). Was this information not enough ? Please what else can I add to this ?

As for the issue of personal asset; I attached shares documents and a Land Ownership Document. Although I had additional property document but I did not include it in my previous application. Please are there other documents I should be adding to address this reason.

Also, In my previous application, I indicated that I was going to stay in Canada for 1month but would be spending 2000 Canadian dollars (even though I had over 6000 in my account statement). This was because I do not intend to travel around but just stay at home while i rest as I would be on annual leave from work. Also My girlfriend would provide feeding and accommodation.

Was I supposed to have increased the amount of money available for spending while in Canada ?

Dear friends,
Please help a friend in Need. I would be truly grateful if I can submit a better application soon. Thank you.

 

[scylla]

The most important part of your application is the evidence you provide you show you have very strong ties to your home country. What proof did you provide other than the land ownership document? Proof of a job? Proof that you are attending school?

 

[SenatorT]

The most important part of your application is the evidence you provide you show you have very strong ties to your home country. What proof did you provide other than the land ownership document? Proof of a job? Proof that you are attending school?

Thank you for replying me.

Yes I provided Proof of Job. and it does not seem that the VO had any issue with this. this is because employment prospect in my country of residence wasnt indicated as an issue.

Only the three issue listed above were flagged.

How can I address this issues please ?

would my chances be greater if I submit my next application stating that i have a business in My country of residence ? Although I had stated in my previous application that I do not own a business.

My brother has a business which I have some shares in it. Can I therefore state in my application that I have a business ?

 

[Bryanna]

My advice is NOT to rush into reapplying until you have fully addressed the reasons for refusal. When you do reapply, ensure that you have provided adequate explanations and evidence to convince the VO that the earlier decision was wrong.


Your Family Ties in Canada and in your country of residence
You need to submit evidence that you have strong ties to your family in your home country as compared to Canada (where your girlfriend lives).

Do you live with your parents and siblings? Are your parents dependent on you? Would it be possible to provide evidence that you and your family live together.

What I did for my TRV application was to provide a table each for My Immediate Family (giving their age, residential address to show I live with them, or if they live abroad, etc) + My Extended Family (briefly giving details separately of my paternal and maternal relatives especially if they were based in my home country. and stating that I am close to them/my cousins, etc)


Purpose of Visit
I would suggest that you provide a Day-by-Day Itinerary with expense estimates (you need to do a bit of research) for your visit.... listing all the places you will visit, why and along with the expense estimates.

Your purpose of visit cannot be as simple as "want to visit my girlfriend"


Your Personal Assets and Financial Status
I would suggest that you prepare two separate explanations backed with evidence viz. one for 'Your Personal Assets' (sort of like your Personal Assets and Liabilities Sheet) + one for 'Financial Status' to convince the VO that you are financially better off in your home country.

You could list all your financial investments (bank term deposits, contribution to pension funds, shares/stocks and their current market value, low credit card outstandings, etc etc). This could be in a table format.... with Evidence Numbers listed against each investment.


You could also submit a 'My Strong Ties to My Home Country' explanation through:
Property that you own alone/with your family..... along with the percentage share..... and attach a Market Realty Report (from a leading market research agency) that gives the market estimated value of properties in your locality. Or if you have recently had a property evaluation of your property then that's even better.

Job (Your appointment letter, job responsibilities, reporting structure, letter from your employer that you will still have your job after you return, salary stubs, etc)

Your Family Ties (again providing details of your family in your country of residence)

Any Social, Legal or Voluntary Organisation Commitments you may have


Further, you can also submit a 'My Travel History' explanation giving (in a table format) the list of countries you have visited, Visa Numbers, Extry/Exit dates, etc. Countries such as USA, Europe, UK, etc where visas are difficult to get (as compared to "tourist" countries) are considered as "travel history".


Although I asked for one month TRV..... and I got multiple-entry visa for the ENTIRE lifetime of my passport..... I would suggest that you request a TRV for only 2 weeks visit. Don't forget to prove that you have the finances to fund your visit (typically about CAD 1000 per week - not considering airfare)


Hope this helps. All the best

 

[SenatorT]

My advice is NOT to rush into reapplying until you have fully addressed the reasons for refusal. When you do reapply, ensure that you have provided adequate explanations and evidence to convince the VO that the earlier decision was wrong.


Your Family Ties in Canada and in your country of residence
You need to submit evidence that you have strong ties to your family in your home country as compared to Canada (where your girlfriend lives).

Do you live with your parents and siblings? Are your parents dependent on you? Would it be possible to provide evidence that you and your family live together.

What I did for my TRV application was to provide a table each for My Immediate Family (giving their age, residential address to show I live with them, or if they live abroad, etc) + My Extended Family (briefly giving details separately of my paternal and maternal relatives especially if they were based in my home country. and stating that I am close to them/my cousins, etc)


Purpose of Visit
I would suggest that you provide a Day-by-Day Itinerary with expense estimates (you need to do a bit of research) for your visit.... listing all the places you will visit, why and along with the expense estimates.

Your purpose of visit cannot be as simple as "want to visit my girlfriend"


Your Personal Assets and Financial Status
I would suggest that you prepare two separate explanations backed with evidence viz. one for 'Your Personal Assets' (sort of like your Personal Assets and Liabilities Sheet) + one for 'Financial Status' to convince the VO that you are financially better off in your home country.

You could list all your financial investments (bank term deposits, contribution to pension funds, shares/stocks and their current market value, low credit card outstandings, etc etc). This could be in a table format.... with Evidence Numbers listed against each investment.


You could also submit a 'My Strong Ties to My Home Country' explanation through:
Property that you own alone/with your family..... along with the percentage share..... and attach a Market Realty Report (from a leading market research agency) that gives the market estimated value of properties in your locality. Or if you have recently had a property evaluation of your property then that's even better.

Job (Your appointment letter, job responsibilities, reporting structure, letter from your employer that you will still have your job after you return, salary stubs, etc)

Your Family Ties (again providing details of your family in your country of residence)

Any Social, Legal or Voluntary Organisation Commitments you may have


Further, you can also submit a 'My Travel History' explanation giving (in a table format) the list of countries you have visited, Visa Numbers, Extry/Exit dates, etc. Countries such as USA, Europe, UK, etc where visas are difficult to get (as compared to "tourist" countries) are considered as "travel history".


Although I asked for one month TRV..... and I got multiple-entry visa for the ENTIRE lifetime of my passport..... I would suggest that you request a TRV for only 2 weeks visit. Don't forget to prove that you have the finances to fund your visit (typically about CAD 1000 per week - not considering airfare)


Hope this helps. All the best

Thanks Alot Bryanna.

You have said alot.

Please I may not be able to change my dates of visit for 2weeks as I have already paid and booked my flight which carries 1month. I would have to still go for 1month.
Also, My brother has a business which we both jointly started. Although my name isnt on the company registration, Can I claim to own a business in my new application ?

Please bear in mind that I mentioned in my previous application that I have no business. Could this new information contradict the information I already had with CIC ?

Also, would you know if All new application are treated independent of past ones ?

In addition, I and my family do not live together and this is because I work in a different city while they live in a different city. Could this be an issue ? How can I still show we are close family members ?
Also my parents dont depend on me. They are very comfortable on their own. How can i relate this to my Strong tie with them ?

I intend to visit a small city in Canada where my girlfriend school. I don not think there are lots of tourist sites for me to see there. How do you suggest I compile my daily itinerary ? Must I state what I want to do daily ? would weekly be fine ? Or can you suggest something better ?

Thank you.

Please assist to answer these questions.

 

[Bryanna]

Do not mean to discourage. You can visit Canada only after you successfully get the TRV. Hence, you must address the reasons for your previous TRV refusal before you reapply.

Based on what you have mentioned, it would appear to the VO that you do not have strong reasons to return to your home country.

In your case, I believe that your property, financial ties, job, family ties, etc could help you if these facts are presented in a convincing manner.

A one month visit - in your situation - is a red flag. The VO is likely to view this situation as "is your job really vital to your employer to allow you to take a one month holiday off work?"

If you are unable to provide evidence of your business partnership then it is best not to mention anything about it. Also, do check that your business partnership does not contradict the terms of your full-term employment, if you are submitting evidence for both of these to the VO.

Your new TRV will NOT be treated as a separate one. Your details are already on the CIC database. You do, however, need to disclose that your previous TRV application was rejected in the Visa application form and also Covering Letter.

You could show your Family Ties through visits (including evidence) of your parents staying with you and vice versa. Joint property ownership could also help. Family functions/events. Family holidays taken together. Etc etc

Yes, a day-by-day Itinerary with expense estimates is what we provided.... this served two purposes: One - to show the VO that we are genuine visitors who are keen to also see Canada besides seeing how my Sponsor lives/works, meet the people he interacts with, etc. Two - to arrive at actual expense estimates instead of vague numbers, and prove that we have the finances to do these things even though our Sponsor will take care of our living expenses in Canada.

All the best

 

[SenatorT]

Do not mean to discourage. You can visit Canada only after you successfully get the TRV. Hence, you must address the reasons for your previous TRV refusal before you reapply.

Based on what you have mentioned, it would appear to the VO that you do not have strong reasons to return to your home country.

In your case, I believe that your property, financial ties, job, family ties, etc could help you if these facts are presented in a convincing manner.

A one month visit - in your situation - is a red flag. The VO is likely to view this situation as "is your job really vital to your employer to allow you to take a one month holiday off work?"

If you are unable to provide evidence of your business partnership then it is best not to mention anything about it. Also, do check that your business partnership does not contradict the terms of your full-term employment, if you are submitting evidence for both of these to the VO.

Your new TRV will NOT be treated as a separate one. Your details are already on the CIC database. You do, however, need to disclose that your previous TRV application was rejected in the Visa application form and also Covering Letter.

You could show your Family Ties through visits (including evidence) of your parents staying with you and vice versa. Joint property ownership could also help. Family functions/events. Family holidays taken together. Etc etc

Yes, a day-by-day Itinerary with expense estimates is what we provided.... this served two purposes: One - to show the VO that we are genuine visitors who are keen to also see Canada besides seeing how my Sponsor lives/works, meet the people he interacts with, etc. Two - to arrive at actual expense estimates instead of vague numbers, and prove that we have the finances to do these things even though our Sponsor will take care of our living expenses in Canada.

All the best

Thanks Bryanna Once again fro your response.
Just a little more clarification here.
In my previous application I submitted a lot of pictures with my girlfriend as a proof that we know each other. My question now is that since I would be applying again, should I reduce the number of pictures with my girlfriend and add alot more of my family ? If I do this, would it not be seen as I am submitting something different from what CIC already has in their database like you said ?

Should I rather just add new documents to what I submitted earlier or should I remove older unnecessary documents and put new documents.

Please advise once more.

Thank you.

 

[Msafiri]

1. Why can't your gf visit you instead of you re-applying? Visa post will see you as desperate to go to Canada...desperate people make risky visa applicants!
2. How much is your annual income Canadian? Is it all declared and taxed? Did you submit proof form your tax authority?
3. What is the percentage of your 'Canadian' trip expenses in relation to 2? If you make say 10K and are spending 2K then visa post not buying it!
4. Most Canadian's get a 2 week vacation maybe 3 if lucky and 4 after years of long service or working for the government. Your 4 week vacation request is a huge red flag.
5. No need to specify the country but some country's are classed as high risk for overstay and more crucially refugee claimants list - your maybe on the list and you are just caught up in the mess from high claim rates from your nationals.

 

[SenatorT]

1. Why can't your gf visit you instead of you re-applying? Visa post will see you as desperate to go to Canada...desperate people make risky visa applicants!
2. How much is your annual income Canadian? Is it all declared and taxed? Did you submit proof form your tax authority?
3. What is the percentage of your 'Canadian' trip expenses in relation to 2? If you make say 10K and are spending 2K then visa post not buying it!
4. Most Canadian's get a 2 week vacation maybe 3 if lucky and 4 after years of long service or working for the government. Your 4 week vacation request is a huge red flag.
5. No need to specify the country but some country's are classed as high risk for overstay and more crucially refugee claimants list - your maybe on the list and you are just caught up in the mess from high claim rates from your nationals.

Thank you for responding to my issue.
My girlfriend can't visit me as she is studying in Canada. I am in a better position to visit her as am working and entitled to a six weeks leave. I have decided to spend 4 out of this 6weeks to visit her in Canada and also see tourist sites as well.
My income was declared in my previous application and taxed as well.
I earn around 27k canadian dolls per Annum. And I intend to spend around 4k canadian dolls on my visit. This is aside flight.

As for the duration of stay, my organization gives 6weeks leave, but I plan to spend 4weeks in Canada.
I dint see any reason to lie to the Visa office in my previous application as I even had a letter from my office stating am to proceed on 4weeks leave. I think the VO should appreciate truthfulness.

It may interest you to know that I have travel history around Europe and have even studied in UK. After all these I returned to my country where I currnetly work with a notable government organization.
I hope to apply again

 

[kriv]

"""" For the application that just got rejected, I attached Picture proofs (about 10 Pictures of myself and my girlfrnd before she traveled.)..... Were these pictures too much ? does it suggest that we are too close ? I also stated in my application that we have been dating for almost five years. """"

With the above....Haven't you already provided a strong proof that you have strong ties to canada and there are strong possibilities that you may get married during your visit to canada and it also seems like you may decide not to leave canada after your visa expires.

 

[SenatorT]

"""" For the application that just got rejected, I attached Picture proofs (about 10 Pictures of myself and my girlfrnd before she traveled.)..... Were these pictures too much ? does it suggest that we are too close ? I also stated in my application that we have been dating for almost five years. """"

With the above....Haven't you already provided a strong proof that you have strong ties to canada and there are strong possibilities that you may get married during your visit to canada and it also seems like you may decide not to leave canada after your visa expires.

Thanks for the insight.
With the mistake you just pointed out above, would you therefore suggest that I remove any form of picture to proof that I know my girlfriend or am close to her ?

For example, should I remove all the pictures attached as evidence of relationship in my previous application. Your response would be highly appreciated.

I included the pictures in the previous application because I don't want the visa office to think I don't have a relationship with the person inviting me.

Thanks for Ur anticipated response.

 

[SenatorT]

Dear All,

Please I would like a little clarification.

Can I submit Photos as a form of evidence of relationship to a person inviting me to Canada ?

Also, Can I also use Photo evidences as proof of family ties ?

Please advise.

Thank you.