Question about impact of previous rejections on current PR application

[amostpainfulwait]

Hi all,

I've been reading threads on this forum for some time now but have only just decided to open up account. I recently submitted the application for sponsoring my wife. There however is something in our application which concerns me.

My wife's family had applied for TRV to visit my family here in Canada two months after our marriage in December. The principal applicant was my father-in-law and my wife was included in this application. This TRV however was rejected primarily due to a mistake on the forms. With regards to a question which asks whether or not they were refused a visa previously, on all the forms for my in laws and my wife, it was answered no. However, my father-in-law had applied for PR to Canada a long time ago (at which time my wife was a dependent of him under the age of 18). Since he did not pursue that application further, that application was rejected. When filling out the TRV in February, this was answered No as we mistakenly thought the visa application asked in the question did not include the PR application filed earlier. And of course, the rejection of the TRV came with the status from the visa officer which stated that my in laws and wife did not answer the questions truthfully. They had also stated that the period of intended stay was too long (my wife who is studying had decided to take a semester off to spend time with me before any of us had any idea of how stringent immigration rules are). Also in the sponsorship letter from my father to my father-in-law for the TRV, we did not specifically mention that we are married (but had listed this information that my wife was married to me on the family information form).

After the TRV rejection, we decided to just go for the PR application. The thing that worries us now is that will the immigration officer view this PR application as a means of coming to Canada for my wife (and maybe in laws) after the previous rejection of the TRV for my wife and in-laws (along with a previous rejection of PR, even though that was from 10 years ago). I decided to go through a lawyer as I was unsure of the implications of the rejections my wife had under her name (although in neither of the cases was she the principal applicant). The lawyer stated not to worry to as that was only a TRV and the principal applicant was my father-in-law. In the recently submitted PR application however, my wife mentioned that she was rejected twice (PR once and TRV recently). I am still worried. If anyone has any ideas as to whether the reasons in the rejected TRV would impact the PR or not, it would be greatly appreciated if they could share their insights. Although we had just recently submitted the application, the waiting time ahead of us is starting to make this entire process unbearable.

 

[canadianwoman]

Your wife was right to mention both the TRV and the PR rejection. Having previous rejections means that the visa officer will scrutinize the file more carefully. It makes an interview more likely. If there is an interview, she can explain that in both cases her father was the principal applicant. She should also explain they misinterpreted the question and that is why they did not mention the previous PR application.

However, since the recent TRV application was specifically so your two families could meet, this is not a 'bad' reason to have applied for a TRV. Wanting to visit one's spouse is a good reason to apply for a TRV. That part will probably not affect her PR chances. The two together might, so she should be prepared for an interview where she can explain things.

 

[amostpainfulwait]

Thanks for the reply.

Eeekk, I'm really hoping that the evidence of a genuine relationship for marriage in our PR application suffices so as not to get the call for an interview.

In actuality, my wife and I don't mind an interview to explain our situation if needed. But what we dread are the excruciatingly long wait times if that were to happen...especially since we are suspecting that the VO the file will be sent to after SA is Singapore

 

[canadianwoman]

If you have a lot of evidence that your relationship is genuine, an interview is less likely. Two refused visas are not great, but neither was 'her' application, and the reason for the second (for her family to meet yours) is perfectly legitimate.
Hope for the best!