Questions regarding visitory visa from Islamabad for sponsored spouse

[shaznaz75]

I would personally encourage you to wait till your wife has some travelling history to show for.....but again it doesn't mean lack of travel history is certainly a "No,No" - you can try in the end all u will lose is probably 5-6000Rs(Visa fees)...But provide good supporting documents, the letter you write(invitation letter) should be very detailed - maybe you can get a professionally written invitation letter from a lawyer or maybe you can write it yourself- should be detailed, specific and to the point. Ideally for a visitor who wishes to spend a month in Canada should have $1000-1500 as spending money but the bank account should definitely show much more than this, there might not be a minimum amount but anything in excess of $10000-15000(equivalent in PKR) should be good enough if not ideal....

A lot of people do get visas even though they have very little or no travel history. 50-50 chance, but if you don't give it a try you will never know...as for hiring a lawyer I don't know if you want to spend $2000-2500 on simple TRV application. I can help you fill out a TRV application and maybe help you with writing an invitation letter- all free of cost!

 

[shaznaz75]

Oh as for your ticket question, I will not suggest you to buy a ticket in advance. Tickets can get refunded, so you wont be proving anything. The base their decisions on these things(the most important I can think of, right now)
1) Applicant's ties to home country(Family, employment, property etc)
2) Purpose of Trip (In your case visiting Husband)
3) Enough money for the trip (Bank statement, it should be an active bank account => they normally look at your transactions too not just the ending balance)
4)Travel History

Hope this helps....

 

[irsum]

They don't ask you anything from my personal experience when I traveled on TRV before to visit my wife in Canada, but others have reported, the CBAS officers have asked the following questions:

How long will you be staying in Canada
Who are you visiting
Who is coming to pick you up from the airport
How many checked-in bags - any gifts worth $2000 or more
Purpose of your stay in canada.
Which city will you be mainly located in..

Be prepared for these types of questions. Others are welcome to add more to this list.....

The main thing is to look confident when you appear at the immigration desk- they are good at face reading

Thanks for the info shaznaz. I have few more questions/concerns.
How much visa will they give her at the aiport? We applied for 6 months. Do they always give what you have applied for ? is there a way to ask for more from the officer at the airport ?
Should my wife carry the amount in cash what she wrote she will have in the application form ?
Thanks

 

[shaznaz75]

Thanks for the info shaznaz. I have few more questions/concerns.
How much visa will they give her at the aiport? We applied for 6 months. Do they always give what you have applied for ? is there a way to ask for more from the officer at the airport ?
Should my wife carry the amount in cash what she wrote she will have in the application form ?
Thanks

It can be from a month to 6 months- they might ask @ immigration(when she arrives in canada) how long she intends to stay in Canada- over there she can tell them 3 months. Personally I haven't stayed on TRV for more than 4 weeks though I had a year long TRV. Make sure the time frame she tells them does NOT exceed the expiry date of the visa.

somebody might want to confirm this but I have heard that sometimes you can stay in Canada for as long as the visa is valid for (Single entry 6 months max) If for instance you have a TRV valid for 1 yr to 2 yrs you can stay upto a max of 6 months..and then leave canada and re-enter. You cannot ask for extension from the immigration officer at the airport..He's a CBSA officer they don't deal with visa extension etc...

As for cash they usually don't ask how much she's carrying even if they do she can always say she wired the money to you(Husband) and therefore she doesn't have anything to show for they don't normally ask such questions to people travelling on TRV.

 

[irsum]

It can be from a month to 6 months- they might ask @ immigration(when she arrives in canada) how long she intends to stay in Canada- over there she can tell them 3 months. Personally I haven't stayed on TRV for more than 4 weeks though I had a year long TRV. Make sure the time frame she tells them does NOT exceed the expiry date of the visa.

somebody might want to confirm this but I have heard that sometimes you can stay in Canada for as long as the visa is valid for (Single entry 6 months max) If for instance you have a TRV valid for 1 yr to 2 yrs you can stay upto a max of 6 months..and then leave canada and re-enter. You cannot ask for extension from the immigration officer at the airport..He's a CBSA officer they don't deal with visa extension etc...

As for cash they usually don't ask how much she's carrying even if they do she can always say she wired the money to you(Husband) and therefore she doesn't have anything to show for they don't normally ask such questions to people travelling on TRV.

So if expiration date on her passport is in August, there is no way she can get to stay longer then that ?

 

[shaznaz75]

That's correct, she cannot stay longer then Aug but you can apply for extension to her TRV atleast 30 days before her visa expires, and then she can get another 6 months visa...you will have to check the info on CIC website for in-land canada procedure for extending TRV visa.

 

[irsum]

That's correct, she cannot stay longer then Aug but you can apply for extension to her TRV atleast 30 days before her visa expires, and then she can get another 6 months visa...you will have to check the info on CIC website for in-land canada procedure for extending TRV visa.

Shaznaz, I think that is not accurate. The visa stamp from embassy is the time frame during which one must travel and enter to Canada. The duration of stay is granted at the airport as stamped by the immigration officer. Please see these answers from another subtopic under visitor visa
Thank you

My husband has recieved his visitor visa!!! Yaaaa!!! He is arriving tomorrow

Now I have a question...and I have been told 2 different answers. One by a lawyer and one by my local MP's office, who sent a letter of recommendation to approve the visa.

The dates on the visa....are those the only dates my husband is allowed to STAY in Canada? Must he leave by the 2nd date?

The lawyer told me, those are the dates are the time he has to ENTER Canada, and that unless an immigration officer at the airport specifies another date, the visa is automaticaly valid for a 6 month period.

Does anyone know??

Appreciate any help!

Thanks in advance.

Yes that is correct. He must enter Canada within the validity date of his visa. When he arrives in Canada, the POE officer will stamp his passport with the date of his arrival and if no other date is written, then he is good to stay for 6 months.

 

[shaznaz75]

Well, if a lawyer is telling something it has to be right -- like i said I haven't lived on a TRV for more then 4 weeks so I really don't know how long you can stay but I know(like i mentioned in my post) minimum is 6 months but I am under the impression those 6 months has to be within the time frame the visa is valid for...but please do make sure on your end...just to be on the safe side...

 

[irsum]

Well, if a lawyer is telling something it has to be right -- like i said I haven't lived on a TRV for more then 4 weeks so I really don't know how long you can stay but I know(like i mentioned in my post) minimum is 6 months but I am under the impression those 6 months has to be within the time frame the visa is valid for...but please do make sure on your end...just to be on the safe side...

Thanks for the response. the date issue is confusing and i found many people confused about it in different parts of the forum. I agree that I shall get it clear on my end...thanks again and best wishes

 

[ZU]

Here is something I got from CIC website (please refer the link below)

"When you arrive at the point of entry in Canada, an officer of the Canada Border Services Agency will make sure you meet the requirements to enter Canada.

The officer will authorize your stay by placing a stamp in your passport and/or issuing an additional document.

If there is no stamp, a handwritten date or document in your passport, your temporary resident status will expire six months from the day you arrived in Canada."

cic.gc.ca/english/information/faq/visit/index.asp
Expand the very first question on this page. Difference between single entry and multiple entry visa

 

[shaznaz75]

thanks ZU for sharing this information with us.

 

[Humayun000]

Hi irsum ,
What do u think how much money my cousin should carry with her?Her father told her whenever u reach Canada I will transfer money in my account so what should she tell io if he ask?

 

[sha123456]

Hello All,

its an awesome feeling to find all you guys here on this forum.

Please shed your opinions/thoughts on below:

Here's my case:
I am a PR living in Montreal. Got married in Dec 2011. I am right now in the process of collecting all the documents and would hopefully submit my application by end of March for spousal immigration to Missisuaga.

Now, I read all the posts in this forum and found from :

1. Humayoon, that his spouse got TRV even though they didnt apply for spousal immigration. Now he is thinking of applying for inland spousal.
2. irsum, applied for spousal imm in April 2011 and then applied for TRV in Nov 2011 and got it.

So cheers to both of you guys, congrats.

My questions: which is the safest way to go. Since I haven't applied yet for spousal immigration should my wife apply for her TRV. We both have good travel history together and as individual. But she got a couple of refusals for TRV like 3-4 years back.

Or should i opt and apply for spousal immigration and then say in July apply for TRV as irsum did?

please share your experiences.
Thanks alot

 

[shaznaz75]

Hey Sha, if you guys can provide all supporting documents required from TRV applicants and you have good travel history then go ahead and apply for TRV. As the decision of VO granting TRV to your wife is not based on your spousal imm.

Hope this helps and I am speaking from my own personal experience as I am a spouse of a canadian citizen(i am not being sponsored nor am I in the process of filing for PR) I travel to canada on TRV whenever I have to, infact I have just recently applied for a TRV on feb 20th....

 

[ZU]

Hi irsum ,
What do u think how much money my cousin should carry with her?Her father told her whenever u reach Canada I will transfer money in my account so what should she tell io if he ask?

In my opinion, there is no need to tell anything about the transfer this might complicate the case as she is visiting you on a TRV visa. Just ask her to be straight forward, tell the Immigration Officer whatever cash she has with her. Please keep in mind that the total cash should not exceed $ 10K