Re entering Canada after being denied entry. Help! :3

[eninrutas]

Hi there,

In January my American boyfriend and I came back to Canada after visiting his family and friends in the US for a couple of months. I am a Canadian citizen. He was denied entry upon our arrival for a few reasons.

1. Not enough ties to home country (he has many but we didn't think to have supporting documentation)

2. Not enough funds (He was waiting on a large payment when we entered. Received it literally days after being denied entry. Dumb move.)

3. No health insurance.

So he returned to the US and went back to work and got himself some medical insurance. He would like to re enter next month. Perhaps we are overcompensating for how horribly unprepared and ignorant we were, but this time we intend to have documentation for absolutely everything. Being separated has been terrible and we are taking this very seriously. So I have a few questions.

1. Would it be best to come with a file folder in hand with all of the documentation and present it immediately upon arrival at customs? I am pretty much 100% sure he will be taken in for secondary so we feel it is a good idea.

2. Would it be good to have a medical examination (document?) to prove that he is in good health? And if so, would it have to be issues by a specific doctor?

3. What kind of physical evidence of ties to his home country do they want? It's easy enough to tell them that he has many friends and family members in the US, some of which are not in the best of health but would they want to see actual physical evidence of this? Photographs? A letter from his Mother and Father?

4. He plans to have a copy of his lease, a letter from his employer (that he may return to if he isn't too busy with school in the fall), his fall course schedule in the US. Would these suffice as ties as well?

5. If he is granted a Visitor Record and decides he would like to extend his stay, is it possible to apply for an extension? I'd like to know just in case.

I hope that all makes sense. He has many people here who love him and we want to be able to spend the summer together. I want to make sure we cover all of our bases this time. Our ignorance cost us so much and we want to do everything right this time.

Thank you so much for your time! <3

 

[scylla]

1. Don't present the supporting documentation unless asked.
2. Don't bother with the medical. Just make sure he has insurance.
3. No photos. No letters. Those won't be seen as real ties. They want to see things like: property ownership, rental agreement, proof of employment, proof of school enrollment, etc.
4. The lease is good. The rest is weak. Can he show that he has already paid the tuition fees for the fall semester?
5. Yes - he can try to extend.

 

[eninrutas]

1. Don't present the supporting documentation unless asked.
2. Don't bother with the medical. Just make sure he has insurance.
3. No photos. No letters. Those won't be seen as real ties. They want to see things like: property ownership, rental agreement, proof of employment, proof of school enrollment, etc.
4. The lease is good. The rest is weak. Can he show that he has already paid the tuition fees for the fall semester?
5. Yes - he can try to extend.

1. Haha I guess I didn't specify I don't think he intends to walk up to the counter waiving it around. But he'll have it if he's asked.

4. I don't think he can pay the full tuition for fall because he won't receive his student loans until (I'm guessing) a few weeks before the start of the semester. Anything else you can recommend?

Thank you for your help!

 

[amikety]

His insurance at his American job isn't what the IO is looking for. Your bf should get Canadian travel insurance. Virutally no Canadian doctors/hospitals accept any form of US insurance. It must be visitor's insurance for Canada.

When you buy the insurance, print out the confirm pages that list his coverage info and says "VISTOR" on it.

Scylla raised a great point with the schooling. Has he already done his Fasfa and his AAV? Those show intent - he could bring those and hope they help if he's brought into secondary.

If and when you need help with a Visitor's Record, come back and let us know. I'm on my third VR... A few others have multiples as well.

There's a really good chance he said something that raised a red flag with the IO in January. Re-think the conversation. He should always have a definite date of return - no "I'm not sure" or "I will probably return X date, but I might stay longer." No no no no no! Definite date of return!

Another thing, he could bring a letter from you and/or your parents inviting him to stay. They can offer to cover his boarding and food costs while he visits Canada. That will help show the IO your bf won't try to work illegally to cover his living costs.

 

[eninrutas]

His insurance at his American job isn't what the IO is looking for. Your bf should get Canadian travel insurance. Virutally no Canadian doctors/hospitals accept any form of US insurance. It must be visitor's insurance for Canada.

When you buy the insurance, print out the confirm pages that list his coverage info and says "VISTOR" on it.

Scylla raised a great point with the schooling. Has he already done his Fasfa and his AAV? Those show intent - he could bring those and hope they help if he's brought into secondary.

If and when you need help with a Visitor's Record, come back and let us know. I'm on my third VR... A few others have multiples as well.

There's a really good chance he said something that raised a red flag with the IO in January. Re-think the conversation. He should always have a definite date of return - no "I'm not sure" or "I will probably return X date, but I might stay longer." No no no no no! Definite date of return!

Another thing, he could bring a letter from you and/or your parents inviting him to stay. They can offer to cover his boarding and food costs while he visits Canada. That will help show the IO your bf won't try to work illegally to cover his living costs.

Hey! Thanks for the reply!

He said he definitely will be getting travel insurance as well. He also said he has his Student Loan application done and other documents. One thing is that he is less than a year away from graduation. So not returning to the US at this point wouldn't make any sense.

The letter from my parents is one I forgot about as well. The IOs actually suggested it when he was denied entry. He will be living with me at my place and has saved quite a large chunk of money but my parents did offer to write a letter confirming that if there was some emergency, they would be able to help out.

Honestly the reason we were pulled into secondary is pretty obvious and kind of funny. My boyfriend is a wonderful honest smiling ray of sunshine and mentioned too many details of our tentative future plans. I knew we were doomed but his honest and positive outlook on the world is one of the many reasons I love this person. That and the fact that we didn't have a return ticket since he wasn't sure how long within the 6 months he would stay. Neither of us thought it would be an issue since he had come in without one before but if I knew what I know now, we would have gone about things very differently.

Thank you again for your help! I can't tell you how good it feels to talk to someone else who has gone through the same thing. :3

 

[amikety]

Next time, buy a refundable ticket. That way he will have proof to show the IO and he can return it and get most of his money back. (Most airlines have a small fee to cancel. Refundable tickets are usually more expensive.) You can also fly in and out of Canada with Priceline.com now, so he might be able to score a super cheap flight. I did that for my final "visit." I paid about half of retail for my flight so I didn't feel a huge loss at wasting a return flight.

(The downside, of course, is you don't get to pick what airline, layovers, and time the flight arrives - although you can pick the time of day, such as morning.)

I've heard people tell the IO about their plans to visit Canada and decide if they like it to immigrate with their partner and have no problems! Then there was a woman a while back who had the forms downloaded on her laptop and CIC refused her entry for that. So it seems luck of the draw on that one....

As long as he has savings this time, it will go much smoother. About 2k per month is recommended, but if he's staying with you, it isn't s strict. Having a credit card with enough funds to buy a ticket home might not be a bad idea too - if possible. That's what I showed the IO for my "emergency" funds for my first trip.

 

[eninrutas]

Next time, buy a refundable ticket. That way he will have proof to show the IO and he can return it and get most of his money back. (Most airlines have a small fee to cancel. Refundable tickets are usually more expensive.) You can also fly in and out of Canada with Priceline.com now, so he might be able to score a super cheap flight. I did that for my final "visit." I paid about half of retail for my flight so I didn't feel a huge loss at wasting a return flight.

(The downside, of course, is you don't get to pick what airline, layovers, and time the flight arrives - although you can pick the time of day, such as morning.)

I've heard people tell the IO about their plans to visit Canada and decide if they like it to immigrate with their partner and have no problems! Then there was a woman a while back who had the forms downloaded on her laptop and CIC refused her entry for that. So it seems luck of the draw on that one....

As long as he has savings this time, it will go much smoother. About 2k per month is recommended, but if he's staying with you, it isn't s strict. Having a credit card with enough funds to buy a ticket home might not be a bad idea too - if possible. That's what I showed the IO for my "emergency" funds for my first trip.

Thanks for the info! Although last time we had purchased a cheaper flight with a connection and when he was denied entry they only sent him back to the city where our connection was, not his home state. Running on 24+ hours no sleep it was a pretty terrible situation

Yeah it seems to be that way. He mentioned that he would eventually like to move to Canada although we had only tentatively discussed it at that point. But I'm sure every situation is different. Saying that and then having no return flight and no money definitely counted against him. It's too bad they aren't physic beings who could just see our intentions, it's not enough to just explain to someone you've just met that you're an honest person who wants to do things properly.

Seriously thanks again for your input and good luck to you!

 

[abdelilah1el]

It is actually a little bit complicated when you are refused entry to the Canada.So the extension of stay is only available from inside Canada and you have to prove why do you want to stay more than legal period (usually six months for all nationalities with or without visa depanding on the country of issue.
Of course you will have invited to show evidence of supporting yourself during this time.However if you got bad visitor record inside Canada, you will be asked to leave Canada and u can ask for freedom of information from outside and a pardon.
For more information check this :cic gc ca

The most important thing, you have to be hpnest with officers at the immigration borders and answer their questions hpnestly as they are allowed to refuse entry to the Canada according to the law in Canada

 

[eninrutas]

It is actually a little bit complicated when you are refused entry to the Canada.So the extension of stay is only available from inside Canada and you have to prove why do you want to stay more than legal period (usually six months for all nationalities with or without visa depanding on the country of issue.
Of course you will have invited to show evidence of supporting yourself during this time.However if you got bad visitor record inside Canada, you will be asked to leave Canada and u can ask for freedom of information from outside and a pardon.
For more information check this :cic gc ca

The most important thing, you have to be hpnest with officers at the immigration borders and answer their questions hpnestly as they are allowed to refuse entry to the Canada according to the law in Canada

Thanks for the info! Unfortunately honesty was what got us in trouble last time. So hopefully this time with everything in order, his honesty will actually be a good thing. LOL

He won't be staying longer than 6 months for sure but I was wondering if it would be possible to extend it from 3 months to 4 months if he is issued a visitor record. This is just sort of a hypothetical question but life is crazy and uncertain so I'd like to cover everything just in case.

Also; does anyone know if he will definitely have to be issues a visitor record based on a previous refusal? Is it even possible that they would just wave him in without going for secondary? I find this unlikely but it seems to be somewhat random.

 

[amikety]

Thanks for the info! Unfortunately honesty was what got us in trouble last time. So hopefully this time with everything in order, his honesty will actually be a good thing. LOL

He won't be staying longer than 6 months for sure but I was wondering if it would be possible to extend it from 3 months to 4 months if he is issued a visitor record. This is just sort of a hypothetical question but life is crazy and uncertain so I'd like to cover everything just in case.

Also; does anyone know if he will definitely have to be issues a visitor record based on a previous refusal? Is it even possible that they would just wave him in without going for secondary? I find this unlikely but it seems to be somewhat random.

No, in fact I feel the chances are low he'll get a VR unless he asks for one.... and I wouldn't do that

 

[eninrutas]

No, in fact I feel the chances are low he'll get a VR unless he asks for one.... and I wouldn't do that

I hope so! We are working our butts off to make sure we have absolutely everything in order this time. Hopefully just showing how much work we have done will show how much we care about this and how seriously we are taking it. Ahh the regrets. LOL

 

[eninrutas]

No, in fact I feel the chances are low he'll get a VR unless he asks for one.... and I wouldn't do that

Amikety, could you possibly PM me? I'm not sure if I'm even allowed to PM though. XD I just have a quick question that I feel you may be able to answer.

 

[amikety]

Amikety, could you possibly PM me? I'm not sure if I'm even allowed to PM though. XD I just have a quick question that I feel you may be able to answer.

I can, but you'll need ten posts to be able to PM me back. Just spam two and you'll be good.

 

[eninrutas]

I can, but you'll need ten posts to be able to PM me back. Just spam two and you'll be good.

OOH! Thanks I was looking for the info about how to get out of n00b status!

 

[eninrutas]

8) I love pizza YUM YUM YUM! 8)