[Received GCMS] Syrian in UAE wanting to get a Study Permit to Canada

[Dirki]

Dear members,

I have applied for the SP in the United Arab Emirates. I received my refusal in mid-October, 2018. I was refused for the following reasons:

"You have not satisfied me that you would leave Canada at the end of your stay. In reaching this decision, I considered several factors, including: (1) immigration status in country of residence, (2) purpose of visit, (3) employment prospects in country of residence, and (4) current employment situation.”​

I have requested GCMS/CAIPS notes and I received them. This is the comment from the Visa Officer:

"I have reviewed the application. The Applicant's incentives to remain in Canada may outweigh their ties to their home country. According to the applicant's current or future employment prospects, I have accorded less weight to their employment ties to their country of residence. The Applicant's immigration status in their country of residence appears to be temporary, which may reduce their ties to that country. Weighing the factors in this application. I am not satisfied that the applicant will depart Canada at the end of the period authorized for their stay. For the reasons above, I have refused this application"
​

This is my profile:

• Fresh graduate, BSc Civil Engineering
• No formal work experience
• Syrian national born and raised in UAE.
• LOA for MEng Civil Engineering from UWindsor, May 2019 intake.
• Currently on a Student Visa in the UAE, expiring March 2019.

Here are some of the preparations I can take:

• Will get a guaranteed job offer, transfer to a Work Visa valid for 2 years, and get a NOC from the company that I will resume work upon finishing studies.

Is there anything else I can do to have a stronger case in the eyes of the VO? I can understand being a Syrian national may negatively impact the outcome of my application, but I have true and genuine intentions of focusing on my studies and run the family business when I return home.

Looking forward for your recommendations on this application and if anyone had any past experiences applying from the UAE or Gulf.

 

[selvakk]

Dear members,

I have applied for the SP in the United Arab Emirates. I received my refusal in mid-October, 2018. I was refused for the following reasons:

"You have not satisfied me that you would leave Canada at the end of your stay. In reaching this decision, I considered several factors, including: (1) immigration status in country of residence, (2) purpose of visit, (3) employment prospects in country of residence, and (4) current employment situation.”​

I have requested GCMS/CAIPS notes and I received them. This is the comment from the Visa Officer:

"I have reviewed the application. The Applicant's incentives to remain in Canada may outweigh their ties to their home country. According to the applicant's current or future employment prospects, I have accorded less weight to their employment ties to their country of residence. The Applicant's immigration status in their country of residence appears to be temporary, which may reduce their ties to that country. Weighing the factors in this application. I am not satisfied that the applicant will depart Canada at the end of the period authorized for their stay. For the reasons above, I have refused this application"
​

This is my profile:

• Fresh graduate, BSc Civil Engineering
• No formal work experience
• Syrian national born and raised in UAE.
• LOA for MEng Civil Engineering from UWindsor, May 2019 intake.
• Currently on a Student Visa in the UAE, expiring March 2019.

Here are some of the preparations I can take:

• Will get a guaranteed job offer, transfer to a Work Visa valid for 2 years, and get a NOC from the company that I will resume work upon finishing studies.

Is there anything else I can do to have a stronger case in the eyes of the VO? I can understand being a Syrian national may negatively impact the outcome of my application, but I have true and genuine intentions of focusing on my studies and run the family business when I return home.

Looking forward for your recommendations on this application and if anyone had any past experiences applying from the UAE or Gulf.

I have not applied from UAE but I was born there. I understand you are on student visa.

Main problem is student visa which is temporary and to put it nicely you are Syrian so mostly likely you would not return back to Syria. So since you will lose your ability to return to the UAE and you have not show any ties back to UAE the visa officer has denied your application.

Now what is the status of your family ? You mentioned they have a business. Are they on a residency visa ?

 

[Dirki]

I have not applied from UAE but I was born there. I understand you are on student visa.

Main problem is student visa which is temporary and to put it nicely you are Syrian so mostly likely you would not return back to Syria. So since you will lose your ability to return to the UAE and you have not show any ties back to UAE the visa officer has denied your application.

Now what is the status of your family ? You mentioned they have a business. Are they on a residency visa ?

Thanks for your reply.

I have transferred my Residence Visa from Student to Work Visa and is valid until late 2020. I will now have a legal status in the UAE upon finishing my studies, and I can return back. I have shown numerous properties to prove ties. All which are owned by parents. Most family members are on a Work Visa.

Sorry for the delay in response.

 

[selvakk]

Thanks for your reply.

I have transferred my Residence Visa from Student to Work Visa and is valid until late 2020. I will now have a legal status in the UAE upon finishing my studies, and I can return back. I have shown numerous properties to prove ties. All which are owned by parents. Most family members are on a Work Visa.

Sorry for the delay in response.

You should have a better shot but even better would be residency visa but this should be good enough. Put emphasis on good job prospects in the UAE and the family that is already settled there. You can mention residency visa is difficult to get in UAE ( which it is ) and your family is looking for it which is why they are having work visa.
Canadian officer may not know complex visa details about UAE. I have to keep on telling people I am not a Emarati just because I was born there and lived there.

 

[Majed-bq97]

Well I totally can relate to your situation.
I have a Yemeni friend of mine who lives in Saudi Arabia.
So with regards to your application, his first application was refused cus the officer wasn’t satisfied that He will leave once he finishes his studies. So he applied for a second time but this time he wrote a letter of explanation responding to the officeir’s concerns. And proved strong ties to his home country “KSA” so after 6 weeks the visa section asked for additional documents. “ I don’t really know whar they asked for but I think they asked for Proof of the bank statement he provided.
So my point is , he managed to convince them that he will Canada although he’s Yemeni. So u could do the same thing too .. You’ve got to prove strong ties to UAE by writing a solid letter of explanation..
Goood Luck ..!

 

[Dirki]

You should have a better shot but even better would be residency visa but this should be good enough. Put emphasis on good job prospects in the UAE and the family that is already settled there. You can mention residency visa is difficult to get in UAE ( which it is ) and your family is looking for it which is why they are having work visa.
Canadian officer may not know complex visa details about UAE. I have to keep on telling people I am not a Emarati just because I was born there and lived there.

Understood. However, I believe I have already mentioned it in my SOP. I believe it was not read at all, it was too long and putting myself in a VO's position, I would not have opened it as it was 7 pages long. I will make it brief and address all VO concerns in one page for my next application.

Well I totally can relate to your situation.
I have a Yemeni friend of mine who lives in Saudi Arabia.
So with regards to your application, his first application was refused cus the officer wasn’t satisfied that He will leave once he finishes his studies. So he applied for a second time but this time he wrote a letter of explanation responding to the officeir’s concerns. And proved strong ties to his home country “KSA” so after 6 weeks the visa section asked for additional documents. “ I don’t really know whar they asked for but I think they asked for Proof of the bank statement he provided.
So my point is , he managed to convince them that he will Canada although he’s Yemeni. So u could do the same thing too .. You’ve got to prove strong ties to UAE by writing a solid letter of explanation..
Goood Luck ..!

Thank you so much for sharing this story with me. It has not only given me a boost, but has shown me that I am not judged based on my nationality. I will address all VO concerns and write a strong SOP. I hope I can get to hear what support documentation he has attached that is considered as "strong ties" in the eyes of a VO.

Yet again, thank you both for your detailed replies.

 

[selvakk]

Understood. However, I believe I have already mentioned it in my SOP. I believe it was not read at all, it was too long and putting myself in a VO's position, I would not have opened it as it was 7 pages long. I will make it brief and address all VO concerns in one page for my next application.



Thank you so much for sharing this story with me. It has not only given me a boost, but has shown me that I am not judged based on my nationality. I will address all VO concerns and write a strong SOP. I hope I can get to hear what support documentation he has attached that is considered as "strong ties" in the eyes of a VO.

Yet again, thank you both for your detailed replies.

Yes, 7 pages would be too much. Remember VO has access to all your application forms so just mention the points that will justify your admission to Canada and which cannot be inferred from your application. Keep it at one to two pages at most and do keep us updated on your result.

 

[Majed-bq97]

Understood. However, I believe I have already mentioned it in my SOP. I believe it was not read at all, it was too long and putting myself in a VO's position, I would not have opened it as it was 7 pages long. I will make it brief and address all VO concerns in one page for my next application.



Thank you so much for sharing this story with me. It has not only given me a boost, but has shown me that I am not judged based on my nationality. I will address all VO concerns and write a strong SOP. I hope I can get to hear what support documentation he has attached that is considered as "strong ties" in the eyes of a VO.

Yet again, thank you both for your detailed replies.

Well whether we like it or not but the nationality of an applicant plays a major role in the decision making for the VO.However, there’s no rule that prevents certain nationalities from entering Canada,So it deserves a shot if you give it your all. So back to the point , he wrote why chose Canada over other countries and a matter of fact he gave very convincing reasons as to why he prefers to study in Canada over the US and UK , talked about the safety and security in Canada ,how important his home country is and that all of his family and friends and relatives live there so why would he stay in Canada anyway once he his studies finish. A very solid LOE tbh.
I can tell that you’re proficient in English so I wouldn’t be worried about your LOE if you respond to all of the refusal grounds. Respond to every point that caused the refusal of your 1st application.