Hi. I'm living in Canada on an open work permt and I wanted my wife to join me to help me during this busy time of the year in my job which has put a lot of physical/mental burden on me. Her TRV was approved recently (we cited same reasons) but when we applied for a 'written letter of authorization' the IRCC resfused it saying her travel is not non-discretionary meaning her travel is optional. She is fully vaccinated with Astra Zeneca vaccine. Is there any way around she can come to Canada?
Spouse got TRV approved but IRCC refused a letter of written authorization. What next?
- Thread starter prathmesh77
- Start date
Why do you need "written letter of authorization"? My understanding is your wife only needs TRV and proof of vaccine to come to Canada.
It is required for immediate family members such as spouses of temporary residents like study/work permit holders in Canada. If I had a PR then my spouse wouldn't need a letter of authorization to travel
We did not submit a proof of vaccination but did mention that she is fully vaccinated. If I am not wrong and I checked many times on IRCC website that a letter of authorization is required for family members like spouses of a temporary residents like work permit holders even if they have valid TRV. Please check what IRCC replied to my spouse:
Good day,
Your request to be exempt from the current restrictions to travel to Canada has been refused under the Order in Council, Minimizing the Risk of Exposure to COVID-19 in Canada Order (Prohibition of Entry into Canada from any country other than the United States).
Based on our assessment of the information you provided and the information in our system, we have not found that you meet the immediate family member exemption. In particular,
- you have not established that your reasons for travelling are non-discretionary or non-optional.
- The travel restrictions apply to all travel of an optional or discretionary nature, such as tourism, entertainment or recreation.
We're frustrated with this whole shit. It has been a very long time we haven't seen each other. There must be many who are in a same situation. The best joke is IRCC doesn't value its own Visa. They gave her a visa to travel and on the other hand told her not to travel or she'll have to face consequences even if she is fully vaccinated and has no symptoms and -ve RT PCR.
The vaccination status needs to be updated in ArriveCan and it was not required according to the checklist to obtain a written letter of authorization to travel.
https://www.canada.ca/en/public-health/news/2021/11/government-of-canada-introduces-additional-measures-to-address-covid-19-omicron-variant-of-concern.html
https://travel.gc.ca/travel-covid/travel-restrictions/answers/foreign-vaccinated
I don't see mentioning of need to obtain a written letter of authorization to travel
https://travel.gc.ca/travel-covid/travel-restrictions/answers/foreign-non-us-family-tr
this is where we checked. We google searched : can i travel to canada and answered the questions they asked as per our status
This is what I got confused. My impression is that Canada has opened up to tourist as long as they are fully vaccinated.
I'll call IRCC tomorrow and get this thing clarified. I'll post my reply in this thread with what they tell me.
Yeah. But I thought if IRCC is issuing the letter regarding travel then they should clarify what's happening first
I think when I applied there was a field for proof of travel exemption, so I uploaded the vaccine certificate there. Maybe they updated the portal later but geez they have made this whole thing so complicated...it's ridiculous to have different rules based on the status of the person you are visiting...
According the information provided for the IRCC if you’re a fully vaccinated travel then you will not need the written authorization letter. Please see here https://www.canada.ca/en/immigration-refugees-citizenship/services/coronavirus-covid19/visitors/immediate-family.html#temporary