TRV Questions & Forms Not Fillable, Help!

[miss-maple]

I'm completing the TRV application online for a friend of mine who would like to visit me in Canada, is from South Africa. I'm running into some issues with some of the forms. I was wondering if someone could help clarify and suggest solutions.

1) a) IMM5257 Form: my friend lives in the province of Gauteng, however the province field won't allow me to indicate this.
b) IMM5257 Form: under current country of residence, which is currently South Africa (where he has lived all his life), it won't
allow me to fill in the date field (to and from).
c) IMM5257 Form: under current marital status (which he is divorced), it won't allow me to fill in the date of divorce as
requested.
d) IMM5257 Form: under contact information, for both the current address and mailing address it won't allow me to fill in the
province field.
e) IMM5257 Form: under details of visit to Canada, I've indicated that he will be visiting/staying with me, my husband, and my
son. Am I required to provide supporting documents (along with invitation letter) such as proof of employment/birth
certificates/passports for each family member, or is it sufficient that I've written a notarized letter, with all of our family details, with
the inclusion of only my copy of passport/employment details/birth certificate?
f) IMM5707E Family Information Form: my friend is visiting Canada alone, however the forms ask about whether or not he has children.
He has one child who is an adult (22 yrs) who isn't going to accompany him on his travels. The form asks that all every adult listed on
the form needs to complete/sign it. I'm confused, the form asks that you complete details about your children even if they are grown
adults and not accompanying you to Canada. Surely they don't expect adult individuals, who aren't accompanying you, to sign this
form?

2) He will be submitting (online) the 2 passport photos requested, are they expecting to receive scanned copies of the back side of the
photos with his signature/date?

3) The application states that a visitor must prove they have intent to return home after their trip to Canada, proof includes return airfare,
letter of employment, any details of personal assets, bank account statements, bills and insurance policies that he is responsible for,
anything that will provide proof that he has ties back home, a life that keeps him grounded in South Africa. The issue with this is he
does not own a home, he rents. South Africa's economy is terrible at the moment, he's employed full time but his salary isn't the
greatest. Knowing that he wasn't able to provide much in the way of proof I called CIC and the representative suggested that he have
his brother write a supporting letter indicating that there are family ties and responsibilities waiting for him at home. My call was
dropped and I've not been able to get through to them for the last 2 days. I'm wondering what this supporting letter might look like,
does anyone have any suggestions on how this should be written and what information it should include? Has anyone ever been asked
to write this type of letter? If so, could you share your details? His flights are already booked (December 21, 2016- January 22, 2017)
with cancelation insurance. He wasn't keen on purchasing the ticket to provide proof ahead of time that he has every intent on returning
however this seems to be the only supporting document that might help with the application, other than his letter of employment.

Thanks for taking the time to read this, much appreciated. Any input would help, I'm desperate at this point as we've spent countless hours on this application and are still left with questions.

 

[Bryanna]

Hi,

I'll help with some of the answers.


1) e) As the Canadian host, you must include an Invitation Letter + copies of your passport/citizenship certificate + NOA and bank statement (if you wish to provide these documents)
If your husband is the co-inviter then do include similar documents.

1) f) Your friend has to sign the Family Information form (not his son). Your friend must give complete information as requested for in this form.


3) He must include copies of his rent agreement + 2-3 months rent receipts/bank transfers for the rent.
He must prove he has strong reasons to return home: Employment/business + dependent family + good financial situation + previous travel history, etc

CIC call centre agents aren't the brightest of advisers. You'll find more useful information on this forum. I wouldn't spend time hoping to speak with another agent.

What does your friend do? Is he working or manages a business or retired?
Does he have family who depends on him financially or for their well-being?
Does he have previous travel history (US/UK/Schengen countries)?
Is he able to pay for this trip without borrowing.... and without a Letter of Support from his brother?


Cheers

 

[Jalex23]

1) a) IMM5257 Form: my friend lives in the province of Gauteng, however the province field won't allow me to indicate this.
b) IMM5257 Form: under current country of residence, which is currently South Africa (where he has lived all his life), it won't
allow me to fill in the date field (to and from).

South African provinces are not supported.

The form greys out the field. Greyed out fields are not needed.

c) IMM5257 Form: under current marital status (which he is divorced), it won't allow me to fill in the date of divorce as
requested.

The instructions state that divorce date is not needed.

d) IMM5257 Form: under contact information, for both the current address and mailing address it won't allow me to fill in the
province field.

They are greyed out, not needed.

e) IMM5257 Form: under details of visit to Canada, I've indicated that he will be visiting/staying with me, my husband, and my
son. Am I required to provide supporting documents (along with invitation letter) such as proof of employment/birth
certificates/passports for each family member, or is it sufficient that I've written a notarized letter, with all of our family details, with
the inclusion of only my copy of passport/employment details/birth certificate?

If you intend to help him with expenses and accommodations then you need 1) copy of ID 2) letter of invitation 3) bank snapshot showing sufficient funds.

Notarization serves no purpose.

f) IMM5707E Family Information Form: my friend is visiting Canada alone, however the forms ask about whether or not he has children.
He has one child who is an adult (22 yrs) who isn't going to accompany him on his travels. The form asks that all every adult listed on
the form needs to complete/sign it. I'm confused, the form asks that you complete details about your children even if they are grown
adults and not accompanying you to Canada. Surely they don't expect adult individuals, who aren't accompanying you, to sign this
form?

The form does not request signature from no one but the applicant.

2) He will be submitting (online) the 2 passport photos requested, are they expecting to receive scanned copies of the back side of the
photos with his signature/date?

No.

3) The application states that a visitor must prove they have intent to return home after their trip to Canada, proof includes return airfare,
letter of employment, any details of personal assets, bank account statements, bills and insurance policies that he is responsible for,
anything that will provide proof that he has ties back home, a life that keeps him grounded in South Africa. The issue with this is he
does not own a home, he rents. South Africa's economy is terrible at the moment, he's employed full time but his salary isn't the
greatest. Knowing that he wasn't able to provide much in the way of proof I called CIC and the representative suggested that he have
his brother write a supporting letter indicating that there are family ties and responsibilities waiting for him at home. My call was
dropped and I've not been able to get through to them for the last 2 days. I'm wondering what this supporting letter might look like,
does anyone have any suggestions on how this should be written and what information it should include? Has anyone ever been asked
to write this type of letter? If so, could you share your details? His flights are already booked (December 21, 2016- January 22, 2017)
with cancelation insurance. He wasn't keen on purchasing the ticket to provide proof ahead of time that he has every intent on returning
however this seems to be the only supporting document that might help with the application, other than his letter of employment.

It should have exactly what the agent told you.

There is no such thing as a format, just be formal, polite, concise and make the information requested obvious.

Use google for templates if you want something that you can modify. There are plenty.

 

[miss-maple]

Thank you for your responses.

To address your questions, he is employed full time. Not self employed. Other than travelling within his own country he has not travelled outside his country. He has just obtained his first passport. He has paid for his own return flight. He is single and only needs to support himself as his only child is now an adult and moved out.