Visitor/Tourist

[xixioge]

Please can anyone help me with a visitor's visa or advise as deemed appropriate to my situation? I currently live in Denmark, but should be out of the country any moment from now since they turned out not to be foreigner-friendly ( I have lived here for 6 years by the way). I'm therefore trying to explore the Canadian option as I have been told it is a melting point for foreigners and they are not xenophobic like the country I currently live in.

A little about myself:
I'm from Nigeria and have been out of Nigeria for about 10 years now (lived in Europe for like 8 out of the almost 10 years). Denmark refused to renew my current residence permit because I divorced my husband that brought me into the country (and the condition of my spousal visa stipulated I must live in the same address with him (they don't care if he is abusive or not. As a foreign woman, I must live with my abuser and traumatize my daughters in the process just to fulfill some visa condition :'() and I didn't. I've been kicked out of the country as a result and stranded right now with two daughters all alone).

I need an urgent help as I have been told Canada is the place to be for displaced women like myself (that society has treated like *censored word*). Help and advise me pls!!

 

[zardoz]

Given the information provided, I think it extremely unlikely that Canada would grant you a TRV (visitor visa).
The perceived risk of overstay would be very high as you no longer have ties to either Denmark or Nigeria.

 

[xixioge]

Given the information provided, I think it extremely unlikely that Canada would grant you a TRV (visitor visa).
The perceived risk of overstay would be very high as you no longer have ties to either Denmark or Nigeria.

Do you suggest I go back to my country to build up ties then? If so, for how long?

 

[scylla]

Do you suggest I go back to my country to build up ties then? If so, for how long?

At least six months - more if you can.

You'll need to re-establish yourself in Nigeria and create ties to that country again. When you apply for a TRV to Canada, you'll need to demonstrate those ties to prove you are a genuine tourist and have no plans on remaining long term. Ideally you would want to show things like: full time employment or proof of business ownership, proof of property ownership, proof of other assets in Nigeria.

You can certainly try applying now. But I agree with zardoz - it's going to be extremely difficult for you to show ties and I think the chances of a refusal are very high.

 

[xixioge]

At least six months - more if you can.

You'll need to re-establish yourself in Nigeria and create ties to that country again. When you apply for a TRV to Canada, you'll need to demonstrate those ties to prove you are a genuine tourist and have no plans on remaining long term. Ideally you would want to show things like: full time employment or proof of business ownership, proof of property ownership, proof of other assets in Nigeria.

You can certainly try applying now. But I agree with zardoz - it's going to be extremely difficult for you to show ties and I think the chances of a refusal are very high.

Thanks for your reply! I didn't know getting a tourist visa to canada is this hard . I was thinking my having lived out of my country for so long in several other countries was enough trust for them to issue me the visa, but I guess it isn't enough.

 

[scylla]

Thanks for your reply! I didn't know getting a tourist visa to canada is this hard . I was thinking my having lived out of my country for so long in several other countries was enough trust for them to issue me the visa, but I guess it isn't enough.

The issue is that you don't look like a genuine tourist. Right now you would look like someone who has found out that they can't stay in Europe and is now trying to find another country to live in rather than returning to Nigeria. A genuine tourist is someone who clearly has an established home somewhere and is only coming to Canada temporarily (with no plans on remaining long term).

 

[scylla]

Just to add... Based on your first post, it sounds like you are interested in moving to Canada to live here. If that's the case, then you should be exploring ways you can immigrate here - not trying to come here as a tourist. You can find information on the Canadian immigration programs here:

http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/immigrate/apply.asp

Good luck.

 

[xixioge]

Just to add... Based on your first post, it sounds like you are interested in moving to Canada to live here. If that's the case, then you should be exploring ways you can immigrate here - not trying to come here as a tourist. You can find information on the Canadian immigration programs here:



Good luck.

Yeah, you guessed right! I plan to actually settle in Canada to find a safe haven for my daughters and I. I have gone through the other means of immigrating on the link you provided, but I'm a bit limited as I don't meet conditions for the 'highly skilled' category. Coming in as a student would have been a good option, but people told me I cannot take my daughters with me as I have to come in first before applying for my daughters to come join me later . So you see, my options are a bit limited as I want something that would get my daughters in with me. They are still underaged girls (10 and 12) and I don't want to live them unattended to while I'm probably in Canada. I have never been seperated from my daughters since I had them.

 

[zardoz]

To be brutally honest, I think that Canada may not be your best choice for the next country to live in.
They have made it harder and harder to get to unless you have either family or skills.
You are correct that the refusal rate for visitor visas is quite high and the burden of proof is heavily weighted against applicants from non visa-exempt countries.

 

[xixioge]

To be brutally honest, I think that Canada may not be your best choice for the next country to live in.
They have made it harder and harder to get to unless you have either family or skills.
You are correct that the refusal rate for visitor visas is quite high and the burden of proof is heavily weighted against applicants from non visa-exempt countries.

I do have skills though. I'm a university graduate (read Psychology) who also happen to have certain years of work experince and in addition to that I have done a few other short courses here and there. I'm just not sure these are enough to qualify for the highly skilled visa category, but I'm sure with my level of skill I can get something going once I get in Canada.

 

[scylla]

If you've already read through all of the immigration programs available and you don't qualify for any of them at this time, then another option would be to find an employer in Canada to is willing to give you a job once you become a permanent resident. If you can find an employer who is willing to give you a full time offer in a skilled role, then this should allow you to apply to immigrate through the Federal Skilled Worker program and possibly one of the Provincial programs.

I don't think you would be approved for a study permit. To be approved for a study permit, you would have to show you have strong ties to your home country (which would be a challenge for you). If you plan to bring your two children with you, it will look like you are using the study permit to find a way to move to Canada rather than being a genuine student. This is also an expensive way to come to Canada since tuition fees for foreign students are high. If you're coming with your two children, CIC would likely expect you to be able to show a bank balance of around $40K to cover your tuition fees and living expenses for your entire family.

I think being approved for a temporary work permit would likely be challenging because of your lack of ties.

 

[xixioge]

If you've already read through all of the immigration programs available and you don't qualify for any of them at this time, then another option would be to find an employer in Canada to is willing to give you a job once you become a permanent resident. If you can find an employer who is willing to give you a full time offer in a skilled role, then this should allow you to apply to immigrate through the Federal Skilled Worker program and possibly one of the Provincial programs.

I don't understand the bolded...you mean I can be a permanent resident without first entering into Canada and then find an employer that can give me a skilled job? Can you please give me some links to any potential employers that you know of?

I don't think you would be approved for a study permit. To be approved for a study permit, you would have to show you have strong ties to your home country (which would be a challenge for you). If you plan to bring your two children with you, it will look like you are using the study permit to find a way to move to Canada rather than being a genuine student. This is also an expensive way to come to Canada since tuition fees for foreign students are high. If you're coming with your two children, CIC would likely expect you to be able to show a bank balance of around $40K to cover your tuition fees and living expenses for your entire family.

I think being approved for a temporary work permit would likely be challenging because of your lack of ties.

As for the student visa route, maybe I could apply from my home country and use my kids as ties back there to convince them to give me the visa. I can always file in for my kids to join me once I enter. What do you think about that option? Thanks!

I forgot to say, I have enough money to cover my living expenses and fees. Money is not the problem here, but how to get in.

 

[scylla]

I don't understand the bolded...you mean I can be a permanent resident without first entering into Canada and then find an employer that can give me a skilled job? Can you please give me some links to any potential employers that you know of?

Take a look at the link I provided earlier and read through the information for the Federal Skilled Worker program in detail. All of the information is there. You would first have to find an employer in Canada who is willing to offer you a permanent job and you would then apply for PR through the FSW program. All of this would be done from outside of Canada. You would then wait for the application to be processed which can take anywhere from a number of months to over a year. Once your PR is approved, you could then move to Canada with your daughters. The hard part will be finding the employer in Canada. It's typically not easy.

There is no list of potential employers available. You just have to apply for openings and hope you get lucky (you probably won't hear back from many / most of the employers you contact). You should look for jobs on reputable web sites such as monters.ca, workopolis and the Canadian Job Bank. I would expect the job search alone to take many months (assuming you're successful).

 

[scylla]

As for the student visa route, maybe I could apply from my home country and use my kids as ties back there to convince them to give me the visa. I can always file in for my kids to join me once I enter. What do you think about that option? Thanks!

Sorry - I missed your second question.

Sure. You could try applying without your kids. But what will you do if you apply to have your children join you later and CIC denies their TRV? Are you OK living in Canada without your children for several years (while they live back home) until you can get PR status and bring them to Canada?

 

[xixioge]

Sorry - I missed your second question.

Sure. You could try applying without your kids. But what will you do if you apply to have your children join you later and CIC denies their TRV? Are you OK living in Canada without your children for several years (while they live back home) until you can get PR status and bring them to Canada?

No, I wouldn't be happy to live without my kids. This is why I actually feel a visitor's visa would be my best bet since that would allow us 3 to go in at once.
In the light of this, how best can you advise me to come into Canada? I'm grateful for your advise so far by the way!