Visitor visa for my Sister from Philippines

[Lovie_cat]

hi to our experts and members here,

I am currently a PR here in Canada, and I’m on my maternity leave. Just had my first child 7 months ago. I would like to invite my sister from the Philippines to come visit me for a period of 4 weeks. I’m due to go back to work in January and my sister wants to help me with my baby for my first few weeks back to work (while we are still looking for child care). She currently has the following:

- owns business (a couple of ‘sari-Sari’ stores ; it’s like a mom and pops convenience store)
- owns 2 hectares of land
- owns a house (not paying for mortgage anymore)
- financing a car (she’s still paying it off)
- and about $15,000 in her bank account
-She doesn’t have a job and just have the business I mentioned above
- she has an American fiancé and they’re looking to apply for fiancé visa to the US next year (the reason I mentioned this is because her fiancé is a big help to her savings)

We are looking to submit the application next week. If approved I’m hoping to have her over after Christmas. Can you advise us if in our situation we have a big chance of getting the visa?
As for me, I have a full time job (currently on mat leave) and my husband also has a full time job. We can provide our employment certificate and show how much we make , and can also provide invitation letter.

Will this be enough?

Your advice will be highly appreciated!
TIA

 

[bellaluna]

hi to our experts and members here,

I am currently a PR here in Canada, and I’m on my maternity leave. Just had my first child 7 months ago. I would like to invite my sister from the Philippines to come visit me for a period of 4 weeks. I’m due to go back to work in January and my sister wants to help me with my baby for my first few weeks back to work (while we are still looking for child care). She currently has the following:

- owns business (a couple of ‘sari-Sari’ stores ; it’s like a mom and pops convenience store)
- owns 2 hectares of land
- owns a house (not paying for mortgage anymore)
- financing a car (she’s still paying it off)
- and about $15,000 in her bank account
-She doesn’t have a job and just have the business I mentioned above
- she has an American fiancé and they’re looking to apply for fiancé visa to the US next year (the reason I mentioned this is because her fiancé is a big help to her savings)

We are looking to submit the application next week. If approved I’m hoping to have her over after Christmas. Can you advise us if in our situation we have a big chance of getting the visa?
As for me, I have a full time job (currently on mat leave) and my husband also has a full time job. We can provide our employment certificate and show how much we make , and can also provide invitation letter.

Will this be enough?

Your advice will be highly appreciated!
TIA

IMO it's 50-50, it could go either way, and I'm guessing she doesn't have any travel history either.

Maybe the land, house, businesses, and bank account will work in her favor.

But her self-employment, American fiancée (who doesn't have to be mentioned yet), and lack of travel history all work against her.

Your and your husband's situations don't really matter in your sister's visa application. Unfortunately, CIC also doesn't like bringing over family members for extended stays even for child care concerns within the family.

 

[Lovie_cat]

IMO it's 50-50, it could go either way, and I'm guessing she doesn't have any travel history either.

Maybe the land, house, businesses, and bank account will work in her favor.

But her self-employment, American fiancée (who doesn't have to be mentioned yet), and lack of travel history all work against her.

Your and your husband's situations don't really matter in your sister's visa application. Unfortunately, CIC also doesn't like bringing over family members for extended stays even for child care concerns within the family.

Thank you so much for responding! As for travel history she only has 3 Asian trips. Singapore, Hongkong , and Malaysia. All these did not require for her to get visa and the trips only took 3-4 days. Should we just shorten her Canada visit to 2-3 weeks? Will this give her a better chance?
And yes, I will not mention her fiancé in the application yet.

Thanks again, so much!

 

[Lovie_cat]

I also want to add that she has enrolled to a pastry class for 6 months, which is scheduled to start around March next year. Also , she has out of the country (another Hongkong trip) trip next year around September which she already booked. Will this help as ties to the Philippines?

 

[Lovie_cat]

@bellaluna @Bryanna Hi experts! I just want to follow up with my above questions. I know both of you are super busy with other inquiries too. Thanks in advance for the help!

My sister just added funds in her bank account, she now has $20,000 Cad. Do you think it will be better if we shorten her Canadian trip to just 2 or 3 weeks, instead of 4? She has baking classes to attend to when she comes back, and a trip to hongkong September 2018 and other domestic trips too. Will this be enough as ties to the Philippines? I’m planning on submitting her application soon, but would prefer to build her ties and profile first to have better chance to get a visa. What do you suggest? Tia so much!

 

[bellaluna]

@bellaluna @Bryanna Hi experts! I just want to follow up with my above questions. I know both of you are super busy with other inquiries too. Thanks in advance for the help!

My sister just added funds in her bank account, she now has $20,000 Cad. Do you think it will be better if we shorten her Canadian trip to just 2 or 3 weeks, instead of 4? She has baking classes to attend to when she comes back, and a trip to hongkong September 2018 and other domestic trips too. Will this be enough as ties to the Philippines? I’m planning on submitting her application soon, but would prefer to build her ties and profile first to have better chance to get a visa. What do you suggest? Tia so much!

No, those ties aren't enough, unfortunately.
Definitely shorten the declared trip.
Where did the money come from? Any sudden large deposits are actually suspicious.

 

[Bryanna]

Hi,

I second @bellaluna's views that she has a 50-50 percent chance of an approval.

I’m due to go back to work in January and my sister wants to help me with my baby for my first few weeks back to work (while we are still looking for child care).

This is something you would NOT want to state as the purpose of her visit, nor remotely indicate anything to this effect.

Celebrating Christmas/New Year together and a typical tourist itinerary would be a more acceptable purpose.

She currently has the following:

- owns business (a couple of ‘sari-Sari’ stores ; it’s like a mom and pops convenience store)

I'm not sure how these stores work:
Are they registered in her name?
Is she required to manage these stores on an everyday basis?
Can she prove she earns an income from these stores?
Can she prove it is trading i.e. purchases? Business bank statements?

- owns 2 hectares of land

Is this for a farm? Or a commercial plot of land?

- owns a house (not paying for mortgage anymore)

You would want to highlight this fact as it indicates a strong financial situation. That said, hope she paid off the mortgage with her income.

- financing a car (she’s still paying it off)

This could be indicated as a reason to return home. She must include the papers for the car + the loan repayment statement

- and about $15,000 in her bank account

Any large bank transfers - especially from you and/or her fiancé - would not work as it indicates a weak financial situation.

- she has an American fiancé and they’re looking to apply for fiancé visa to the US next year (the reason I mentioned this is because her fiancé is a big help to her savings)

Can she apply for a US B1/B2 visa first before applying for the Canada TRV?

My sister just added funds in her bank account, she now has $20,000 Cad.

As these deposits do not match up to her sources of income, it would work against a TRV approval.

How much finances can she prove on her own without these deposits? Does she have a joint bank account with someone?

She has baking classes to attend to when she comes back,

Has she registered and paid for these classes?
Would she lose a significant bit of money if she does not attend these classes?

and a trip to hongkong September 2018 and other domestic trips too.

September 2018 is several months away. Ideally, she must be able to prove some trip which is scheduled shortly after she returns home (with visas, hotel and flight bookings)


Cheers