Visitor Visa Help - Nicaraguan Girlfriend

[AdequateDude]

Hi everyone. My girlfriend from Nicaragua and I would like her to come visit my family and I in Canada.

Here are some details about her:

• She is 32
• Has never traveled outside of Nicaragua before; we got her first passport last year
• She has never applied before (probably obvious but whatever)
• She works as a highschool teacher in the best public school in her city; she's worked there for 3 years
• She previously worked as a teacher in two other schools, with a solid work history for the past decade
• However, Nicaragua is extremely poor, and she makes very little money
• No kids; never married; no health issues
• She has no family in Canada
• She does not speak English (only a few phrases)
• She lives in an apartment that I basically pay for, sending her cash via Western Union when necessary

We've been together for almost 3 years. We met in Nicaragua; I was volunteering there and taking Spanish lessons, and she was my teacher.

So, I figure right away that we should not say that we are in a relationship, right? For that reason, we're planning on having my mom write the letter of invitation. My parents will be the ones officially inviting her. I think the general story is that my mom, recently retired, would now like to travel and learn Spanish. Having heard about my great Spanish teacher, because my girlfriend taught both me and some friends who live in the same city as me, my mom will be inviting my girlfriend to help her learn English and so my mom can learn Spanish. My mom and my girlfriend have been exchanging correspondence via Facebook for a while.

What we have ready:

• The two Passport photos
• Passport
• Girlfriend's bank statements from past 3 months
• Letter from the administration of her school, indicating her employment, her salary, information like that
• The schedule of classes for the year to indicate that there are no classes during the planned visit (3 weeks in December), so she's cool in terms of work schedule

What I still need to prepare:

• The letter of invitation
• Evidence of income (host)
• Proof of employment (host)
• Proof of existing funds to support your visit (host)

And so, I'd like some help and advice about how to best proceed. Does it make sense for my mother to invite her, and if so, what should the letter say? Do you think it will be obvious that I'm actually in a relationship with my girlfriend and therefore we shouldn't hide that? Is it a problem that my mom is retired? My father is the primary breadwinner and my job is okay. I live with them. If my mother is not a good choice for the letter of invitation, who would be better?

My girlfriend and I are Facebook friends, 'in a relationship'... should we be removing that sort of thing?

Thank you kindly for taking the time to read all this, and thank you even more for any help in advance. I appreciate it.

 

[Jalex23]

Hi everyone. My girlfriend from Nicaragua and I would like her to come visit my family and I in Canada.

Here are some details about her:

• She is 32
• Has never traveled outside of Nicaragua before; we got her first passport last year
• She has never applied before (probably obvious but whatever)
• She works as a highschool teacher in the best public school in her city; she's worked there for 3 years
• She previously worked as a teacher in two other schools, with a solid work history for the past decade
• However, Nicaragua is extremely poor, and she makes very little money
• No kids; never married; no health issues
• She has no family in Canada
• She does not speak English (only a few phrases)
• She lives in an apartment that I basically pay for, sending her cash via Western Union when necessary

We've been together for almost 3 years. We met in Nicaragua; I was volunteering there and taking Spanish lessons, and she was my teacher.

So, I figure right away that we should not say that we are in a relationship, right? For that reason, we're planning on having my mom write the letter of invitation. My parents will be the ones officially inviting her. I think the general story is that my mom, recently retired, would now like to travel and learn Spanish. Having heard about my great Spanish teacher, because my girlfriend taught both me and some friends who live in the same city as me, my mom will be inviting my girlfriend to help her learn English and so my mom can learn Spanish. My mom and my girlfriend have been exchanging correspondence via Facebook for a while.

What we have ready:

• The two Passport photos
• Passport
• Girlfriend's bank statements from past 3 months
• Letter from the administration of her school, indicating her employment, her salary, information like that
• The schedule of classes for the year to indicate that there are no classes during the planned visit (3 weeks in December), so she's cool in terms of work schedule

What I still need to prepare:

• The letter of invitation
• Evidence of income (host)
• Proof of employment (host)
• Proof of existing funds to support your visit (host)

And so, I'd like some help and advice about how to best proceed. Does it make sense for my mother to invite her, and if so, what should the letter say? Do you think it will be obvious that I'm actually in a relationship with my girlfriend and therefore we shouldn't hide that? Is it a problem that my mom is retired? My father is the primary breadwinner and my job is okay. I live with them. If my mother is not a good choice for the letter of invitation, who would be better?

My girlfriend and I are Facebook friends, 'in a relationship'... should we be removing that sort of thing?

Thank you kindly for taking the time to read all this, and thank you even more for any help in advance. I appreciate it.

In the forum we discourage on giving false information to CIC, also we do not give advice on how to deceive CIC in any way, shape or form.

That said, no, it doesn't make sense... and in fact is ground for refusal, as you would be "importing" a Spanish teacher taking away a job opportunity from a local, which is by no means what a TRV is for. "Helping her learn Spanish" is working, even though she is not being paid (I would assume you would "sponsor" her so that would be a payment), she is working and that is an absolute NO.

Please be trustful and honest when making an application to CIC.

 

[AdequateDude]

Thank you Jalex.

The insight on how teaching Spanish would be a form of work is not something we considered, so that's pretty valuable. And of course none of us would advocate lying to CIC! Perish the thought. However, there are productive ways of framing the application, and bad ways... the bit about my girlfriend 'stealing work' from local teachers, for instance!

Given the situation I described, what would be the best way to frame the application in the best light? For example, saying that she'll teach Spanish to people while we're here is a definite no-no. Saying she's my girlfriend: is that probably going to ruin the whole thing? As for having one of my parents write the letter of invitation, I mean, it's their house, right? I'm not suggesting that we're going to deny that we're in a relationship, but if that information is going to hurt the chances, obviously it's not something we'd want to emphasize. And she is definitely not staying longer than a couple of weeks.

 

[AdequateDude]

Furthermore: if we end up applying by saying we're in a relationship, I guess I'd just write the invitation letter myself (also indicating the complete support of my parents if necessary). In that case, what would be the important points to keep in mind? Should we indicate on the application that I have the right to correspond with CIC on her behalf?