Visitor Visa Refused

[trvguy7]

Hi,
I applied for a visitor visa for my sister a few months ago and it was refused. I live in Canada with my wife and son and we are all Canadian citizens. I wanted to bring my sister in Canada for a Cataract surgery. I showed a purpose of visit such as a doctor's note from India, appointment in Canada. A flight ticket. A date for the surgery in Canada. My sister has very good financial situation in India (>$30000 CAN - not transferred from me or any other place, its the money she earned from job over the years) and I also have good financial situation in Canada.
But the reason for rejection given was:
- Your travel history,
- Family ties in Canada and India (Seriously? - like i proved i m her brother in Canada cause we had same father's name)
- Purpose of Visit (Clearly showed the dates and a letter from a doctor in Canada saying that she is coming here for surgery)
- I am not satisfied that you have sufficient funds, including income or assets, to carry out your stated
purpose in going to Canada or to maintain yourself while in Canada and to effect your departure. (this makes sense because i know surgery costs for international visitors would be high but then what would be the purpose of visit?)

Any ideas for reapplication?

 

[Bryanna]

Does your sister have other ties to India..... for example, her family/property/employment or business, etc?

My guess is that the Purpose of Visit is not convincing.... cataract surgery is carried out very commonly in India.... including laser surgery.... at marginally lower costs than similar eye surgeries in Canada

Also, did her overseas medical travel insurance cover this operation?

 

[vermanaman]

I dont see why you have two posts with exact same topic.

Please see my response in the other thread.

Bryanna is correct. Purpose is not convincing - I have provided details in the other post.

Medical insurance will not cover pre-existing conditions in international travel.

 

[scylla]

You've misunderstood the "family ties in Canada" refusal reason. This means CIC says she has strong ties to Canada (because you are here) and they are concerned she may be coming to Canada to try to stay long term. The next time she applies, she should show stronger proof of her ties to India.

 

[Bryanna]

Medical insurance will not cover pre-existing conditions in international travel.

You're right..... cataract, diabetes, etc are considered as pre-existing conditions which do not happen overnight.... and hence, not covered by overseas medical insurance.

Also, like you mentioned in your reply on the double-post to this query, surgery and related costs can spiral out of budget.... and could prove to be very expensive

 

[trvguy7]

Thanks guys. Sorry about the two posts. I accidently did it, then i tried removing it and it wasn't working. thanks for your reply there vermanaman.
I can now see the "family ties in Canada" why it went wrong. Yes I should have mentioned her family, house etc. which I will for sure in her next application. Ye i figured that Cataract is a common procedure but I thought it would be better if she gets that in Canada. I don't think her overseas medical travel insurance cover this operation. But ye thanks for the advice guys. I won't put cataract as the purpose of visit this time...but need to think of something else. I will wait for a while before I reapply.

 

[SenoritaBella]

Hmm... I think changing the purpose of visit would just prove to CIC that they made the right decision to reject her and will likely lead to a second rejection. Just my personal opinion, but final decision is yours.

I think what you failed to do was demonstrate to CIC why she needs/wants this surgery in Canada at a higher cost when it may be readily available in India and surrounding countries for perhaps cheaper? Is her condition so severe that it needs highly specialized treatment that no doctor in India is qualified to provide?

Did you check the cost of this surgery in Canada? It may well be over $30,000 without insurance, assuming there are no complications.

 

[Bryanna]

@SenoritaBella
I agree with you

I feel by changing the purpose of visit from something as specific as a cataract surgery to (for example) family visit/tourism now.... may wrongly indicate that his sister is not a genuine visitor.

Cataract surgery is an outpatient procedure that may not require a hospital stay.... so why would someone visit Canada for a common, routine surgery?

Also, India is one of the top *medical tourism destinations* offering some of the best medical facilities/treatments....not just for cataract surgery/cataracts with medical complications.... at substantially lower costs.

My personal opinion is his sister should undergo the cataract surgery in India (if it's urgent).... then reapply for family/tourism purposes (stating the previous purpose of visit ie cataract no longer exists).... and by proving her strong ties to India. This could prevent another refusal.... but the final decision is the OP's

 

[trvguy7]

Yes, you guys are correct about changing the purpose. I just wrote that cause I wanted to get other ideas which I did get as SenoritaBella said about getting her surgery done in India and reapplying for family/tourism purpose which seems great!

I wasn't going to change the purpose of cataract but making it more specific that why it should be done in Canada. She also has another eye condition with which she has developed cataract. Doing cataract surgery would be too risky with that other eye condition...the way indian doctors guide her seems to risky and they do advise her to get it done outside of India. But in Canada that type of surgery is done on regular basis by experts and the newer procedure used here. So if I do reapply, I will try to prove why that surgery done in Canada is better for her and what the Canadian doctors have that the Indian doctors don't.

I did check the cost of Cataract surgery, the doctor who gave us the appointment for her said it would be around $7000 CAN. But he did not write it down in the letter about the costs which were suppose to be mentioned as you guys pointed out.

Thanks Bryanna and SenorityBella for your advice! I should have mentioned about other condition before.

Although I will not reapply without consulting a immigration lawyer or experts in Immigration.