Visitors visa extension probability.

[bobby1234]

Hi All.

I wish to bring my mom over from the UK on a 6 month visitors visa. She is a british citizen, and does not need a visa to do so.

Once she is here, I would like to extend the holiday visa by up to 2 years, which I understand is theoretically possible from CIC.

Has anyone done this process, and were there any issues extending the holiday visa?

Essentially I want to apply for parental sponsorship when this opens up again next year, and this would appear to be a shortcut to applying for a supervisa.
As such I want to move my mom here lock,stock and barrel. Of course this would create problems should a holiday visa be denied.

Any advice/experiences would be greatly appreciated.

 

[amikety]

I am American. I have "visited" Canada since July 2011. I have extended my visit 3 times.

My first extension was 6 months, then 1 year, now 14 months. Now - I have a squeaky clean background, not even a parking ticket, pay my taxes, etc, etc. I don't know if CIC checks that, but I'm sure it helps.... somehow.

I did all of my extensions online with MyCIC. It's upgraded since I last used it and made some changes that don't sound very fun.

On thing to consider - parent sponsorship took a very long time. It may be better after the reform.... but it might be just as backlogged. Will you and your mother be able to handle her not being allowed to work for years?

Btw, I'm assuming your mother holds a UK passport. If she doesn't, the situation might be a little different. If she holds a UK passport, you don't really need a supervisa.

 

[bobby1234]

Thanks for the reply.

To clarify, my mom has a UK passport which simplifies things. She is retired, and will not be wanting to work.

I had a look at mycic, but have not been able to sign in as yet. Any idea why I can use my scotiabank details to log into CIC? You previously mentioned that there were some negative changes, would you be able to explain what the changes are that may cause issues?

When extending the holiday visa, what did you use to prove that you were not planning on staying forever? My mom has a house in the uk, but we would be looking at selling it.

thanks once again for your help.

 

[amikety]

The new secure login is an enchanced security feature. Basically, the bank looked at your picture ID when you signed up for the account (hopefully). It gives CIC a little more security that you are who you claim to be. However, your mom will have to be the one to sign in. She can only ask for extensions on her own login.

What I know of the changes, I learned about by talking to another UK citizen. Apparently it began more complicated, requires pictures now. If you live near the US border, that might be a faster option too.

I never told CIC I planned to go back. (In fact, when I cleared customs, the official never asked me if I planned to leave or how long my stay was... the young woman in the booth was way more interested in the gossip of the girl in the booth next to her!) Every single extension I filed, I informed CIC of my plans with my boyfriend/husband to get married and file for PR. (The first one - both of us still needed divorced. The second - his divorce wasn't final yet. The third - we had gotten married, but there was no way I would get PR before my visitor record expired.) Visitor's Record = what visa exempt get instead of a visa. It's similiar to a visa, with a foil and official information, looks fancy, blah blah. If you and your mother are law abiding citizens, you can try the extreme honesty approach I took or she can simply say "I want to visit more" and see what CIC says.

Unless there's extreme circumstances you haven't mentioned, your mother doesn't need a visa. UK passport holders are visa exempt.

She will pretty much need to tell the IO she's visiting her son. They may ask how she plans to support herself. She can show bank statements with savings and pension if she gets that. She can have a letter from you that you'll lodge her or just tell them. (I told the IO my then boyfriend was lodging me, no problems.) UK citizens are rarely grilled at entry unless they say or do something wrong OR have a bad history (criminal convictions, overstayed a visit in the past, etc). As long as she maintains she's just visiting, it will probably be fine.

She may want to purchase traveler's health insurance, just in case the IO asks. Also not bad to have if she needs to see a doctor. Healthcare won't pay for her - she will owe it even if she becomes a PR later.