Want to extend 6 month visitor visa for filipina. anyone done this?

[xxdieselxx]

Hello,

My wife is from the Philippines, we applied for PR last August, she was granted a 6 month visitor visa last December and is still currently in Canada. The visitor visa expires at the end of May and we want to extend it. I just received GCMS notes today and not much has been done on her file so far. She got the visa because my mom was dying of cancer and has since passed. We have since been close to and spending a lot of time with my father. We applied outland and both of us were living in the Philippines at the time we applied for the PR, but I moved back to "re-establish" ties to Canada when my mother got sick in November of last year.

Has anyone from the Philippines been in a similar situation and got their visitor visa extended while their PR was in process?

My big question is what reasons did you use to get the visitor visa extended?

The obvious: She is already here, the PR visa is in the cue, I (her husband) is here working and re-establishing my life here, She is building her life here so far as building relationships with my family and friends. Ideally, we want her to stay now until the process is over so she can be close to my family and me etc etc.. What are some good reasons to get them to approve an extension of the visitor visa??

Thanks in advance

 

[mikeymyke]

Hang on a sec, you guys are already married, and she somehow, got approved for not just a visitor visa, but a 6 MONTH visa? What was her job situation, amount of funds, family ties, length of proposed stay, etc? Spouses typically have a very difficult time getting trvs. Really sorry about your mother.

 

[truesmile]

Seems to me it was 'special circumstances', his Mom was dying of cancer, and six months is typical for a visit visa. OP, we know Filipino's that have renewed. As far as I can tell, you will get one renewal hands down (that's my impression), and you do it online. But the length of time you will get is a crap shoot. I'd say as little as possible about your Mom already having passed.

 

[xxdieselxx]

Hang on a sec, you guys are already married, and she somehow, got approved for not just a visitor visa, but a 6 MONTH visa? What was her job situation, amount of funds, family ties, length of proposed stay, etc? Spouses typically have a very difficult time getting trvs. Really sorry about your mother.

Yes, we are married, I have my Philippine residency but am a canadian citizen by birth, we were living in the Philippines until my mother became ill. I flew back first and then my wife joined me as soon as her visitor visa was granted. I guess a mother in law dying is a good enough reason however not a nice reason. Proposed stay was 6 months as I stated above. Money is not an issue.

 

[xxdieselxx]

Seems to me it was 'special circumstances', his Mom was dying of cancer, and six months is typical for a visit visa. OP, we know Filipino's that have renewed. As far as I can tell, you will get one renewal hands down (that's my impression), and you do it online. But the length of time you will get is a crap shoot. I'd say as little as possible about your Mom already having passed.

Thanks for the input Truesmile. Do you have an idea of what length of time people have been given? We are already into the 8th month for the PR application and some people in our month of August are already getting passport requests and some visas. Are you aware of some of the reasons the people gave to get their extension? Not sure if "the PR visa application is at the tail end of the process and she would like to stay until it is complete" is an okay reason, or "She would really like to stay to better her relationship with her husbands family while the PR visa is in process" or ???.

 

[canuck_in_uk]

Thanks for the input Truesmile. Do you have an idea of what length of time people have been given? We are already into the 8th month for the PR application and some people in our month of August are already getting passport requests and some visas. Are you aware of some of the reasons the people gave to get their extension? Not sure if "the PR visa application is at the tail end of the process and she would like to stay until it is complete" is an okay reason, or "She would really like to stay to better her relationship with her husbands family while the PR visa is in process" or ???.

The posted processing time for Manila is 14 months; if you're in the 8th month already, I suggest asking for an 8 month extension. Many others have received extensions of a year or more.

Wanting to remain with her husband and provide support for him and her in-laws in this hard time while also waiting for her PR app to be processed is a perfectly fine reason to request an extension.

 

[xxdieselxx]

The posted processing time for Manila is 14 months; if you're in the 8th month already, I suggest asking for an 8 month extension. Many others have received extensions of a year or more.

Wanting to remain with her husband and provide support for him and her in-laws in this hard time while also waiting for her PR app to be processed is a perfectly fine reason to request an extension.

Thanks for your response canuck-in-uk. I think we will proceed along these lines.

 

[Gumper]

What happens once you receive a PPR in the PR visa process? If you get an extended visitor/TR visa will your wife's file be transferred to Canada (and she then becomes an 'inland' applicant), or will she have to return to the Phils to submit her passport to CEM and then wait out the return of her passport with PR visa inside?

 

[canuck_in_uk]

What happens once you receive a PPR in the PR visa process? If you get an extended visitor/TR visa will your wife's file be transferred to Canada (and she then becomes an 'inland' applicant), or will she have to return to the Phils to submit her passport to CEM and then wait out the return of her passport with PR visa inside?

The file will not be transferred. The applicant will mail their passport to the Manila VO. She will need to provide a Philippine address for the VO to mail the passport to; she can us a family member or friend's address and that person can then mail the passport back to the applicant in Canada.

 

[Gumper]

The file will not be transferred. The applicant will mail their passport to the Manila VO. She will need to provide a Philippine address for the VO to mail the passport to; she can us a family member or friend's address and that person can then mail the passport back to the applicant in Canada.

Wow, didn't know this could be done, or is this a total one-off due to the special circumstances associated with the original TRV? Or can any PRV applicant enter Canada on a TRV and wait out the PRV at the same time? BTW, xxdieselxx, if you don't already know it, NEVER send anything to the Phils that requires their postal system. They cannot be trusted with anything as precious as a passport -- use FEDEX. (Before my wife could warn me I sent a birthday card in the mail to our son, with $50 in the card; after about 6 weeks the envelope arrived, had obviously been opened / was haphazardly taped over & of course the $50 was gone.)

 

[canuck_in_uk]

Wow, didn't know this could be done, or is this a total one-off due to the special circumstances associated with the original TRV? Or can any PRV applicant enter Canada on a TRV and wait out the PRV at the same time?

It has nothing to do with the circumstances of the original TRV. If a non visa-exempt person has a TRV, they can enter Canada. If they have a PR app processing and don't want to leave, they can apply to extend their visitor status.

 

[steerpike]

What happens once you receive a PPR in the PR visa process? If you get an extended visitor/TR visa will your wife's file be transferred to Canada (and she then becomes an 'inland' applicant), or will she have to return to the Phils to submit her passport to CEM and then wait out the return of her passport with PR visa inside?

Inland is fundamentally different from outland. You cant just switch one for the other. For example, Inland applicants cant appeal. Outland applicants can get their SIN with their COPR, Inland have to wait for their PR card. Inland applicants can getan OWP at stage 2, Outland can't. Etc.

 

[truesmile]

If there's an LBC office near you I suggest using them. I understand they exist in Vancouver, not sure about anywhere else. Whatever you do, stay away from "Brown". I was very fortunate to have an important USB arrive for me in PH by mail, (I had left it behind.) And then feeling OK about the mail ended up to never received a supply of meds that had also been mailed. That's OK, that USB was way more important than the meds.

The most recent example of a TRV renewal that hits close to home, was for our friend's nanay. We're somewhat surprised, they only granted her another 3 months.