Best Way To Get My Gal To Canada?

[Canada]

In June of this year, my girlfriend was refused a visitor visa to Canada because she had insufficient ties to Thailand: no assets, no children. She is 28 years old. They consider her a risk for staying in Canada. Now, 5 months later, we want to go home. If I marry her here, it is a long process to apply for immigration...up to 8 months or so from the time that a sponsorship application is approved in Canada. Or: I could apply for a visa based on engagement, or as a tourist again because we have fixed the no assets problem. Then once in Canada, get married and apply for permanet residency. I cannot find some information that is important when considering whether or not we should get married here and wait, or go to Canada and get married there. We don't really want to be separated for a long period of time, I am anxious to get back to things( I've been here for a year), we could stay here though if it was a better decision based on our wants.

If we get married in Canada and apply for permanent residency from there, can she stay untill the application is approved or does she have to come back to Thailand and wait. Would it matter when considering this, whether she has the tourist type application or the one based on being a fiance?

Does anyone have any knowledge or experience on this matter?

Thank you.

[BangnaBound]

If you’re planning on getting married and moving to Canada permanently (or at least the foreseeable future), then having her go on a tourist visa, and getting married in Canada would be the easiest way to avoid being separated or being stuck in Thailand. When I applied for my wife’s PR (almost 9 years ago) it only took 2 months for approval. Generally speaking she can stay in Canada while she is waiting for the PR to be approved, but it’s always nice to try and get a 6 month visitors visa for the start.

It’s been a long time since I had to go through this, so maybe some things have changed. At the time I was making the decision regarding which direction to take, application were taking up to 2 years for approval, so if they are down to ‘only’ 8 months at least they are improving.

I’ve linked a few of my posts on the issue.

http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=73981

http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/index.php?showtopic=52144

[Canada]

In your opinion, would it be better to try again for a tourist visa (TRP) or try to sponsor her as a fiance. Are you sure about her ability to stay there after applying to change her status. For instance...if she was approved for a 2 moths TRP, and we got married, and applied fpr PR, what would happen at the end of the 2 month TRP?

I know you say "generally speaking", an applicant can stay and wait...but I can't find a rule or policy that states this. Likely they wouldn't want to advertise it, but you should be able to find it.

Thanks for replying. And for posting the other information.

I've been through the website for BKK and home, but all the information is a little vague.

Anyone know of a company here that knows about Canadian Law? Most over here advertise about American Law "know how". Thanks

[expatwannabe]

In your opinion, would it be better to try again for a tourist visa (TRP) or try to sponsor her as a fiance. Are you sure about her ability to stay there after applying to change her status. For instance...if she was approved for a 2 moths TRP, and we got married, and applied fpr PR, what would happen at the end of the 2 month TRP?

I know you say "generally speaking", an applicant can stay and wait...but I can't find a rule or policy that states this. Likely they wouldn't want to advertise it, but you should be able to find it.

Thanks for replying. And for posting the other information.

I've been through the website for BKK and home, but all the information is a little vague.

Anyone know of a company here that knows about Canadian Law? Most over here advertise about American Law "know how". Thanks

The document you're looking for that entitles your Thai wife to stay in Canada on a TRV while her PR application is being processed can be found here:

http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/information/a...ions/spouse.asp

Click on the link that says "Guide [iMM 5289]" and read page #26.

Some other notes:

Canada does not recognize "fiance" as a bona fide relationship. This is different from the U.S., which will grant a fiance visa and give you 6 months to get married. Canada doesn't do that. It requires you to have one of three kinds of relationships: marriage, common-law partnership, or conjugal relationship. The first is obvious. The second requires you to live together for at least 12 consecutive months and prove that you have consolidated your affairs in a marriage-like arrangement. The third is only granted in very rare cases when marriage and cohabitation are not possible due to circumstances beyond your control.

Unless your fiance has a very good job, owns a nice house, and has gobs of money, it is extremely unlikely she will be granted a TRV to visit Canada. The reason is that without these things, it will appear she has nothing to cause her to return to Thailand. So a TRV is unlikely. But if she were successful, there would be no problem with her staying in Canada on the TRV until the PR application is finished. The link above shows you how to go about it.

1. Your best option by far is to get married. And since your fiance likely won't be able to go to Canada ahead of time, you'll need to get married in Thailand and then sponsor her for PR.

2. Your only other option is to apply as common-law partners. For this, you have to prove that you lived together for 12 months in a conjugal relationship and that you've consolidated your affairs (e.g., joint bank account, receiving mail at the same address, emails espousing your love for one another, etc. etc.).

Best of luck.

Edited November 23, 2007 by expatwannabe

[Canada]

Thank you for the link. That is what I've been looking for.

We are going to apply for a TRV. We were denied last May/June. Her situation has changed substantially. She now has 2 pieces of property, we live on one, amongst 3 others which are her family's , she has someone that will say that she is employed. She doesn't have gobs pf money, but one of her two pieces of property is worth about 2 million baht. I'm going to see if I can get an aassessment done and provide that as well in the application.

I expect to be prepared to apply for the TRV by the 15th of Dec. I'll post my results.

Thanks again.

[expatwannabe]

Just a caution: If you let them know you intend to get married in Canada, they are 100% sure to deny your fiance's TRV. That's because the purpose of a TRV is a visit. But if you indicate you're going to get married, it's clear your fiance intends to stay in Canada. So they'll deny her application for that reason alone.

Good luck.

[Canada]

Thanks`.

BTW, there are companies here that specialize in US visa and immigration. Know of any that know about Canada?

Edited November 25, 2007 by Canada

[SiriusBlack1]

For what it's worth, I've taken my (common-law) wife to Canada twice on TRV and here's a quick rundown of how it happened.

The first time she applied, she had to show proof of ties to Thailand. Since she owns land in her village and has substantial (for a Thai person anyway) money in the bank, she passed. (I think the fact that the money had been there for many months, not just a few days, helped.)

There was also an interview session, first with her alone, then with me, to see that our stories matched. They did. Questions included: What is your itinerary in Canada? Purpose for going? How long will you stay? How do you know this Sirius Black guy? How long have you been together?

At the end of the joint interview the tourist visa was granted.

The second time, once our paperwork was in order the visa was granted straight away, no interview or even questions.

(We are not planning to move to Canada.)

Be aware that Canada has very particular requirements for the paperwork, some of it apparently strictly to say "we aren't the United States." For example, the photos must be a certain size, different from the sizes for US and UK visas. Also, payment must be by money order, cash is not acceptable. Check the embassy website before you start work on the paperwork -- like all government offices, they won't talk to you till you have all the papers they require.

Finally I'd like to say that the embassy staff were quite fair, reasonable and straightforward, polite and even (given the circumstances) helpful.

[expatwannabe]

Thanks`.

BTW, there are companies here that specialize in US visa and immigration. Know of any that know about Canada?

If you're thinking about immigration, I used the lawfirm Campbell Cohen. Their website is www.canadavisa.com. They are Canada-based, but this is an advantage because there are some documents that only a Canadian-resident person or lawfirm can request. If there are problems, they can request your CAIPS notes to find out what the problems are and how to resolve them. They also look over your application and "perfect" it, which is to say review it for mistakes or concerns and then write a legal opinion that is submitted with your application to the consulate.

Our application was successful - the interview was even waived. And our situation was an American skilled worker immigrating with his Thai bf (under common-law partner category). It was an unusual case, but everything went well. Documenting everything was the key.

I do recommend Campbell Cohen, but if you use them - or any lawyer - I suggest you supervise everything carefully. Paralegals do almost all of the work - not lawyers. And you have the most to gain or lose from the outcome.

If you're unsure, you can also call Campbell Cohen and ask for a consultation. The first time I did it, it cost US$100 for 1/2 hour. The second time they didn't charge. So I don't know what they're charging now. But it's worthwhile if you can talk to David Cohen. He set me straight from the beginning on the best approach.

Edited November 25, 2007 by expatwannabe

[engrin]

My wife and I hope to visit Canada next summer for a holiday.

Is this the correct route for us?

Application to Sponsor a Member of the Family Class

http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/information/a.../fc.asp#sponsor

[expatwannabe]

Assuming you are a Canadian citizen or PR and your wife is Thai...

You don't need to sponsor your wife 'under the family class' - that's for immigration. You're just going for a visit.

What you need to do is have your wife apply for a TRV (temporary residence visa). It's good for up to 6 months of traveling in Canada. It does not entitle your wife to work, go to school, etc. Here's a link to the application and guide:

http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/visit/apply-how.asp

The instructions are pretty straightforward. But you should help her put together anything that would lead immigration to believe she's going to return home (like children, other relatives she needs to take care of, job commitments, money in the bank, other commitments, etc.).

Note: If you are unsuccessful at getting your wife a TRV, you can always sponsor her for permanent residence. But that takes a lot longer and costs more. Try the TRV first.

Edited November 29, 2007 by expatwannabe

[engrin]

Thanks for your asnwer. Will go the TRV route.

She works "cash in hand" at an Issan food restaurant. Would a letter stating employment from the boss be enough or do they want to see taxes paid?

[expatwannabe]

Thanks for your asnwer. Will go the TRV route.

She works "cash in hand" at an Issan food restaurant. Would a letter stating employment from the boss be enough or do they want to see taxes paid?

The problem is (as you know) it's fairly easy to get someone to say they employed your wife. It's much more difficult to forge the taxes part. You're going to have to present this information to the embassy in Bangkok, so they will know what's up. So do what you can.

Far more convincing would be her ownership of a nice (say, 3mil. Baht) home and family members to whom she would need to return (children, parents she has to take care of).

They don't make it easy for Asians in general..