Thai g/f to Canada - Tourist Visa Advice

[Canuck50]

I am currently living in Thailand and am wanting to get a tourist visa for my g/f to take her back to Canada for approximately 3 or 4 months to see my country, meet family, etc. We do not plan to stay there longer but may want to end up returning for a few months each year (during the warm months there of course). Here are the personal details:

I am here on my first retirement extension since November 2013, and from Dec 2012 to May 2013 but was back in Canada May 2013 to November for finishing my job and selling property. Before that I have been here many times over four years, using visa exempt/visa runs. We have been dating for 3 years and living together whenever I am in Thailand. I am considerably older than her (please no comments or advice on that issue as I have read it already on too many posts on TV).

She is mid 30's, bachelor degree, works for Thai division of International oil company for 6 or so years earning between 40K to 60K/month depending on OT, owns a condo in her name in BKK, has no children but has the usual extended family (parents, siblings, etc), bank accounts, credit cards, and stock market investments.

My problem is that I don't know whether she should apply with no mention of me or provide full disclosure, either choice seems to have pitfalls. If sh goes it alone, they will ask why she wants to/can go for so long. She will most likely have to leave her job to get that much time and may not be able to get a letter of leave from her company. On return to Thailand she may find another job or just stay with me and not bother. So this will raise concerns about her intention to return to LOS!

On the other hand, if she gets me involved, there will be the usual concern that we might marry while in Canada and the suspicion of a marriage scam because of the age difference, and then apply for permanent residency there instead of their preferred method of doing it from outside the country in order to jump the queue. The processing time is 18 months from within Canada (during which time she would be allowed to remain in the country), compared to whopping 32 months through Singapore!!! I have heard that they try and weed these people out to avoid these situations. Note that there is no such thing as a fiance visa for Canada.

In any case, we certainly have no plans for marriage in Canada and the purpose of the trip is exactly as already stated. I am simply asking for the advice of those on TV with experience in these matters, especially as it pertains to Canada, so that we can increase the chances of success and not raise red flags that would derail the process.

[theoldgit]

I'm sure those with experience of the Canadian visa system will offer a view in due course, but in the meantime may I be permitted to make an observation.

You say your girlfriend wants to apply to visit Canada, you actually say you want to apply but I assume you mean her, for three to four months initially, and then regularly for a couple of months a year after that. You then say that she works for works for the Thai division of International oil company, on a reasonable salary and has done so for six years or so. The Visa Officer may well wonder how a person with a regular job, such as your girlfriend has, can manage to spend months away on a regular basis.

Your main question seems to be about whether she should disclose the fact about her relationship with you, I really think she should. If you are committed to a life in Thailand and she is committed to you then she could possibly succeed in convincing the officer that such a long holiday is justified and she is not simply trying to uproot and move.

[mmushr00m]

The main thing the embassy pts to see is her ties to Thailand. Basically that she will return to Thailand after the trip.

So show everything, property, family, bank accounts, investments and a letter from her work.

You may also get interviewed. So get your stories straight.

Before getting married the missus visited Canada 3 times and it was relatively easy. I wrote a letter saying I wished to invite her to visit Canada, meet family and mutual friends and gave an itinerary. She provided documents as per above. We got the visa without having to do an interview.

Got even easier after we got married. We applied in the morning. They told us to come back in the afternoon. We went back expecting an interview but was handed the visa.

As to PR processing time in S'pore vs Canada. When we finally decided to apply we did it in Bangkok and the application went thru S'pore. We got approved in less then a year.

[HooHaa]

I'm sure those with experience of the Canadian visa system will offer a view in due course, but in the meantime may I be permitted to make an observation.

You say your girlfriend wants to apply to visit Canada, you actually say you want to apply but I assume you mean her, for three to four months initially, and then regularly for a couple of months a year after that. You then say that she works for works for the Thai division of International oil company, on a reasonable salary and has done so for six years or so. The Visa Officer may well wonder how a person with a regular job, such as your girlfriend has, can manage to spend months away on a regular basis.

Your main question seems to be about whether she should disclose the fact about her relationship with you, I really think she should. If you are committed to a life in Thailand and she is committed to you then she could possibly succeed in convincing the officer that such a long holiday is justified and she is not simply trying to uproot and move.

no they will not. they will be happy to see a record of ongoing employment, but she will need to document it. a letter from an employer saying she has a job to return to will likely suffice.

Sponsor her, demonstrate she has a job to return to, write your letter of intent well and be able to prove you have buckets of cash to support her.

i used to travel with my ex to canada, if you have cash and she can show that she has reasons to return it will be a cakewalk.

the person who wants to know why she can get the time off is YOU.

[Canuck50]

I'm sure those with experience of the Canadian visa system will offer a view in due course, but in the meantime may I be permitted to make an observation.

You say your girlfriend wants to apply to visit Canada, you actually say you want to apply but I assume you mean her, for three to four months initially, and then regularly for a couple of months a year after that. You then say that she works for works for the Thai division of International oil company, on a reasonable salary and has done so for six years or so. The Visa Officer may well wonder how a person with a regular job, such as your girlfriend has, can manage to spend months away on a regular basis.

Your main question seems to be about whether she should disclose the fact about her relationship with you, I really think she should. If you are committed to a life in Thailand and she is committed to you then she could possibly succeed in convincing the officer that such a long holiday is justified and she is not simply trying to uproot and move.

Of course, she would actually apply but I will facilitate this by giving her advice and paying the fees . She really has her heart set on traveling to Canada with me and although there is a small chance she could get a leave of absence from her current job and a letter to back that up, she is prepared to leave this job in order to make the trip. She does have other job leads she can pursue after she returns, but as I said, her returning to work is not financially required. Possible future trips each year is only speculative and not planned. But in the end, without the LOA letter from her job, I think Canadian Immigration would not give her a visa under these conditions and would have all kinds of suspicions about ulterior motives for her travel and her not returning without a job to come back to.

So I agree with you, unless I get advice or other ideas to the contrary, that documenting our relationship over the past few years and my residency in Thailand based on retirement is likely to be the most effective approach. But this still opens the door to their concerns about a possible marriage and subsequent application for Permanent Resident Visa from within Canada. Not sure how I can lesson their concerns about that.

Thanks for your reply!

[Canuck50]

The main thing the embassy pts to see is her ties to Thailand. Basically that she will return to Thailand after the trip.

So show everything, property, family, bank accounts, investments and a letter from her work.

You may also get interviewed. So get your stories straight.

Before getting married the missus visited Canada 3 times and it was relatively easy. I wrote a letter saying I wished to invite her to visit Canada, meet family and mutual friends and gave an itinerary. She provided documents as per above. We got the visa without having to do an interview.

Got even easier after we got married. We applied in the morning. They told us to come back in the afternoon. We went back expecting an interview but was handed the visa.

As to PR processing time in S'pore vs Canada. When we finally decided to apply we did it in Bangkok and the application went thru S'pore. We got approved in less then a year.

How long ago was your first application? I have heard they are getting more strict each year. How long was the duration of your first visit? What we have going against us is that she likely will not get approval from her job to take that much time off and will likely have to resign, although they would certainly provide a letter attesting to her employment record.

As to the timelines for PRV through Singapore, I got that from their website as the current processing time. Maybe it is exaggerated or maybe it changes according to demand. In any case, we are not considering that at this time.

[Canuck50]

I'm sure those with experience of the Canadian visa system will offer a view in due course, but in the meantime may I be permitted to make an observation.

You say your girlfriend wants to apply to visit Canada, you actually say you want to apply but I assume you mean her, for three to four months initially, and then regularly for a couple of months a year after that. You then say that she works for works for the Thai division of International oil company, on a reasonable salary and has done so for six years or so. The Visa Officer may well wonder how a person with a regular job, such as your girlfriend has, can manage to spend months away on a regular basis.

Your main question seems to be about whether she should disclose the fact about her relationship with you, I really think she should. If you are committed to a life in Thailand and she is committed to you then she could possibly succeed in convincing the officer that such a long holiday is justified and she is not simply trying to uproot and move.

no they will not. they will be happy to see a record of ongoing employment, but she will need to document it. a letter from an employer saying she has a job to return to will likely suffice.

Sponsor her, demonstrate she has a job to return to, write your letter of intent well and be able to prove you have buckets of cash to support her.

i used to travel with my ex to canada, if you have cash and she can show that she has reasons to return it will be a cakewalk.

the person who wants to know why she can get the time off is YOU.

That is part of the problem. I doubt they will give her such a long leave of absence and a letter to guarantee her job when she returns because the work she does cannot sit and wait for her. They would have to hire a replacement to get the work done. So the best we could likely get is a letter as a record of employment. She has other job prospects for when she returns but they are only prospects and no guarantee. So my concern is she does not have a strong case for returning without a job guarantee. As I said previously, financially she does not have to work on return but I think Canadian Immigration would see that as a big negative. Unless we change our plans and only go for a few weeks in order to maintain her job but that is a long trip for such a short time.

[theoldgit]

I'm sure those with experience of the Canadian visa system will offer a view in due course, but in the meantime may I be permitted to make an observation.

You say your girlfriend wants to apply to visit Canada, you actually say you want to apply but I assume you mean her, for three to four months initially, and then regularly for a couple of months a year after that. You then say that she works for works for the Thai division of International oil company, on a reasonable salary and has done so for six years or so. The Visa Officer may well wonder how a person with a regular job, such as your girlfriend has, can manage to spend months away on a regular basis.

Your main question seems to be about whether she should disclose the fact about her relationship with you, I really think she should. If you are committed to a life in Thailand and she is committed to you then she could possibly succeed in convincing the officer that such a long holiday is justified and she is not simply trying to uproot and move.

no they will not. they will be happy to see a record of ongoing employment, but she will need to document it. a letter from an employer saying she has a job to return to will likely suffice.

Sponsor her, demonstrate she has a job to return to, write your letter of intent well and be able to prove you have buckets of cash to support her.

i used to travel with my ex to canada, if you have cash and she can show that she has reasons to return it will be a cakewalk.

the person who wants to know why she can get the time off is YOU.

Not really sure how you reach that conclusion, the Visa Officer will most certainly want to examine the full picture of ties to the home country, and employment is a big part of that picture.

How many people can get months off from their employment every year to go travelling?

The OP conceded that there is only a small chance that his girlfriends employers will hold her job open for months at a time on a regular basis, and that she is prepared to leave her current employment to facilitate her desire to travel. Nothing wrong with that, as long as the OP can demonstrate their joint commitment to Thailand.

Not sure about your comment where you state "the person who wants to know why she can get time off is YOU", what a bizarre statement, why on earth would I want to know why the girlfriend of an anonymous poster on an Internet Forum can get time off from work? But rest assured, despite your advice to the contrary, the Visa Officer will want to consider it.

[Canuck50]

I have seen some mention of an itinerary or paid tickets being a requirement or highly advisable. Is this true? If it is an official itinerary from an airline, agent or actual tickets, it means the money is already spent and possibly not refundable, depending on the ticket. That appears risky in case she is declined....money down the toilet! Any advise on that?

[Canuck50]

Thanks to all the replies so far. Can anyone answer my question about the need/preference to show a confirmed ticket/itinerary at the time of visa application? It is about $2K for a round trip Thailand to Canada and if a non-exchangeable ticket is purchased to save some $ and then she is declined on the visa app, the money is lost. Or it would cost considerable more to buy a full fare ticket that allows cancellation to mitigate this risk. So how important is it to actually have a confirmed booking? Thanks!