Low income thai girl - Visiting Canada?

[sandyf]

I posted the following back in March.

http://www.thaivisa.com/forum/topic/812992-short-visit-visa-for-canada/

You can take the test any time to find out what documents are required and then redo the test before making an application.

Yes I was wondering about that, whether to do it online directly with the CIC website or through VFS Bangkok. It's difficult to know which option would give a greater chance of success. I feel like doing the application in Thailand through VFS Bangkok might be better, being able to add Thai language documents (My girlfriend's motorbike green book, her family book register pages). The online process doesn't accept those, everything needs to be in English. But maybe I'm wrong and the VFS application needs everything to be in English too.

Also I'll be including my need to return to Thailand to continue my job here as a factor, along with my Thai work permit and non-B visa. I'm not sure the online application would even recognize or give much weight to that.

I have a feeling the online application would be more of a straight line approach from whoever is reviewing it. I don't know, I still can't decide which route to take.

All information you provide via VFS would need to have an English translation, or possibly French.

Personally, given an option I would avoid VFS, they are notorious for getting things wrong. I have done 4 UK visas and a Spanish visa via VFS and they are not the easiest people to deal with. When we had the Canadian visa approved they even made getting the visa into the passport into an issue.

VFS will only give you an outline of what would be expected to support the application and the onus is on you. The online eligibility test will tell you exactly what document categories would need to be submitted and you can add any additional info that you see fit. Bear in mind that all information provided will be reviewed by an IO in Canada.

One thing about the online application, unlike a paper application, is that the applicants family information is submitted separately and held on the immigration database and only needs to be resubmitted if something changes. Possibly a benefit in the future.

When you submit your documents online there is no one to say a document is not required or something is missing. You cannot complete the online application unless you have uploaded all requested documents.

One point regarding the uploading of documents is file size, but it is not an issue. My wife had 4 previous passports to be included in travel history, amounting to about 70 passport pages. I had to reduce the images down to 12 passport pages per page to meet the upload limit, not a problem.

It is never too early to start preparing and even if you decide on VFS you should take the eligibility test to see what documents they would expect. Each document category has a pop up information box which unfortunately cannot be copied. I would suggest you open the box and take a screenshot or photo for reference.

You are quite right about your intention to return, it is an important point and one I use all the time. I always highlight it in the supporting letter.

If there is any point on this process that you would like clarification, feel free to PM.

[chrisdodd]

I'm also a Canadian, and my girlfriend was (twice) granted a tourist visa despite not having a job, property, parents, or money in the bank based on the length of our relationship and the fact that I have a good job here with established work history -- as others have observed, they want evidence that she's got more of a reason to come back than to stay. In our case since I support her and had a letter from work mentioning explicitly that I would be have to be back on such-and-such a date to continue work (along with copy of my work permit non-imm. b visa & etc.) that seemed to be enough. I wouldn't hide the relationship as long as it's got some history to it (we submitted copies of photos over the course of several years as evidence of this).

TLDR; we got one with less, I think your chances are good.

Your situation sounds the most like mine....Glad you were successful. One question did you have to buy a return flight ticket for her prior to visa application...and then show copy of ticket? If so then what happens with the flight ticket if she does not get tourist visa?

[rct99q]

^^ You can get a copy of a flight itinerary from most major travel agents in Thailand. It is never recommended to buy an actual ticket till you receive your trv. It should not cost much and in our case the agent even issued an insurance policy for the duration of the intended visit. All just on paper.

[teatree]

This is from the Government of Canada website:

Can I work or study during my stay in Canada?

Visitors are not allowed to work or study in Canada unless they are authorized to do so under the Immigration and Refugee Protection Regulations. In many cases, a work or study permit will be required.

A temporary resident may also take a program of study up to six months duration without having to obtain a study permit.

http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/information/applications/guides/5256ETOC.asp#5256E2

Edited November 10, 2015 by teatree