Visa for Chilean and Canadian to travel together?

[matrix]

I am a Canadian living and working in Chile (I have been here for almost 4 years).  Every year in July I visit friends and family for a few weeks.

This year I would like to take my Chilean girlfriend (we live together) with me.  At first I did not imagine there would be any problem - I have the funds to provide for both of us during the trip, and have a serious profesional job to return to in Chile.  But I have been reading about the application process, and am starting to get worried that she might be denied.

In terms of demonstrating ties to Chile, she does not have significant financial assests or property in Chile, and is not currently working.  Also, close inspection of her passport would show that she over-stayed in Europe a few years ago.  On the other hand she does have parents and a kid here.

In terms of our intent, there is nothing real to worry about.  We are planning a nice vacation, after which we will come back to Chile and our lives here.  But I am starting to think that this could look bad to a Visa officer   

Is there a reasonable chance we can get her a visa?  what is the best approach?  Should we get a new passport? Get letters of invite from my friends and family in Canada?  Attach a copy of my bank statement and work contract to the Visa, stating the intent of the visit and that I will be supporting both of us during the trip?

Any help or advice will be greatfully accepted

Thanks

[shakira2009]

Hola,

I'm no expert, just take these as opinions from a Latina who also needs a visa to visit Canada    (btw, my husband is Canadian)

It's hard to say whether she would get the visa or not, you'll have to try applying and see what happens.

How long have you been living together?  If more than one year, it counts as "common-law partnership" (even when you're not sponsoring her for residency) and the visa officer might be more flexible.  You can probably attach some proof of this like the apartment's contract with both your names.

About your questions...
- Her passport... if her over-stay in Europe is stamped on her passport, she'd better get a new one and do things "fresh", just to be on the safe side. 

- Letters of invite... YES, try attaching 2 or 3 letters from Canadian citizens or Perm.Residents residing in Canada.  The letter from your family (parents, if possible) could state something more "emotional" like: "we are really looking forward to meeting (GF name) because we know that she's an agreeable, honest and responsible partner to our son; and we expect to enjoy time together as a family.  She will be with us during her whole stay in Canada".  [well, this is an example... make sure that her itinerary matches what they say]

- Your bank statement and work contract... I'm inclined to think they're not necessary because it's HER visa, not yours.  But perhaps writing a letter by yourself and attaching a bank statement wouldn't hurt.


Mucha suerte!

[Hope42010]

Hello,

Please verify my info. I read in somewhere that citizens from Chile are NOT REQUIRED to have a visa. Look at visa section of the Canadian embassy site.

Have fun 

[shakira2009]

Nope.  Chileans need a visa to enter Canada as tourists. 

See here:
http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/visit/visas.asp

[italo-argentina]

All South Americans I am pretty sure need a Visa to visit Canada...

[Hope42010]

My apologies if was a wrong information but I have read someting about trade agreements between Canada, Chile and Mexico allowing citizens of these countries to work on each others.

Is one of those things you read but ignore because it is not use for you.

Thanks for fixing my post.

[campesinaj]

I took a trip to Canada with my then-boyfriend (now husband) from Bolivia for Christmas this past year. I'm Canadian, he's Bolivia. We both live together in Bolivia and here's our story...

We inclued information about both of us in the application - since we're traveling together, it made sense to prove we were both returning together. Our itinerary was in both our names, we included joint bank statements, apartment rental, letters from both our employers, etc. to prove that we were both coming back.

I had a letter of invitation from my parents inviting us both to come and stating they would pay for ANY and ALL expenses for both of us during our trip. (This wasn't entirely true since we paid for some things, but it helped us a lot since our bank balance wasn't vey high.)

Then we each wrote personal letters explaining our intentions to visit Canada (family visit) and our plans to return - being clear that we understood the rules of Canadian immigration and we had no intentions of breaking rules now since we were getting married and planned on visiting Canada again or maybe immigrating in the future.

My husband got his passport back with the visa in less than a month. We believe this was because our application was very thorough and we included anything relevant to show we would return back here aftewards.

Hope this helps!