Applying for New Visa For Parent

[Nunuc]

Dear All,

My mother received a single entry visa last year - we were surprised by this as we expected a multi entry, multi year visa but as discussed on this forum, I think we made a mistake in outlining in too much detail why she is coming (to help us settle in a new house) and were very specific with time frames etc. In any case, she spent 4 months in Canada and has now left.

We would now like to apply for a new visa - this will be less than one month after she left Canada but we are hoping that she gets an multiyear, multiple entry visa so that she can visit us whenever a good opportunity arises. Together with her previous Canadian visa, she also has a valid 10 year US tourist visa. There are no financial problems of any kind (all conditions are met) and she has ties to two countries - South Africa where she is a permanent resident and where she lives with my father who has been working there for more than a decade and where they own property and Serbia, where she is a citizen (She is a dual Bosnian and Serbian citizen) and where she spends a lot of time taking care of her ageing mother. She also owns property there in her name.

My questions are as follows:

- Is it problematic to apply for a new visa so soon after returning to Canada?

- Since she is hoping to get a long term visa that would make visiting easier when an opportunity arises, do we need to put down specific dates in the application even if we don't have them? Can we explain this in a supporting letter (i.e. that we are seeking a multi entry visa so that she can visit her son and his family in Canada)?

We are not looking for a parent/grandparent supervisa - there is no need for these extra long stays but she would like to be able to visit a couple of times a year when a chance arises as well as go visit friends in the US while in North America and have a chance to return.

In many ways it all sounds very straightforward (at least to us!) but any tips how to get this across the officers who will be looking at her application is more than welcome!

Thanks to all in advance.

PS.She will be applying from Serbia.

 

[Bryanna]

We would now like to apply for a new visa - this will be less than one month after she left Canada but we are hoping that she gets an multiyear, multiple entry visa so that she can visit us whenever a good opportunity arises.

Short advice:
Wait. Don't apply.

Applying from Serbia/South Africa won't change anything

 

[Nunuc]

Thanks a lot for the quick reply - any recommendation how long should the wait be?

The location of application will in that case depend on how long should the wait be and where my mother will be at the time.

 

[Bryanna]

Thanks a lot for the quick reply - any recommendation how long should the wait be?

At least 6-8 months later.

She stayed for four months on her recent visit. This negates her statements of strong ties to Serbia and South Africa. She should have stayed for a month at the max

 

[canuck78]

Based on your previous posts your mother is actually planning on spending 9 months in Canada which is significant especially since you are working abroad. You were likely only granted a 1 time entry because you were asking for a TRV soon after your arrival in Canada where you may have already left the country and they feared she would be living in Canada. Grandparents are not supposed to be doing childcare because that is considered illegal work. I agree wait 6+ months.

 

[Nunuc]

Thanks a lot for the quick responses - yes, the hope was for 9 months in total (i.e. over several visits, not in one go) although my wife is likely to finish her degree sooner than planned so that timetable has also shifted. I guess spelling that out in the original application really worked against us. As for childcare, it was more support (giving my wife time to study on weekends and stuff like that, my daughter goes to all day kindergarten so there was no need for any sort of full time babysitting) but i had no idea it was considered illegal work - a lot of the neighbours do exactly that (visiting grandparents/relatives who are there as support for the kids).

In any case, it is good to know to wait - just in terms of the future application (as by then, the initial period for which we needed a longer stay would have passed and the need really would be for a longer valid visa that can allow trips for visits when opportunity arise), would you suggest a parent/grandparent supervisa as the way to go? The truth is we don't need a 2 year stay which is its main feature but it does last a long time and allows multiple entries. Or just go the TRV route on a case by case basis?

As for strong ties, even reading the forum I have found it quite ambiguous as to what it actually needs to be - we have a very unique family history and connections that literally span 4 continents and regular moving. Some of the ties are professional and others more personal (elderly family in Serbia for example). So the movement is fluid between a couple of countries which is just hte way we have been living since time immemorial. Since property owning property you live in does not count as a tie and since my mother doesn't work (and my father is about to retire), the fact that they are financially well off and own property in a couple of countries between which they have moved back and forth for work and family for ages seems to negate the sense of ties to either. I am really a little confused on how to present this and prove it effectively as I can see it from the angle you are presenting as well (unemployed, elderly, spending 4 months in one go etc.)

Thank you both once again.

 

[Nunuc]

Dear All,

I am reviving this forum thread in the hope of getting some additional tips as the proposed waiting time has elapsed. My parents would like to apply for a new Canadian visa - time has passed and there is no longer any need for long-term visits from either of my parents (i.e. we are fully settled in, my wife has completed her studies, our daughter has gotten older and more comfortable staying in pre and after school, etc).

Finances and support are not an issue but I am still a little stumped as to what else can be used to prove ties to the country apart from property, living there for a long time and family - can they explain ties to the two countries they spend most of their time in? Also, the fact that neither is working (my mother never worked and my father is retired) looks bad but can be explained by their age - anything else they should mention here?

My basic questions are - should they still focus on a particular visit (around Canadian Thanksgiving) or be more generic (i.e. the opportunity to regularly visit their close family in Canada). We have the dates for my mother's long visit last year - do we need to provide any additional details regarding it?

Given the planned trip date, they can wait for another month or so if you believe that it will make a positive difference.

Sorry for the lengthy and, at times, repetitive post but I just want to avoid the mess that was done last year with the first application (mostly from my lack of knowledge) when they ended up with a single entry visa.

Thanks a lot in advance.

 

[Nunuc]

Dear All,

I am just trying to give this a bump - all the documents have been filled out, just a couple of questions:

- apart from close ties to the home country etc., do we need to explain why the previous stay was so lengthy (less than the allowed maximum of course but still sizeable as noted in the thread), i.e. helping us settle into new house/new town, getting on feet etc.

- With a valid US Visa and a previous trip to Canada, I guess both my parents qualify for the CAN+ - do you still suggest attaching proof of financial means?

- Do they still need an invitation letter from us? If yes, do we specify their planned itinerary or do they do that in their letter (or both)?

Grateful for all help

 

[Nunuc]

One last thing - do I need to include any information from my side in the invitation letter such a notice of assessment or stuff like that? I see on the forum many people are including stuff like that but since my parents are financially independent, is there any purpose to me including it (apart I guess from confirmation of address)?