BOGOTA Visa Office 2012 applicants

[doorsopen]

ok guys...
bogota has had my husband's passport for 4 months now!!...what should i do??? my lawyer says just be patient, but i'm done being patient!! who should i call, i'm at a loss right now! also, on ecas it says: application received sept 30, 2011 (weird since we applied in dec 2011) but it doesn't say that they've started processing it....i feel like my dreams of having him here in canada for christmas are fading quickly...better start looking at flights to go back...again... :S

Email them and ask if they require any other documents from you. But perhaps your case is complicated? Is this why you need a lawyer? They've had my wife's passport for almost 4 months now. We applied at the end of November 2011, so it looks like we have a very similar timeline. I really hope you get good news soon!

Book your flight soon. They are already getting expensive. Get a flight where you can get a refund if you cancel, or can at least change the dates. If by some miracle your husband does get the visa soon, and can come to Canada at Christmas then you can fly to Colombia some other time.

 

[nimra2006]

Hello everyone,
Hope everybody is well.
I was just wondering is anyone tried to invite their spouse on the temporary visiting visa while sponsorship is in the process?
If anyone has experience with that, do you know how much assets on the account are they looking for if you are inviting a spouse for a month?

Thanks

 

[ccunnington]

Hello everyone,
Hope everybody is well.
I was just wondering is anyone tried to invite their spouse on the temporary visiting visa while sponsorship is in the process?
If anyone has experience with that, do you know how much assets on the account are they looking for if you are inviting a spouse for a month?

Thanks

It's almost impossible to get a visitor visa for your spouse. We applied for my wife, and it got denied. I don't think there is a specific amount they look for as far as finances or assets, but basically, the only Colombians that will get a visitor visa for canada are those that have a lot of money, own a house or 2, have dependents still residing in the counrty, and are not married to a Canadian! The sponsorship process actually makes it more difficult, to impossible, to get a visitor visa for Colombians.

 

[tecarf]

Hello everyone,
Hope everybody is well.
I was just wondering is anyone tried to invite their spouse on the temporary visiting visa while sponsorship is in the process?
If anyone has experience with that, do you know how much assets on the account are they looking for if you are inviting a spouse for a month?

Thanks

In addition to what Ccunnington said, also you are not allowed to make another application to try and bring your partner while the sponsorship application still under process. If you try to do it they will void one of the two applications.

 

[ccunnington]

In addition to what Ccunnington said, also you are not allowed to make another application to try and bring your partner while the sponsorship application still under process. If you try to do it they will void one of the two applications.

Exactly...I think the only time they won't cancel one is if you send both in at the same time, but the chances of getting the visitor visa are nil.

We applied for my wife's visitor visa before we sent in the PR application. They refused it, saying that they didn't think she'd leave Canada, and that if she wanted to visit Canada, she should apply for PR, as that was the only way she'd get in! Crappy, but thats the reality

 

[nimra2006]

Thank you guys.
Do you know from which moment do they start counting that 16 months that takes them to do the papers in Bogota? Is it since your sponsorship is approved or later?

 

[ccunnington]

Thank you guys.
Do you know from which moment do they start counting that 16 months that takes them to do the papers in Bogota? Is it since your sponsorship is approved or later?

Its supposed to be from the day you receive sponsorship approval.

 

[doorsopen]

In addition to what Ccunnington said, also you are not allowed to make another application to try and bring your partner while the sponsorship application still under process. If you try to do it they will void one of the two applications.

I'm not sure this is true. My friend (originally from Russia) married his Russian girlfriend and she applied for the PR visa earlier this year. They also applied for the visitor visa later and she was approved and is currently here in Canada with him. I was going to apply for the visitor visa for my wife, but then the embassy asked for her passport...

 

[tecarf]

Hey Ccunnington did you apply for the background check yet? I don't know if I should wait till the embassy tells us to do it or just do it now??? I'm confused because I read some ppl do it without getting instructions from the VO and other ppl get instructions to do it right away!!! HELP
If anyone here has received instructions from the VO on how to obtain the police check can you pls post the exact instructions sent to you by the VO! that'd be really appreciated

 

[parceromiguel]

It all depends on where you are.

I live in the States.
I contacted the FBI and did it myself.
I've done it twice since the ones the VO has are expired.

If you live in Colombia, as far as I know, you have wait for them, because there is a payment of 40,000 Pesos you have to make.
I believe you write them a check and they do the background check for you.
I could be wrong.
You should wait to hear from someone else.

Good luck

 

[tecarf]

It all depends on where you are.

I live in the States.
I contacted the FBI and did it myself.
I've done it twice since the ones the VO has are expired.

If you live in Colombia, as far as I know, you have wait for them, because there is a payment of 40,000 Pesos you have to make.
I believe you write them a check and they do the background check for you.
I could be wrong.
You should wait to hear from someone else.

Good luck

I live in Canada but my wife and son live in Colombia.

 

[ccunnington]

I live in Canada but my wife and son live in Colombia.

We haven't done our police checks yet...but apparently this is how it works.

You can do it yourself, but we're going to wait until we receive instructions from Bogota.

They will ask you to make a payment of $60,000 COP at Banco de Occidente to Risk Management Colombia.
You will then email the deposit slip, with your file number and contact information to aplicantes@procesosec.com

You will also email this reciept to the embassy as per instructions. This company performs the police checks and forwards them to the embassy. You won't see the results of this.

Here is the link on the CIC website so you can see the process. Like I said you can do it yourself, but most people say wait until you get the instructions from the embassy. That way you don't have to worry about information getting lost in the system. I've also read that it can take 4-8 weeks for them to process the police checks and forward them to the embassy.

http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/information/security/police-cert/central-south-amer/colombia.asp

 

[Ibague]

Background Checks,

We waited till we received a letter from the embassy with instructions to pay Banco de Occident. All the relevant information is included in the documents you receive from the embassy. Included in the envelope were barcoded stickers with the applicant's file number ie F0000XXXX. Once you have made payments at the bank you peel off one sticker and attach it to the receipt you have received from the bank and then in our case couried it to the embassy. My wife used Serviente( sp a Colombian courier like fedex/dhl) and are pretty efficient.

After about 3weeks or so we received another email from the embassy with instructions to redo the medicals since they have expired. I was hoping that they would extend the medicals as per new rules. Anyway we have booked an appointment for Tuesday next week. We are practically following their instructions. My wife is in Colombia and i am in Canada.
Hopefully the next email or letter will be for PPR (passport request)!
Also as word of advice amigos, please ensure that you also check the spam folder in your mail. For some reason unbeknownst to me the mail from the embassy seems to be dropped in the spam folder. It has happened with some people to the extent that they missed it, and it delayed the process for some.

 

[ccunnington]

Background Checks,

We waited till we received a letter from the embassy with instructions to pay Banco de Occident. All the relevant information is included in the documents you receive from the embassy. Included in the envelope were barcoded stickers with the applicant's file number ie F0000XXXX. Once you have made payments at the bank you peel off one sticker and attach it to the receipt you have received from the bank and then in our case couried it to the embassy. My wife used Serviente( sp a Colombian courier like fedex/dhl) and are pretty efficient.

After about 3weeks or so we received another email from the embassy with instructions to redo the medicals since they have expired. I was hoping that they would extend the medicals as per new rules. Anyway we have booked an appointment for Tuesday next week. We are practically following their instructions. My wife is in Colombia and i am in Canada.
Hopefully the next email or letter will be for PPR (passport request)!
Also as word of advice amigos, please ensure that you also check the spam folder in your mail. For some reason unbeknownst to me the mail from the embassy seems to be dropped in the spam folder. It has happened with some people to the extent that they missed it, and it delayed the process for some.

That's good info! Thanks

 

[sabril27]

Email them and ask if they require any other documents from you. But perhaps your case is complicated? Is this why you need a lawyer? They've had my wife's passport for almost 4 months now. We applied at the end of November 2011, so it looks like we have a very similar timeline. I really hope you get good news soon!

Book your flight soon. They are already getting expensive. Get a flight where you can get a refund if you cancel, or can at least change the dates. If by some miracle your husband does get the visa soon, and can come to Canada at Christmas then you can fly to Colombia some other time.

flight booked...and yes they are getting superrrr expensive! do you know an email address to write to at the embassy?? i think i'll also contact my MP. and yes our case is a little complicated so that's why we went with a lawyer. we have a really similar timeline! have you heard any news recently?