Credit Check for me and my husband (/sponsor) ?!

[gmob]

Hi, me and my husband applied for family class this year, the file is being processed in UK, London from 1 february. Today i received a letter from Canadian HC,where they ask me and my husband to provide in copies our credit checks. please see below the email:

In order to continue processing your application, we require the additional documents stated below. Unless specified to the contrary, send clear, legible photocopies rather that the original documents. If the documents are not written in either English or French, please enclose a certified translation in addition to a photocopy of the original document. All of the forms listed below can be found on our website at ("the web page of Can HC in London").


*Credit check from the UK (Experian) for you

*Credit check from Canada (Equifax) for your sponsor

Please forward all requested documents together within 60 days from the date of this email. If we do not hear from you within that period, we shall assume that you are no longer interested in immigrating to Canada and your file will be closed. Please allow 3-4 months for us to review incoming correspondence. All documents submitted in support of your application are subject to verification with the issuing authority. If you fail to provide the requested items within the time period specified, your application will be assessed on the basis of the information already before the officer. Failure to provide the additional information could result in the refusal of your application.

Please do not contact us unless there are significant issues which need to be brought to our attention. On all correspondence sent to the High Commission, please quote your file number on the letter and again on the top left hand corner of the envelope.

You should be aware that the issuance of an immigration visa does not ensure your eventual acceptance into the practice of your profession or occupation in Canada. It is your responsibility to determine whether any licensing/registration requirements apply to your occupation or profession in the province where you wish to settle. If so, you should ensure that you aware of the procedures needed to comply with the requirements.

Do not leave employment, sell property or take any irrevocable step in anticipation of immigrating to Canada until you have received your visa(s).

We look forward to hearing from you within 60 days.

Yours sincerely,

ACD

Immigration and Medical Services Division | Direction de l´immigration et des services médicaux

Canadian High Commission | Haut-commissariat du Canada

38 Grosvenor Street
London, W1K 4AA | Londres, W1K 4AA
United Kingdom | Royaume-Uni
************

My question is: why do they need a credit check from us? simply this is a discovery for us, we had no ideea that Can.HC or CIC need to be sure that we can get a credit or know our credit history? and no forms were found on the webpage... please send me any thouths

 

[canadianwoman]

I've never heard of a visa office asking for credit checks either, but they can ask for anything when they are doing the background checks.
Just get the credit reports and send them in. If there is something questionable on the reports, do your best to explain the problem.

 

[annabruce]

They may have some doubt that your sponsor is currently living in Canada. A credit report would show current address and activity in Canada.

 

[AllisonVSC]

I believe both companies have websites where you can request your credit report online and then print it (print 2 copies and keep one for yourselves!)

Hang around the forum long enough and you sure learn some odd things about the immigration process...

 

[RobsLuv]

Are you saying this is a spousal sponsorship? One of you is a Canadian citizen sponsor and the other a foreign national spouse? If so, this is highly irregular and I would suggest that the sponsor contact his Member of Parliament to do a case specific inquiry with the Minister of Immigration to find out why this is being required before you submit anything. There is nothing I've ever seen in the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act or the Regulations that states that a spousal applicant has to prove credit worthiness in order to immigrate. Spousal sponsors are not required to meet minimum income requirements, but they also can't be in an undischarged bankruptcy and they cannot be in receipt of social assistance - so that might explain a request for a credit report for the sponsor, but it still does not explain the request for the applicant's credit history.

Annabruce does bring up a good point that, if there are doubts as to the sponsor residing in Canada, a credit report might be a means of verifying that - but it's a stretch. I've seen other cases where there were doubts as to the sponsor residing in Canada, and in none of those cases was the sponsor required to submit a credit report. And, if the sponsor is a Canadian citizen, there is no requirement that they be residing in Canada anyway.

If this is not a spousal application - if you and your husband are sponsoring other family members from overseas - that would be a whole different matter, and credit reports might be applicable to the qualification. But it doesn't sound like that's the type of application you've filed. Please post again and clarify. As I say, I have never seen this before but I would be personally interested in what you find out.

 

[angelbrat]

Me too......after surveying all the immigration sites I know of....and checking this question...this seems to be an absolute first time that this issue has arisen in a spousal family class application. Although I am not totally sure,in this case, if it is applying to close family sponsorship rather than a spouse or common law.

I am eagerly awaiting the outcome of this thread to find the answer.

But, I too, am suspicious of why Immigration should need a credit check.

 

[Cdagal]

Me too..I have been digging everywhere and found nothing that would suggest that this was common...Please keep this updated!

 

[iarblue]

I dont think they even ask for a credit check if you have to meet an income requirement do they?They just ask for revenue Canada tax info,wow this is just so weird and like robsluv says i would do some digging around before i sent anyone my credit info.

 

[gmob]

Thank you for your replies EVERYBODY!!
To clarify my case: my husband is a Canadian citizen since may 2009, we married in april 2009 and he indeed is sponsoring me, and only me. As requested in the application process, he presented his income. all the documents are in London since february 2010; as i was living there until may this year. I moved back to my native country, i notified the Canadian HC in London about the changes, and suddenly i am receiving this odd letter from them. I did not find any explanation or even similar cases in the immigration/sponsoring of a spouse/family class immigration process of credit check before!!!! That is why me and my husband simply are CONFUSED! he has a great job, i found a new job this week, so we a absolutely amazed what we can expect form Canadian HC in London!

 

[canadianwoman]

Is your husband living in Canada right now? I agree with a previous poster that they might be trying to verify that he is actually in Canada.

 

[RobsLuv]

Thank you for your replies EVERYBODY!!
To clarify my case: my husband is a Canadian citizen since may 2009, we married in april 2009 and he indeed is sponsoring me, and only me. As requested in the application process, he presented his income. all the documents are in London since february 2010; as i was living there until may this year. I moved back to my native country, i notified the Canadian HC in London about the changes, and suddenly i am receiving this odd letter from them. I did not find any explanation or even similar cases in the immigration/sponsoring of a spouse/family class immigration process of credit check before!!!! That is why me and my husband simply are CONFUSED! he has a great job, i found a new job this week, so we a absolutely amazed what we can expect form Canadian HC in London!

OK, just to clarify, please. You said, "all the documents are in London since february 2010; as i was living there until may this year. I moved back to my native country, i notified the Canadian HC in London about the changes, and suddenly i am receiving this odd letter from them." So, am I to understand that you were living in London until May 2010, and then you moved back to your native country at that time? Where is your native country? Also, you notified CHC London about the changes (the move) and then you received this credit check letter from CHC London???

Also, where was your husband living at the time the application was submitted, and where is he living now?

 

[gmob]

My husband never left Canada, only for vacations. He is working at the same place for years, he was promoted, there are no problems with it.I lived in London for more than 2 years, but I came back to Moldova, my native country on May 1 this year. my job required that. As it was necessary i notified the Canadian HC in London about it. We thought that the docs will be sent to Bucharest, but no, they want our credit check...

 

[annabruce]

Because he is a recent citizen ( 2009 ), because he woud have had to go through a process to establish whether or not he satisfied the time in Canada requirement to receive citizenship, and because of his relationship with you, a Moldovan woman, it is likely that they want to confirm with certainty that you weren't living together outside of Canada. If you were, this would have an effect on his status as a Canadian citizen which could effect you application. They probably want to cross reference your credit reports to see if you had a mortgage ( or some other credit ) in both of your names while you were in London. If you did, this could effect his citizenship status in Canada. Otherwise, they have the conformation they need that he was indeed in Canada the whole time, and therefore your application is ok.

 

[heatherusa]

Any chance, since the request came by email, that it is a spoof email? Do they want the documents emailed back to them or sent to an official address? Is there any possibility that someone has managed to obtain your email address - maybe from an immigration forum, and are now phishing for information from you? It really does seem odd. Is London one of those Visa offices you can contact? Does the request show up on ecas?

The wording about leaving employment and selling property seems odd.

 

[RobsLuv]

Because he is a recent citizen ( 2009 ), because he woud have had to go through a process to establish whether or not he satisfied the time in Canada requirement to receive citizenship, and because of his relationship with you, a Moldovan woman, it is likely that they want to confirm with certainty that you weren't living together outside of Canada. If you were, this would have an effect on his status as a Canadian citizen which could effect you application. They probably want to cross reference your credit reports to see if you had a mortgage ( or some other credit ) in both of your names while you were in London. If you did, this could effect his citizenship status in Canada. Otherwise, they have the conformation they need that he was indeed in Canada the whole time, and therefore your application is ok.

Actually, this does make sense on some levels. What I think annabruce is trying to say is that if it looks as though your husband was living with you in London during his qualification period for citizenship, that could be a problem. This might also explain why CHC-London has not transferred the application to Bucharest yet. There may be more to this than meets the eye.