Help trying to visit my canadian girlfriend !!

[oscarborged]

Hello,

I am a 26 year old Colombian Citizen and I would like to visit my Canadian girlfriend and family in Montreal, Canada.

We met back in April of 2015 while she was doing an exchange semester at my University where I recently graduated. We dated about 4 months before she had to leave, and became serious pretty fast (our parents met etc). We since have done 6 months long distance using Skype, whatsapp, facebook chat and any other media of communication. In December 2015 she came back to Colombia for a 2 week visit and stayed with me. We are now looking at the best steps for me to come and stay with her for ideally 6 months in Canada while she finishes her university degree. I currently work as a Piping and Mechanical Insulation Engineer for Hyundai, making around 1000 CAD a month (around middle class in Colombia). Basically I would like to know what would be the best way for me to visit her in Canada. I know currently of two options.

1. To apply for visitors visa for a small amount of time. My biggest obstacle being my lack of funds and that I do not own property here in Colombia. I would be leaving with about $5000 CAD. I have been looking for more information on this but it seems to be pretty subjective as to how much money I need to have in my account, or how much money she would need to show to be able to support me. Even with a letter of invitation from her saying she is supporting me financially during my visit, does a stay for 3 or 4 months as a first time visitor to Canada (never been outside of Colombia) seem unrealistic?

2. To apply for visitors visa for a small amount of time and then ask for an extension. Would anyone be able to offer more information on this process? Will my lack of travel history be a factor in their decision? (I received my passport in September 2015) How much time can I ask as a maximum to stay in Canada? How often do they reject extension requests and on what basis?

3. Lastly, I have heard that most visitor visa applications get rejected simply because the forms are either incomplete or filled out incorrectly, is this the most common reason they will not be accepted?

Ideally I would like to stay for 3-6 months, though I may have to have a shorter trip as this is my first time, and once I proved that I will return to my home country try a second time for a longer stay.

Any help will be appreciated, thank you!

 

[scylla]

I'll help with your last question. Most rejections of visitor visas are not for missing documents. Visitor visas are typically refused because CIC doesn't believe the applicant has strong enough ties to their home country and may have plans on remaining in Canada long term. Other main refusals reasons include insufficient funds and lack of previous travel history.

If you apply for a 3-4 month visit then I think you will definitely be refused. Someone who can leave their country for 3-4 months doesn't have strong ties. CIC will assume you have other motives for coming to Canada.

2-3 WEEKS is a realistic first trip. Make sure you provide proof of employment including a letter from your employer confirming you are taking 2-3 weeks off and this leave has been approved. If you want to say longer once you are here, you can change your plans once you've arrived.

Even if you only request a 2-3 week trip, there's still a good chance your visa is going to be refused due to your age and travel history. Good luck.

 

[boshetunmai]

You are taking the right approach in considering your options. Scylla, as usual, has provided some good advice to limit the length of stay in Canada to a few weeks. Also consider what evidence you have of strong ties to Colombia (employment, family ties, investments, etc.) and focus on providing this evidence in your application. Based on what you have said (no property, lack of travel history, funds available) it seems that your ties to Colombia may not be strong enough and the chance of refusal is relatively high.

Have you thought of/are you eligible for any other avenues to visit, such as studying or working in Canada? If not, it may be much easier for your girlfriend to visit you in Colombia.

Do you think marriage may be in your future? If so then make sure you keep proof of your relationship (letters, conversations, evidence of phone calls etc.) in the event you need them for a future PR application. After 3 frustrating TRV refusals (which by the way were requested only for short trips of 2-3 weeks), and years of me visiting my (now husband) in his country for 2-3 weeks at a time, we just ended up marrying and applying for PR for him which in my opinion was way easier than getting a TRV.

 

[oscarborged]

I'll help with your last question. Most rejections of visitor visas are not for missing documents. Visitor visas are typically refused because CIC doesn't believe the applicant has strong enough ties to their home country and may have plans on remaining in Canada long term. Other main refusals reasons include insufficient funds and lack of previous travel history.

If you apply for a 3-4 month visit then I think you will definitely be refused. Someone who can leave their country for 3-4 months doesn't have strong ties. CIC will assume you have other motives for coming to Canada.

2-3 WEEKS is a realistic first trip. Make sure you provide proof of employment including a letter from your employer confirming you are taking 2-3 weeks off and this leave has been approved. If you want to say longer once you are here, you can change your plans once you've arrived.

Even if you only request a 2-3 week trip, there's still a good chance your visa is going to be refused due to your age and travel history. Good luck.

Thank you very much for taking the time to analyze my situation.

Off course I will take the advice of only ask for 2-3 weeks, and according to all I´ve read before it makes all the sense in the world. About that I have another question: Lets say they approve the request for my visa, then I´m in front of the officer at the border and he decides to accept all the reasons for my trip. How often it happens that they actually give you 6 months to stay, rather than typing in the stamp, valid only for 3 weeks, or maybe a month ???

And how possible is to get an extension been there, according to my situation ??

Thanks a lot for your comments

 

[scylla]

Thank you very much for taking the time to analyze my situation.

Off course I will take the advice of only ask for 2-3 weeks, and according to all I´ve read before it makes all the sense in the world. About that I have another question: Lets say they approve the request for my visa, then I´m in front of the officer at the border and he decides to accept all the reasons for my trip. How often it happens that they actually give you 6 months to stay, rather than typing in the stamp, valid only for 3 weeks, or maybe a month ???

And how possible is to get an extension been there, according to my situation ??

Sometimes they let you into Canada for six months and sometimes they give you a shorter visit. It's really impossible to guess what will happen in advance. Once you are in Canada, you can certainly apply to extend your visit (keeping in mind there's no guarantee your extension will be approved).