How long should our application be?

[SnL]

Husband and I are debating on how much information to include - he seems to think I'm including irrelevant information that might delay us, but I feel better including everything that would count as evidence. For instance, we've visited each other dozens of times, and I'm writing accounts (what we remember) of what each trip consisted of.

Is there such thing as overkill? What section were the bulk of your applications for?

 

[Spyro64]

Include as much information as you can. Although, I would read each section carefully because in some section they might ask for a limited amount of information. Example would be in the checklist IMM 5533 they ask for photos with a maximum amount of 20. But for the most part include as much as you can because the more you include the less chance they will bother you. That's my thought on it but I would get other peoples opinions too. Good luck!

 

[canuck_in_uk]

Husband and I are debating on how much information to include - he seems to think I'm including irrelevant information that might delay us, but I feel better including everything that would count as evidence. For instance, we've visited each other dozens of times, and I'm writing accounts (what we remember) of what each trip consisted of.

Is there such thing as overkill? What section were the bulk of your applications for?

Yes, there is such a thing as overkill, especially for an American applicant. An account of what you did during dozens of trips is totally unnecessary.

 

[SnL]

Yes, there is such a thing as overkill, especially for an American applicant. An account of what you did during dozens of trips is totally unnecessary.

So if its a matter of paring down to the most important stuff in our case, what ballpark should we be gunning for, including other official documentation (marriage certs, etc)? 50 total pages? 75?

 

[Hurlabrick]

So if its a matter of paring down to the most important stuff in our case, what ballpark should we be gunning for, including other official documentation (marriage certs, etc)? 50 total pages? 75?

Interesting question. Purely as a matter of interest, I went back to my application to sponsor my British wife and counted the pages. ALL pages including photos, appendix, mandatory copy certificates, checklists, barcodes and IMM forms etc.

Mine came to:

Sponsor: 127 pages
Principal Applicant: 67 pages

Not for one moment saying this was good, or a minimum or a maximum - also mine was submitted using the old pack.

I did a table of trips I took with my wife, column headings were:

- Event (what the occasion or trip was, e.g. holiday, wedding, honeymoon, long weekend etc.)
- Date (MMM-YY)
- Duration in days
- Location
- Comments (e.g. Motorbike touring trip through channel tunnel to France and Switzerland)
- Photos? (are photos included in the appendix)

....and yes, the table alone took two pages.

Again, NOT saying what I did was great or right. It is just what I did. Took 6 months from receipt in Mississauga to receipt of CoPR through the London Visa Office - so perhaps I did something right ;D

On Sponsorship - I did make a bit of a meal of 'prove you will return to Canada if the PA gets approval' question - that one ran to 64 pages (a lot of which was reports from my financial advisers who I had taken advice about moving to Canada from).

On Principal Applicant, I had 38 pages of details on trips including photos and how our relationship developed etc.

 

[canuck_in_uk]

So if its a matter of paring down to the most important stuff in our case, what ballpark should we be gunning for, including other official documentation (marriage certs, etc)? 50 total pages? 75?

Just focus on what is asked for. For example, one question specifically asks "Did you visit" and the dates; if they wanted a play-by-play of each visit, that would have been asked for as well.

In the past, people have sent huge applications; some people actually sent their apps in boxes with thousands of pages, most of it wholly unnecessary. With the new application package, IRCC has gotten very specific about the proofs, most likely to limit the extraneous junk that they don't want people to send.

As you guys have been together for years and the applicant is American, your burden of proof is very low, so don't stress.