Is entering the DV lottery same as applying for a visa?

[ruanp28]

Hi all,

Something that I just thought of is causing me to stress (hopefully I am not wrong). When we applied for sponsorship via family class, one of the forms requested me to state whether I have been refused a visa in the past. I said no, since I have never actually applied and paid for a visa and got refused

I have however entered the visa lottery in the past, since we thought it might be easier to move from the U.S to Canada before we did our research. Silly us, but that is in the past. I figured since I was not selected, it does not count as a refusal. I was not invited to apply or anything, my name was simply not drawn so I did not mention anything about it in my application - as I did not think anything of it. Was this a mistake? If it was, how do I rectify it? I don't want something as silly as a lottery to negatively influence my application. I honestly just thought about it, and in my mind entering the lottery was never the same as actually filing for a visa.

Any assistance would be appreciated.

 

[zardoz]

Hi all,

Something that I just thought of is causing me to stress (hopefully I am not wrong). When we applied for sponsorship via family class, one of the forms requested me to state whether I have been refused a visa in the past. I said no, since I have never actually applied and paid for a visa and got refused

I have however entered the visa lottery in the past, since we thought it might be easier to move from the U.S to Canada before we did our research. Silly us, but that is in the past. I figured since I was not selected, it does not count as a refusal. I was not invited to apply or anything, my name was simply not drawn so I did not mention anything about it in my application - as I did not think anything of it. Was this a mistake? If it was, how do I rectify it? I don't want something as silly as a lottery to negatively influence my application. I honestly just thought about it, and in my mind entering the lottery was never the same as actually filing for a visa.

Any assistance would be appreciated.

That's not a refusal, as no application was submitted/considered.

 

[ruanp28]

That's not a refusal, as no application was submitted/considered.

Thank you. I am seriously panicking today for no reason, since I might have made mistakes on my background check form. I also see that I did not mention that I am a part of a student organization, but I remember while I studied there was Golden Key and another membership. The thing is it was not an organization, but more of a society and university chapter. So I am seriously stressing about it, I don't want to get seen as someone misrepresenting as it was academic achievement stuff. Should I just contact the visa office and ask them whether I should update it? It completely slipped my mind

 

[zardoz]

Thank you. I am seriously panicking today for no reason, since I might have made mistakes on my background check form. I also see that I did not mention that I am a part of a student organization, but I remember while I studied there was Golden Key and another membership. The thing is it was not an organization, but more of a society and university chapter. So I am seriously stressing about it, I don't want to get seen as someone misrepresenting as it was academic achievement stuff. Should I just contact the visa office and ask them whether I should update it? It completely slipped my mind

That's a tricky one. If it was just a part of the normal student activities, it's probably covered by stating that you were a student. They are really looking for activities that could indicate criminality, political and security risks. Mentioning every club or social group that you belong to might take a lot of space. The question is, in essence, could this omission lead to a the visa officer making an incorrect decision on whether to approve the application or not. If you believe that it might, then you must make sure that IRCC is updated. If it's completely irrelevant, they you may choose to not worry about it.

https://laws-lois.justice.gc.ca/eng/acts/I-2.5/section-40.html
40 (1) A permanent resident or a foreign national is inadmissible for misrepresentation

• (a) for directly or indirectly misrepresenting or withholding material facts relating to a relevant matter that induces or could induce an error in the administration of this Act;
  

 

[ruanp28]

That's a tricky one. If it was just a part of the normal student activities, it's probably covered by stating that you were a student. They are really looking for activities that could indicate criminality, political and security risks. Mentioning every club or social group that you belong to might take a lot of space. The question is, in essence, could this omission lead to a the visa officer making an incorrect decision on whether to approve the application or not. If you believe that it might, then you must make sure that IRCC is updated. If it's completely irrelevant, they you may choose to not worry about it.

https://laws-lois.justice.gc.ca/eng/acts/I-2.5/section-40.html
40 (1) A permanent resident or a foreign national is inadmissible for misrepresentation

• (a) for directly or indirectly misrepresenting or withholding material facts relating to a relevant matter that induces or could induce an error in the administration of this Act;

Thank you. I have e-mailed my local visa office and explained to them that I think I have made mistakes on the form and asked where I should send updated information. I explained to them that I did not think anything of it at the time of the application, as in my own judgement, it was not applicable. I would rather add it now than getting into trouble for no reason.