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[GabbieLovesAya]

Hi - I'm in a similar situation, i.e. losing patience quickly with CIC and have the EU option. I didn't know you could apply for permanent residence in EU though while visiting. Is that ALL EU countries? I have communicated with the French Embassy in Manila several times very easily by email & phone, a refreshing change. In hindsight I think I would have done the application first over there -- I was working there last year, could probably return if I really want.

I don't know for sure if all EU member states are the same this way, but they should be. I know that you can get a multiple entry visitor visa as long as one of you is a citizen of an EU member state and you have a properly prepared marriage certificate to prove the matrimony. Properly prepared means... super legalized or apostiled original or re-issued marriage certificate, legally translated if needed, translation authenticated by EU member state's embassy in your country. Once you arrive at your destination, you apply first for long term residence for the "foreign" spouse and after a certain number of years of living there, the foreign spouse will be eligible to become a citizen. Your EU embassy should be able to give you all the info you need. Sorry for hijacking the post.... after all this forum is about a visa to Canada. But since the visa is sooo elusive for some of us....

 

[truesmile]

No worries GLA, it's another option for some forum members. No harm in bringing it to the forefront.

 

[Hwseyl]

Heather if you are still a Canadian citizen, you should have no problem coming back to Canada; if your husband is Japanese (I am assuming so?) then he is visa exempt and he should have no problem traveling to Canada. You could then provide the best proof... by actually starting to make steps to normalize your relationship with Canada (i.e. deal with CRA, ouch) and start by establishing a residence, getting yourself a drivers licence, find a job and do all those things that will put you on the "grid". Granted, your husband could not legally work for a while... but just to be the devil's advocate, it is indeed hard to see that you guys want to move to Canada if you keep living in Japan. At least you guys are not apart.... Wish you the best!

Yep, still Canadian citizen. And yes, this would be easy to do if we were a young married couple. But we have three children to consider. We can't just pick up and leave easily. This isn't to suggest that we have no intention of moving but timing with schools, jobs etc is much more restrictive for us. My husband wants some sort of security that he will have his PR at some point. The government doesn't exactly support a transparent system and so he doesn't have the confidence to quit his job and leave without the PR. In addition, I have been mostly a stay at home mom since the kids have been born working only 15 hours a week. The government is suggesting (they have!) that I leave Japan and move to Canada to show my will to move. So either we break up our family (remember, three kids!) and I go first or we move to Canada and I try and find a job to support my family while waiting for my husband's PR, despite the fact he already has a job in Canada. So frustrating. Chicken or the egg situation for sure.

 

[bluewenchee]

Hello everyone i received a letter from CEM ..

I just want to make sure that im right of understanding the last part of the message ,,
this is what it says:

IMPORTANT:
Additional Document/Information Requirements at This Time

In order to continue processing your application, we require the following information and/or documents:



You will find all the IMM forms by going to our website at:
www.cic.gc.ca/english/information/applications/index.asp

To ensure the timely processing of your application, the document(s) and information we have requested must be provided to us within THIRTY (30) days of the date of this letter.

Unless we have specified otherwise, please send only original documents.

PLEASE RETURN A COPY OF THIS LETTER WITH THE REQUESTED DOCUMENTS.


is this mean that CEM did not requested me additional documents as of now?
it is not specified what kind of document is requested..

thanks..

 

[Hwseyl]

Hello everyone i received a letter from CEM ..

I just want to make sure that im right of understanding the last part of the message ,,
this is what it says:

IMPORTANT:
Additional Document/Information Requirements at This Time

In order to continue processing your application, we require the following information and/or documents:



You will find all the IMM forms by going to our website at:
www.cic.gc.ca/english/information/applications/index.asp

To ensure the timely processing of your application, the document(s) and information we have requested must be provided to us within THIRTY (30) days of the date of this letter.

Unless we have specified otherwise, please send only original documents.

PLEASE RETURN A COPY OF THIS LETTER WITH THE REQUESTED DOCUMENTS.


is this mean that CEM did not requested me additional documents as of now?
it is not specified what kind of document is requested..

thanks..

Wow. Someone is screwing up big time. This letter makes no sense at all. I've never heard of anyone receiving this type of letter without specifying what they want. Sounds like your application was not complete. I'd write back asking what this means.

Heather

 

[Kayaker]

I DO think you should check with Manila VO to make sure - but:

I think I have recently seen on this forum that people have gotten similar emails from Manila VO. It Might be some kind of AOR - they send the same email to everybody and only indicate missing documents in case there are any? That makes little sense; I don't see why they can't use one template for people who need to submit additional documents and another template for people who aren't required to do anything. This is like inviting everybody to make panicked inquiries to Manila asking what the heck Manila wants.

That said, I'd probably try to answer the email and ask, too. I mean, you Do hear of people being denied just because they didn't send in some required document because the email or snail mail requesting the document never arrived and they didn't know they had to send additional documents.

Hopefully you get an answer back telling you everything's fine and you don't need to submit anything else.

In case you don't and you're really worried, you could try calling the CIC call center.

In case that doesn't work, there's the option of going to your MP and getting them to make an inquiry to Manila. When Manila made an unclear additional document request to us, they didn't respond to our email asking what they need. (just got the automated reply, that Manila takes 28 days to read emails) We went to our MP and his assistant put in an inquiry and we heard back within 24 hours.

 

[GabbieLovesAya]

So either we break up our family (remember, three kids!) and I go first or we move to Canada and I try and find a job to support my family while waiting for my husband's PR, despite the fact he already has a job in Canada. So frustrating. Chicken or the egg situation for sure.

Egg! Dinosaurs had eggs long before there were chicken LOL! Anyway, I know about the earthquakes, I know about Fukushima, but other than that, why move back to Canada? You guys (and your kids) have a life there.... you will be in for a culture shock of your life... I've only visited Japan but I liked it - and it is very different than Canada. Well, I am not sure what to suggest. What the government wants from you is outrageous, I am with you - "give me the PR and then we will move" but I am not sure how to go about it... Again, good luck.

 

[Gumper]

I don't know for sure if all EU member states are the same this way, but they should be. I know that you can get a multiple entry visitor visa as long as one of you is a citizen of an EU member state and you have a properly prepared marriage certificate to prove the matrimony. Properly prepared means... super legalized or apostiled original or re-issued marriage certificate, legally translated if needed, translation authenticated by EU member state's embassy in your country. Once you arrive at your destination, you apply first for long term residence for the "foreign" spouse and after a certain number of years of living there, the foreign spouse will be eligible to become a citizen. Your EU embassy should be able to give you all the info you need. Sorry for hijacking the post.... after all this forum is about a visa to Canada. But since the visa is sooo elusive for some of us....

One final hijack note! I emailed the French Embassy in Toronto today (and got a very prompt response from an actual person, imagine that!). Long story short, for France your non-EU spouse cannot land & do the permanent residency while on a visitor's visa, BUT if they were to get their CAN PRV that would make it easier in the scheme of things. Anyway, we're giving it until the end of the year before baling on the CAN option. I know anyway that once I ever started to make moves back to setting up in Europe the visa would show up immediately! Nice to have some options in any case.

 

[Gumper]

Yep, still Canadian citizen. And yes, this would be easy to do if we were a young married couple. But we have three children to consider. We can't just pick up and leave easily. This isn't to suggest that we have no intention of moving but timing with schools, jobs etc is much more restrictive for us. My husband wants some sort of security that he will have his PR at some point. The government doesn't exactly support a transparent system and so he doesn't have the confidence to quit his job and leave without the PR. In addition, I have been mostly a stay at home mom since the kids have been born working only 15 hours a week. The government is suggesting (they have!) that I leave Japan and move to Canada to show my will to move. So either we break up our family (remember, three kids!) and I go first or we move to Canada and I try and find a job to support my family while waiting for my husband's PR, despite the fact he already has a job in Canada. So frustrating. Chicken or the egg situation for sure.

Hi Heather - Wasn't your ALTA MP trying to help you at one point? And I also thought applications from Japan (even though processed through Manila) tended to move through fairly swiftly. Is it really the fact they doubt your intention to move back? Heck, if they doubt it so much why don't they just give it to you "because you're not going back anyway" in their minds, done settled over no? This is simply Bureaucratic Twilight Zone at its best. CEM has had our passports for 2 months now, wtf are they doing with them? I mean really, get on with it over there!

 

[Hwseyl]

Egg! Dinosaurs had eggs long before there were chicken LOL! Anyway, I know about the earthquakes, I know about Fukushima, but other than that, why move back to Canada? You guys (and your kids) have a life there.... you will be in for a culture shock of your life... I've only visited Japan but I liked it - and it is very different than Canada. Well, I am not sure what to suggest. What the government wants from you is outrageous, I am with you - "give me the PR and then we will move" but I am not sure how to go about it... Again, good luck.

Hmm. This is also a little off the topic of PR and a little personal but there are many reasons we want to leave Japan that are not related to earthquakes and Fukushima. The biggest one is that my parents are getting older and need help. Can't do that from here. Also, my kids are canadian and I want them to have a chance to experience living in Canada. Not to bash Japan because I love Japan and have spent most of my adult life here. But there some facts that can't be overlooked. My husband comes home from work most night after 9. Travel there and back is more than 3 hours. Not much different for me most days. Japan has one of the lowest ranking for gender equality for developed countries (I have a daughter) and there is still very much a drinking culture for men when they start working at companies (although my husband doesn't participate in this, the chance that my boys will be exposed to this scares me). So although Canada has its challenges too, we just want the opportunity to live in Canada. And most importantly, I miss it!

 

[Hwseyl]

Hi Heather - Wasn't your ALTA MP trying to help you at one point? And I also thought applications from Japan (even though processed through Manila) tended to move through fairly swiftly. Is it really the fact they doubt your intention to move back? Heck, if they doubt it so much why don't they just give it to you "because you're not going back anyway" in their minds, done settled over no? This is simply Bureaucratic Twilight Zone at its best. CEM has had our passports for 2 months now, wtf are they doing with them? I mean really, get on with it over there!

Yes, the mp is trying to help. But all they can say is wait. I sent them a lette more than a week ago and still nothing. Maybe the letter was too strong but, come on, this is crazy. And if they can't do anything about it, who can?

 

[GabbieLovesAya]

The biggest one is that my parents are getting older and need help. Can't do that from here. Also, my kids are canadian and I want them to have a chance to experience living in Canada. Not to bash Japan because I love Japan and have spent most of my adult life here. But there some facts that can't be overlooked. My husband comes home from work most night after 9. Travel there and back is more than 3 hours. Not much different for me most days. Japan has one of the lowest ranking for gender equality for developed countries (I have a daughter) and there is still very much a drinking culture for men when they start working at companies (although my husband doesn't participate in this, the chance that my boys will be exposed to this scares me). So although Canada has its challenges too, we just want the opportunity to live in Canada. And most importantly, I miss it!

Fair enough! Sorry for looking through my rose colored glasses LOL..... Anyway, if there was a way to negotiate.... say, OK we will move, but promise that right after we move we'll get the PR. I would try - they now have a new case specific inquiry page (was down for a couple months)

http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/information/offices/missions/manila.asp.

If they are telling you their only problem is that they are not convinced that you will actually go through with the move, ask them if you do, will there be a PR without further delay? Tell them to put their money where their mouth is. Or a work permit for your husband.. while waiting for them to issue the damned PR. But as it is, they may not even let your husband in as a visitor, because they will "suspect he will not leave". Ridiculous.

 

[Kayaker]

Sorry for my ignorance, but what exactly is a case specific inquiry? Is that the one that is only if your application has exceeded 15 months?

 

[Awesomeg]

Hi folks!

I heard somewhere on this forum that background/criminal checks (other than the police certificates we submitted - they do their own verification, in case we forged our documents I suppose) are the most costly so they do it last - after they're satisfied we're a legit couple, etc. I'm not sure that's true of all visa offices, since they seem to differ a lot.

By the way, I'm Japanese, and I applied in February. They asked for an additional document in July and we just sent it in 2 weeks ago. I'm afraid this additional document thing has probably set us back by several months... but we're all in the same/similar boat. We sit here waiting, not knowing what's going on. I'm afraid my background checks are going to take a long time because I lived in Russia for over 10 years, and Russia takes forever to answer inquiries and produce documents (if CIC is contacting Russia to check up on me.)

We also sent in additional relationship proofs (once) and I just ordered my GCMS notes.

Yes, I believe that those years in Russia are making your background check a little bit longer than most applicants,
also the fact that you have to submit documents that need to be verified.
Yes, I think that you are set for a longer than average wait.

 

[Awesomeg]

My wife is a Filipina. My true problem is... that she originally applied to work for me as a caregiver, while I was looking for a caregiver (my 3rd one) and she was working in Hong Kong. We discussed a few things over skype.. one thing led to another... we fell in love...

So guess what, she abandoned her caregiver application, she quit her well paying job, so that she could go home, I could visit there, meet the family, we could get married and do it the proper way... Now they look at her as an opportunist. Our file is being "reviewed" by some fart in some cushy office who is putting us through the "stress test" - making us wait and wait, to see if something will give in the relationship. I curse the day when I agreed to this "long road"... her caregiver application was a few weeks from being approved... we should have kept our mouth shut and we could have been together for the last 2 years.... But my sweetheart was worried that I will use her and never marry her OMG she wanted to see if I really mean it...

Ahh..... Now I see why they are taking so long...
Keep copies of all what you are sending to Manila...
I hope that you get your papers approved soon...