I wrote this for someone else. Hopefully it'll help you and others here:
What makes a visa application weak?
In this post, I want to summarize what I’ve learned about the visa process since January of this year. I have not yet received a visa but I wanted to write this now as the process is still fresh. So take everything with a grain of salt. Basically, everything below is my opinion and there will be cases where visas will be approved even if any of the below are true and that’s because it matters entirely on how you present your case.
What makes a visa application weak?
In this post, I want to summarize what I’ve learned about the visa process since January of this year. I have not yet received a visa but I wanted to write this now as the process is still fresh. So take everything with a grain of salt. Basically, everything below is my opinion and there will be cases where visas will be approved even if any of the below are true and that’s because it matters entirely on how you present your case.
- Choosing a program that is relevant to you. Ideally, you should choose a program that is directly relevant to your undergraduate and subsequent work experience (if any). However, real life has its own plans and many people don’t work in the same area that you get an education in. This is okay (in my opinion) – as long as you have worked in the area and explain and justify this to the VO, you should be okay. If you don’t have work experience or a prior education in the area, can you really blame the VO for thinking you’re not a bona fide student?
- Weak sponsor – if your sponsor is not your brother, sister or a parent, you have a weak sponsor. In desi relations, khalas and chachoos, go a long way but the west does not have this culture. A VO will probably not understand your khala’s motivation. If you don’t have a choice, then you should document the relationship – much like immigration expects couples to prove their relationship to each other, you need to prove your relationship to your weak sponsor. You can do this by sharing communication over the past year, getting affidavits. If you have lived with your sponsor for any period of time, try to document it. In general, avoid distant sponsors; particularly if they are in Canada
- Not having good grades in your prior education. If you have very weak scores, you really need to have a Plan B. Try and take a few semesters in your home country and then apply. You can’t really explain your low scores and I have seen refusal notes on this forum citing poor grades.
- Not having a credible proof of funds. OK, this confuses most people and I was very lost on what to do as well. What is a credible proof of funds? It is not just a 4 month old bank statement. If you have a million dollars in a statement but the account belongs to your cousin, do you really have a credible source of funds? Nope. A credible source of funds is one you can prove is meant for your education in Canada. The amount is very easy to compute: 1 year’s tuition + 10,000. You can have this amount for months in your bank statement and still be refused if sponsor is weak. In my personal opinion, the best method is to pay for a year upfront. This is the case for other countries as well and it is the best way to prove that the amount in your statement was meant for your education. If you have a large amount deposited in your account in the last few months and it is very visible in your statement, you must prove the source of these funds (sale of an asset, inwards transfer from sponsor etc.). Some sources will be justifiable (sale of an asset for an education) but if source is a cousin, weak weak weak!
- Travel History – honestly don’t worry if you don’t have this. It doesn’t matter for a student visa and VO just ticks this when he’s ticking other stuff (this is especially true for a bachelor’s degree. A VO knows a typical Asian passport is terrible for traveling abroad and what are the odds that a typical 20-year-old will have traveled to Europe or whatever? It’s non-sense.
- Weak Ties to your home country. This is also difficult to document but there are two categories: social ties and economic ties. Social ties are your family and you need to explain to the VO that you need to come home and take care of them. Economic ties are a job offer, prospective jobs in the country, assets. A travel history in which you haven’t violated any visas is also a tie because it shows you came back to your country on time.
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