Rejected (Twice) With the Reason "You do not have significant family ties outside Canada"

[ayousefi]

Hello everyone,

From my initial research on the various forum topics, the internet and in person conversations, I am told getting your visitor visa rejected due to the reason of "You do not have significant family ties outside Canada" is common especially if the person who is looking to visit you in Canada is neither married nor has kids.

I have initially applied in June 2022, and once again 10 days ago, both applications got rejected for the same reason. On the second application, my sister (whom I am helping to obtain the visitor visa for) emphasized on the fact that she has elderly parents who depend on her back home and provided details around it on the purpose of visit letter; however, she was rejected regardless.

My question to the forum, what are my options? Is there a court I can appeal to? Can I seek legal advice anywhere? Would a lawyer/local rep be able to help? How do you get a visitor visa for someone who is neither married nor has any kids? Does that mean they can never receive a visitor visa?

Your help is appreciated!

Cheers,

Al

 

[Kaibigan]

Hello everyone,

From my initial research on the various forum topics, the internet and in person conversations, I am told getting your visitor visa rejected due to the reason of "You do not have significant family ties outside Canada" is common especially if the person who is looking to visit you in Canada is neither married nor has kids.

I have initially applied in June 2022, and once again 10 days ago, both applications got rejected for the same reason. On the second application, my sister (whom I am helping to obtain the visitor visa for) emphasized on the fact that she has elderly parents who depend on her back home and provided details around it on the purpose of visit letter; however, she was rejected regardless.

My question to the forum, what are my options? Is there a court I can appeal to? Can I seek legal advice anywhere? Would a lawyer/local rep be able to help? How do you get a visitor visa for someone who is neither married nor has any kids? Does that mean they can never receive a visitor visa?

Your help is appreciated!

Cheers,

Al

There is no appeal to a court, but there is judicial review, which is much narrower in scope. An appeal essentially allows the appeal body to stand in the shoes of the original decision-maker and to consider the matter afresh and even consider (not assured) "fresh evidence" or "new evidence" - there is a difference. JR is more confined to a review of the record and the court may only intervene if it finds an error of law.

Sure, there are immigration attorneys one can consult, including the sponsors of this site.

The "elderly parents" card is not likely to gain much traction. Will sis hire caregivers for your parents to take her place while she is away? And just about everyone has elderly parents, with "elderly" setting in as an affliction around age 50, it seems.

Does that mean they can never receive a visitor visa?

Quite likely. Some never qualify. Just how it is. Scream all ya' like. I screamed lots when my wife was denied 3 times over as many years. Did not matter. No way she was ever coming as a tourist.

 

[ayousefi]

There is no appeal to a court, but there is judicial review, which is much narrower in scope. An appeal essentially allows the appeal body to stand in the shoes of the original decision-maker and to consider the matter afresh and even consider (not assured) "fresh evidence" or "new evidence" - there is a difference. JR is more confined to a review of the record and the court may only intervene if it finds an error of law.

Sure, there are immigration attorneys one can consult, including the sponsors of this site.

The "elderly parents" card is not likely to gain much traction. Will sis hire caregivers for your parents to take her place while she is away? And just about everyone has elderly parents, with "elderly" setting in as an affliction around age 50, it seems.



Quite likely. Some never qualify. Just how it is. Scream all ya' like. I screamed lots when my wife was denied 3 times over as many years. Did not matter. No way she was ever coming as a tourist.

Thank you very much for your guidance! This is very unfortunate
In your honest opinion, based on the situation my sister is in, is there anything I can do, or a visitor visa is completely out of the question until she either marries, or applies to immigrate to Canada?

 

[Kaibigan]

Thank you very much for your guidance! This is very unfortunate
In your honest opinion, based on the situation my sister is in, is there anything I can do, or a visitor visa is completely out of the question until she either marries, or applies to immigrate to Canada?

I am not at all optimistic for her. But, maybe not hopeless, particularly if she scores high in other areas, such as having a good job to return to, a healthy bank account, ownership of a house or other real property, a solid travel history to countries such as U.S., U.K., Australia, etc. But, I suspect she does not have those things. If she does, that would go a long way.

As well, I really do not know, but I would not expect somewhat weak family ties to be fatal to an otherwise solid application, and maybe the VO erred in placing much weight on that factor and not enough weight on others. I don't know what the deny letter said, exactly, not do I know what, if anything, the GCMS notes might reveal. I have doubts about judicial review, but maybe an immigration attorney would spot something worth pursuing. Or, that attorney might help in putting together a further application, placing emphasis on that which needs it. Therefore, I would not want to discourage you from seeking legal advice. I just would not go to an attorney, giving instructions to bring a JR application without full consideration.

There is also an element of crapshoot in all of this. I am fully aware of some applications I would have seen as doomed to fail, yet they were approved. I have also seen applications that looked to be about as meritorious as you can get, yet they were denied. Another day, another VO, might change things, but no way you can count on playing those odds.

 

[ayousefi]

Thank you very much! I will see if a legal guidance that is cost effective would help. In all honesty, my sister has a lot going for her back home and she genuinely has no reason to stay in Canada beyond the plan to visit and go on some sightseeing activities.

Thanks again for your guidance. I appreciate your honesty. I hope I have some good news later on