I am 33 yrs old and currently reside and work (completely legally) outside my country of citizenship. I have worked in this country for the last 6.5 years, the first 5+ years with one employer and for the last 9 months with a different employer in the same country.
I have applied for and received multiple Canadian visitor visas in the past. These include 1992 (2-year multi), 1998 (1-year multi), 1999 (2-year multi), 2001 (5-year multi), 2002 (Student Visa), 2006 (2-year multi) and 2009 (2-year multi). I was refused a student visa in London ~10 years ago for lack of ties to the UK, but the same class of visa was subsequently issued in my country of citizenship a few months later. I also have received a Student Permit (corresponding to the Student Visa), and also a Work Permit (never used as I accepted a better job outside Canada). I am a graduate of two Canadian institutions (one a full-time undergraduate residential course of study and the other via distance learning) and have about a dozen family members (not siblings/parents however) who live in various parts of Canada.
Totally, I have entered Canada 27 times as a visitor over the last 20+ years in addition to 23 entrances during my 3 years as a student. Most recent visit was in September 2010. No criminal record in Canada (one speeding ticket and one parking ticket - both sorted out) and no Canadian immigration violations (once had some food seized by Agriculture at Toronto airport but it was declared on my Customs form and no fine was levied). I travel extensively for business, have lived/studied/worked legally in the UK, USA and Canada at various times, have visited 76 countries in all parts of the world (59 countries in the last 10 years alone) and presently hold (among others) a 5-year multiple entry UK visa and a 2-year multiple entry Schengen visa. I am financially secure and unmarried with no children.
My 2-year multi-entry Canadian visa recently expired and I submitted an application for a new multi-entry visa. I intended to visit Canada in August for a week to attend a family function. I have received two previous 2-year multi-entry visas from this same visa office in 2006 and 2009. To my surprise, this visa application was declined with a form response :
"You have not satisfied me that you will leave Canada at the end of your stay as temporary resident. Multiple factors have contributed to this decision. Some of these factors may include :
1. Your travel history
2. Family ties to your country of residence
3. Funds available for your visit"
I am completely at a loss as to what I can do to counter the above.
1) My travel history is extensive and well documented, including dozens of previous visits to Canada without any issues. The only thing I can think of is that I renewed my passport last month and the current passport has only a handful of stamps in it so far. My old passport is usually attached to the new one, but the local staff at the visa application counter removed and returned it to me when accepting the application. Copies of every previous expired Canadian visa plus the expired Student and Work Permits were however included and accepted with the application package.
2) I do not have family in my country of residence, but nor did I for either of my previous applications in 2006 or 2009. I have very extensive business ties here however and I am the #2 executive at my current employer. I am not likely to throw all this away just to go work illegally in Canada (the country that I left once before for better opportunities here!). I have also received visas from dozens of other countries while resident in this country and none have ever raised my lack of family here as an issue.
3) Finally, with respect to funds available for my visit, I submitted bank statements from my local bank, my offshore bank where my salary is paid into, my old RBC bank account where I maintain a decent balance and a statement encompassing some (but not all) investments held in my home country. These comfortably add up to a sum in the mid-five figures Canadian dollars. I cannot see how this can be deemed to be insufficient for a week in Canada (I would be staying at my cousin's house anyway). I had used my frequent flyer miles to obtain a Business Class roundtrip ticket to Canada, so transportation is also not an issue.
I am curious if anybody has any advice as to what my options might be to appeal this decision or bring it to the notice of higher ups in CIC. While I respect Canada's right to deny entry to any foreign national for any reason of their choice, to claim these particular reasons for denying my visa application is to put it mildly, ludicrous. Any thoughts or comments are appreciated.
I have applied for and received multiple Canadian visitor visas in the past. These include 1992 (2-year multi), 1998 (1-year multi), 1999 (2-year multi), 2001 (5-year multi), 2002 (Student Visa), 2006 (2-year multi) and 2009 (2-year multi). I was refused a student visa in London ~10 years ago for lack of ties to the UK, but the same class of visa was subsequently issued in my country of citizenship a few months later. I also have received a Student Permit (corresponding to the Student Visa), and also a Work Permit (never used as I accepted a better job outside Canada). I am a graduate of two Canadian institutions (one a full-time undergraduate residential course of study and the other via distance learning) and have about a dozen family members (not siblings/parents however) who live in various parts of Canada.
Totally, I have entered Canada 27 times as a visitor over the last 20+ years in addition to 23 entrances during my 3 years as a student. Most recent visit was in September 2010. No criminal record in Canada (one speeding ticket and one parking ticket - both sorted out) and no Canadian immigration violations (once had some food seized by Agriculture at Toronto airport but it was declared on my Customs form and no fine was levied). I travel extensively for business, have lived/studied/worked legally in the UK, USA and Canada at various times, have visited 76 countries in all parts of the world (59 countries in the last 10 years alone) and presently hold (among others) a 5-year multiple entry UK visa and a 2-year multiple entry Schengen visa. I am financially secure and unmarried with no children.
My 2-year multi-entry Canadian visa recently expired and I submitted an application for a new multi-entry visa. I intended to visit Canada in August for a week to attend a family function. I have received two previous 2-year multi-entry visas from this same visa office in 2006 and 2009. To my surprise, this visa application was declined with a form response :
"You have not satisfied me that you will leave Canada at the end of your stay as temporary resident. Multiple factors have contributed to this decision. Some of these factors may include :
1. Your travel history
2. Family ties to your country of residence
3. Funds available for your visit"
I am completely at a loss as to what I can do to counter the above.
1) My travel history is extensive and well documented, including dozens of previous visits to Canada without any issues. The only thing I can think of is that I renewed my passport last month and the current passport has only a handful of stamps in it so far. My old passport is usually attached to the new one, but the local staff at the visa application counter removed and returned it to me when accepting the application. Copies of every previous expired Canadian visa plus the expired Student and Work Permits were however included and accepted with the application package.
2) I do not have family in my country of residence, but nor did I for either of my previous applications in 2006 or 2009. I have very extensive business ties here however and I am the #2 executive at my current employer. I am not likely to throw all this away just to go work illegally in Canada (the country that I left once before for better opportunities here!). I have also received visas from dozens of other countries while resident in this country and none have ever raised my lack of family here as an issue.
3) Finally, with respect to funds available for my visit, I submitted bank statements from my local bank, my offshore bank where my salary is paid into, my old RBC bank account where I maintain a decent balance and a statement encompassing some (but not all) investments held in my home country. These comfortably add up to a sum in the mid-five figures Canadian dollars. I cannot see how this can be deemed to be insufficient for a week in Canada (I would be staying at my cousin's house anyway). I had used my frequent flyer miles to obtain a Business Class roundtrip ticket to Canada, so transportation is also not an issue.
I am curious if anybody has any advice as to what my options might be to appeal this decision or bring it to the notice of higher ups in CIC. While I respect Canada's right to deny entry to any foreign national for any reason of their choice, to claim these particular reasons for denying my visa application is to put it mildly, ludicrous. Any thoughts or comments are appreciated.