Senior members expert advise required!

[haseebali]

Dear Senior member I seek your expert advised and kind attention regarding my TRV refusal applied on 8th September 2017. The officer ticked on "No legitimate business purpose in Canada". I am going to New York, USA for a business exhibition named AES (Audio Engineering Society) which happens once year. It's related to Pro Audio equipment. I have various suppliers and manufacturers who invites me in this exhibition. I have also one supplier 'Yorkville Sound' who have offices in both USA and Canada. In USA office they deal with different brands and from their Canada office they deal with different brands. When they found out I am coming to USA for this exhibition they invited me to visit their Canadian factory and stores so we can expand the business in Pakistan. However with their current USA brand products the business is very poor and low and this was the main reason that they invited me to Canada so I can test more brands to improvise business. Unfortunately this year they are not participating in that AES Trade show and that's the main reason their International Sales Director invited me to their Canadian factory and sent me a proper invitation letter on their letter head which contains my passport number and other relevant details. I intend to stay 3 days in Canada from 23rd October to 25th October and I am returning back on 28th October from New York to Pakistan. So in total it was all together 11-12 days trip. To support my visa application I compiled the following documents as per the check list of online documents submission.


These are the following documents I attached to support my visa application.

Invoice
August 2017 last pro forma invoice copy from York Ville Sound from their Niagara falls branch.

Invitation
Invitation letter from the Yorkville Sound Canadian manufacturer / supplier inviting me to visit their Canadian factory and stores.

Karachi chamber of commerce business visa recommendation letter

AES (audio engineering society) show confirmation receipt under my name

Travel History
Complete travel history for last 5 years which includes the scan copies of visa(s) and entry exit stamps for the following countries UK, USA, Germany, Singapore, China, Thailand, United Arab Emirates.

Valid visa(s) for the following countries

Schengen VISA issued by German Consulate valid till April 2019

USA visa valid until July 2019

UK visa valid until February 2022

Photographs from the previous shows visit which include UK, USA, Germany, China and UAE.

Personal Explanation
Visa Request / covering letter which describes the reason for visiting Canada and brief description about the business and family ties in Pakistan.

NTN tax certificate copy

Karachi Chamber of commerce membership certificate

Complete company profile which contains thorough description about our company business module.

Distribution certificate copies from various UK, USA and European manufacturers

Personal and Company account statement which is around CAD $42000 ( The balance was never went below CAD $36000 in last 6 months.

Standard Chartered bank platinum credit card statement

Silk bank platinum credit card statement

Certified chartered accountant audit report for year 2015-2016 (which proves the income and other assets)

National identity card copy

Family registration certificate copy issued by NADRA Pakistan

Marriage registration certificate copy issued by NADRA Pakistan

Travel Plans
Hotel bookings for USA and Canada visit for the relevant days.


However I also found out that the visa policy for Pakistan is very strict these days. The local news agency 'The NEWS' which is a quit reputable news paper agency also published this article few days back regarding the strict and unfair visa policy for Pakistani Business community. For your reference here's the link
https://www.thenews.com.pk/print/231472-Pakistan-objects-to-excessive-Canadian-visa-rejection

Kindly advise what to do next ? It's such embarrassing situation for me and giving such a negative impression on my host also plus it's such a bad impression and red flag for my future visa applications also for different countries. I would really appreciate your kind advise in this matter.

Kind Regards
Haseeb Ali

 

[Omairi7]

Dear Haseeb,
After gone through this post i strongly feel that your application deserves respect.
I can understand your feeling that you are a businessman with great reputation and strong travel history still you were refused. It does leave negative markings on your future travel as well. As we discussed in other thread that you should leave this chapter aside and move ahead. Life is not finished with one rejection brother. They are treating all the TRVs in the same manners mostly. You already carrying Schengen, UK and US visas with you so enjoy most of them rather then banging on canadian doors.
But....
You must plan and apply again with all the questions raise by visa officers. We have done this exercise with UK twice and got the visa in 3rd attempt for my uncle. Give them a very strong reply through paper application.
I will follow this post for the comments of Senior members in this group and forum. They will have a better understanding of this situation.
All our prayers are with you.
Best wishes and Regards,

Umair Tahir

 

[Bryanna]

Hi,

Sorry to hear you were refused despite having a strong application. While a visa refusal can be embarrassing and can cause distress, you must not take this too much to heart. Even the best of visa applications are refused at times.... and they could get approved the next time when one applies.

IMO, you have missed out on presenting your application properly, including some key documents.
1. Is the company in Pakistan owned by you or are you an employee?

2. What documents did you submit to prove your responsibilities and job title?


Cheers

 

[haseebali]

Hi,

Sorry to hear you were refused despite having a strong application. While a visa refusal can be embarrassing and can cause distress, you must not take this too much to heart. Even the best of visa applications are refused at times.... and they could get approved the next time when one applies.

IMO, you have missed out on presenting your application properly, including some key documents.
1. Is the company in Pakistan owned by you or are you an employee?

2. What documents did you submit to prove your responsibilities and job title?


Cheers

Thanks for your reply. I mentioned the complete index of my documents as per the website. However I am the owner / propertier of the company and my company is based in Pakistan. To prove this I submitted the Chamber of Commerce Certificate, Chamber of Commerce VISA recommendation letter addressing the Counsel General, TAX Certificate in which my name and company name both are mentioned, Annual Audit report which contain complete financial details of the company and my income explanation which is also under my name. I also explained my position in my company and my activities that why do I attend all those trade shows and how I get the benefit and business from them. I also mentioned that I have my dependant relatives consisting my parents, wife and younger brother in Pakistan. To prove the ties I attached family registration certificate , marriage certificate. And to prove my business ties with another foreigner countries I attached their certificates. In my company profile I also provided all the weblinks of the relevant companies whose brand we distribute in Pakistan. If you wanna review or check my documents I can also email it to you. If you have further questions please don’t hesitate to ask. I am feeling so awful about this refusal and should you please advise if I can reapply again from Pakistan or from America ?

 

[Buletruck]

As an aside, have you been invited by senior staff from the Canadian operation to visit Canada? I would think this would be a necessity).

If you need a visitor visa, you must send certain documents with your application:

• a letter of invitation from your potential business partner in Canada; and
• 24-hour contact details for that person.

http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/visit/business-who.asp

 

[haseebali]

Yes Offcourse I have been invited by the sales director on his letter head.

 

[Omairi7]

It was not your day Haseeb, i mean they are literally refusing 85% of online Trvs.

 

[Bryanna]

Hi,

Invoice
August 2017 last pro forma invoice copy from York Ville Sound from their Niagara falls branch.

A pro-forma invoice means the actual invoice would have a future date i.e. before the actual sales is done. You would want to include 3-4 commercial invoices and proofs of payment transfers which were done in the past.


When you reapply, I suggest your application should include:
For your employment/business:
Business registration documents + Professional certifications + documents to prove whether the business is sole proprietorship or partnership (if partnership then your percentage share + authorization letters from the business partners allowing you to travel for this purpose by using the company finances) + your company profile with the web URL + list of customers with contact information (not just the US and Canada customers, not just web links.... but names of persons whom you interact with) + distribution certificates + 6-12 months' company bank statements + 1-2 years company income tax returns + recent audit statement and/or Profit-Loss Balance Sheet for 2016-17 (not for 2015-16) + 3-4 actual commercial invoices and purchase orders/works contracts + an explanation in point-format stating current purchase orders and orders expected in the next 2-3 months after your visit with the estimated amounts + a short explanation about who will manage your responsibilities temporarily when you're away + a short explanation why you (and not another employee) must visit the Canadian company + an explanation and evidence of how you claim your income (if you are not paid a monthly salary) + an explanation why you must return to Pakistan by XX date (for example, meetings scheduled or a visit scheduled to another country.... with evidence)


For the US exhibition:
Proof of registration + payment for this registration from the company bank account/company credit card + colour scan your US visa + confirmed hotel and flight bookings for the US + broad day-by-day itinerary of your plans in the US


For visiting the Canadian company:
Invitation letter issued by the Canadian host on their business stationery stating the 24/7 contact details of person whom you will be meeting + a day-by-day itinerary of what you would be doing on each day + provisional hotel and travel bookings (US >> Canada >> US) + prints of the home pages, business-relevant pages, contact information pages of the Canadian company + evidence that your company and specifically the Canadian company (not the US branch) have been interacting for business since XX years + evidence of communication between yourself and the Canadian director to prove this is not a 1-off recent business interaction + any evidence if the Canadian company has visited your company in Pakistan/another country for business meetings + an explanation why you must visit the Canadian company and how it will help your business + evidence that your company (and not the Canadian host) will be paying for your visit


For your ties to Pakistan:
Evidence of lease agreements/property ownership of the office/factory premises + if leased, then recent 2-3 months payment receipts + proofs of personal property/land owned by you + current estimated market valuation + recent property tax receipts.

6-12 months of your personal bank statements (do explain any last-minute, recent transfers from your other bank accounts) + 1-2 years personal income tax returns + evidence of financial investments (bank term deposits, mutual funds. shares/stocks, pension funds, etc)

Evidence of your family ties (not just an explanation)..... marriage certificate + birth certificates (of your children) and evidence that they are studying + your family members live at the same address as yourself

Credit cards + 2-3 months credit card statements

Personal professional affiliations/certificates


Note:
A net worth certificate issued by the chartered accountant will not work unless you include actual documents/evidence of the property/financial investments, etc etc


Travel History:
The visa officer does not have the time to go through the visas to figure out any information.

You must prepare a travel history explanation in a tabular format (reverse chronological order, last 10 years):
Country + Visa details (including validity dates) + entry/exit dates + purpose of the visit.

Do colour scan the valid US, UK and Schengen visas and include them in this explanation



For explanations:
Point-format, short details..... no long-run on sentences..... give cross-references to evidences. All amounts must be in both CAD/PKR


You must include a cover letter:
Previous visa refusal + UCI Number + how you have addressed that refusal reason

In this cover letter include separate sections for (all in point-format):
Canadian Host details + Purpose of my visit + Funds available for my visit + Day-by-day itinerary (broad US itinerary + detailed Canadian visit itinerary) + My strong ties to Pakistan (Employment + Financials + Family + Property/land) + My Travel History (cross-refer the separate Travel History explanation, but include the colour scanned US visa in this cover letter) + Why I must return to Pakistan by XX date


One important advice:
Do NOT submit a paper application. VFS Pakistan has been incorrectly claiming that business, property and sometimes even bank statements are not required. There's no logical basis to why VFS Pakistan is doing so. Because of VFS Pakistan (to an extent), this has consistently been leading to TRV refusals.

I suggest you apply online. Do combine all documents/explanations/evidence which cannot be uploaded in the online categories.... as one PDF

 

[haseebali]

@Bryanna
Many thanks for your time and such a detailed explanation. As I heard a lot about you from so many members and also read your posts. You aren’t only an expert advisor but also a wonderful human being. I am so grateful that you took time for me. I would really appreciate if you could review my documents which I sent to CIC. If you could provide me your email address I can email you the files and then it would be very much easier for you to understand and advise accordingly that how I assembled all those documents. Because from the suggested list of your’s I attached and prepared almost 90% documents. But Still your explanation is in more detail. I applied online but now I am wondering that I should apply paper based. But this time do you think I should re apply or wait because I am already going to US and I don’t think so I will get a decision by 16th of October. But still I would prefer your expert advise. I look forward to be hearing from you soon in the near future.