A trip to Canada

[halfpint]

Good news, my girlfriend just got her visa for a trip to come to Canada.  I was thrilled, I'd read it was almost impossible for her to get a tourist visa.  She was told by some companies in Shanghai, that assist with these things, not to even bother applying.  They told her over 95% of applications were getting rejected, one company told her the current rejection rate was 99%.  The fifth company she talked to said they would try, but even they told her she had almost no chance of getting it. 

I know bringing a lady to Canada in the middle of winter may not make sense, but its the best time we have.  She's wrapping it around the Spring Festival week, staying here for 2.5 weeks.  We'll spend a few days in Vancouver together, be tourists in the city I grew up in.  My family is there, she can meet them, they are going to love that.  Then she'll spend a couple of weeks in my home in the Okanagan, getting to know my kids and my area.  Just like I did in Shanghai.

This is a very good thing that is happening.  After this visit we can talk about where we think it would be best to raise our kids and what kind of life we want to have together.  I kinda like that idea.

Alan

[RobertBfrom aust]

Alan , that is great news , may it all go smoothly from here on in , regards Sujuan and Robert .

[JOHN1964]

Alan,, fantastic news for you and your "girlfriend", I hope MinYing and i have the same good luck as you have and she can come here to be with me soon on a visitors visa, Wish you and your lady all the best in the future, Im a little jealous right now knowing that your lady will be with you soon but i will be with MinYing in eight days to be married and then we can start the visa process ourselves, Maybe we can get a visitors visa too as today she received her passport and i am so thrilled to receive the good news that we are one step closer to being together , Warmest regards from MinYing and John. 

[Willy The Londoner]

I saw a piece on Hunan TV that said Canada needed an extra 250,000 immigrants this year to keep up the tax requirements of the country.

Maybe letting them in on a try before you buy basis!!!

Willy

[halfpint]

Willy if that means we are getting 250,000 new Chinese girls every year, then I live in a great country!

John I look at each step as a building block, for our relationship and the process you have to go through.  The more we see each other and visit each other, the stronger the relationship gets.  Each new visit will make the visa process easier to.

Good luck to you!

Alan

[Rhonald]

With that 250,000 - I am only interested in 000,001

But great news for you halfpint - ooohh I only wish I could have gotten my wife a tourist visa so we could share a Christmas together while waiting for the permanent visa.

I hope she enjoys her trip here and I hope you share pictures for us. Vicarious happiness is still contagious.   

[RobertBfrom aust]

Rhonald , velly solly BUT , the other 249,999 are already heading for Australia , Opra Winfrey says so , regards Sujuan and Robert .

[halfpint]

I would love to post some pictures of our trip together.  When I told my girlfriend I'd put her pictures on facebook, she wasn't too happy about that.  She thought anyone could see and that made her uncomfortable.  When I explained I had privacy and it wasnt open for anyone to see, that was ok with her.  Only my friends and their friends can see, she was good with that.

When she comes here, I'll show her this site and see what she thinks.  I think that's being fair to her.

Alan

[mustfocus]

Actually Alan,

I'd be more interested in finding out how you managed to get her a visa    I'd like to be able to do the same for my lady.

[halfpint]

Well, this is what we did:

I put together a file of a copy of: my 2009 tax assessment notice, my 2010 property tax assessments, the lmy ast 3 months bank statements, my business income for the last year and a letter from an employer, i included all of of that in a letter to the Canadian consulate office saying it was in support of my girl's application.  Then I wrote a "Letter of Invitation" to her,  telling her why I wanted her to come and visit me.  I wrote a letter that included refereneces to me being a widower, with a young child (ie: hoping someone would read it that had a heart), wanting a mom for my child, and that I had visited her, had met her son, and i was prepared to be a dad to her young son.

More importantly, I think ,she provided information to the consulate office indicating she owned her own business, owned her apartment in Shanghai and that her son lived with her. 

I showed I was financially stable, and she showed she had enough responsibility she would not come to Canada for a visit and then try to stay here illegally.  I think the key was we were both very honest and open.  It worked for us.  If there is any other way I can help, let me know.

Alan

I'll tell you what she told me after she received her visa.  The company she used to help her told her that the letter she wrote to the consulate office explaining why she wanted to come to Canada, was returned to the company on top of the file, stamped with a red mark.  That was tehe consulate's office way of showing the primary reason why her visa was approved.

This letter she wrote was a letter from the heart.  She told them her son was the most important thing in her life.  She wanted her son to have a complete family, she wanted her son to have a dad as well as a mom.  She told them she wanted to have a loving husband.  She told them she wanted to be a mom to my daughter.  She told them she loved me and wanted to come to Canada so she could make sure this was the right thing to do for her and her son. 

I guess what we did was build as strong a case as we could, gave them lots of personal information.  And we both wrote a letter that really did come from the heart, I think that made a big difference.

[Arnold]

Well done Alan .
It still is up to "WHO" looks at your Letter's and what of an "Day" their having . Your Letter's arrived at the right time and the right Person . We all know the Canadian Government can be quite impersonal/cold-hearted about ongoing Relationships and Paperwork involved . As much as the US . Have a great time with your Lady and keep her warm .

[mustfocus]

That's great, thanks!  I was hoping there is something I could use for my lady, but she's nearly a textbook case of who they won't let in.  Single female, under 30 Chinese national.  There's still a chance, but it'll depend on a number of things that are out of my controll (I have to be purposely vauge here for now)...

But at least your case gives me some hope...

[David E]

I'm probably diving off to the realms of fantasy here, but I had a very interesting conversation on Saturday night that got me thinking !!!

I went to a Business related Xmas function and on my table was a Lawyer...and others. I got talking to this lawyer, and it turns out that he is a very high power Constitutional Lawyer and does a lot of work at very high level in this area.

I steered the questions around to the issue of Spouse/Fiance/Tourist visas and the apparent "Total Power" that various Government Departments have over us in this regard.

His comments were fascinating.......

For those Countries that operate under the mandate of a written Constitution...such as USA, Canada and Aus, and possibly also for UK that has a Common Law Westminster Tradition, this Constitution overrides any other consideration when it comes to the rights of an individual...

For instance, The Constitution, under the provisions of personal freedom of religion, of association and of "quiet enjoyment" allows a person total freedom to marry who he/she chooses, if that prospective partner meets the relationship laws...ie, you cant marry your sister etc etc.

This Lawyer told me that in his opinion, any person who is rejected by the various Immigration departments for spouse/fiance/tourist visa would be certain to win the case on a Constitutional basis. Our Governments have no right of refusal, unless a high level criminal background was evident.

He told me that the process was relatively simple..the offended person only need to lodge a civil suit with the Supreme Court and get a Constitutional QC to represent the case. At the same time, you would need a Barrister and a Solicitor to do the "leg work".

So it seems guys, if you are fabulously wealthy and could afford all this "Legal Team "...which goes out to about $10,000 per day...then you would not need to worry about the Immigration Department messing with your life !!!!!

Hey Ho...once again..one Law for the Rich...another Law for the rest of us.

But interesting info. anyway !!!

[RobertBfrom aust]

Here you are David E , this one is for you , 1 of Sujuans friends was introduced to one of my PWP male friends about 6 weeks ago , last week they decided to tie the knot , of course big mouth me said that's great but you have to register and wait 30 days , ha ha the laughs on me rang the Celebrant on the Monday and were married on the Tuesday at 11.30 am with my other half as 1 of the witnesses , even in Aussie land it would seem it is who knows who , regards Sujuan and Robert .

[halfpint]

That must have been an interesting talk David.  Let's hope it doesn't come to that.    If I knew how many days the legal battle would be, I'd consider it.  At $10,000 a day, if it could go on forever, well I think I'd just pack up and move to Shanghai, not really seeing any downsides to that option!