Canada is a country that welcomes immigrants with open arms. However, they also make sure to have a balanced selection system for who gets to visit or stay in the country. If you want to visit Canada for a short period of time, the ideal choice would be to apply for a visitor visa. However, many applicants for visitor visas are faced with a visa refusal. Your visitor visa can be refused for a variety of reasons, and occasionally for no reason at all, simply because the Embassy of Canada visa officers are not obliged to justify themselves. In this blog post, we have created a list of potential reasons for your visa refusal and what should be your next course of action after facing this challenge.
Canadian Visitor Visa Application Refusals
Your visitor visa can be refused for a variety of reasons. However, the most frequently stated reason for the refusal is Failure to meet Section 179 (b) of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Regulation (IRPR). According to this, Issuance – An officer shall issue a temporary resident visa to a foreign national if, following an examination, it is established that the foreign national-
179 (b) will leave Canada by the end of the period authorized for their stay under Division 2 [Conditions on Temporary Residents]
Other common reasons for Visitor visa refusal include:
Strong Family Ties to Canada: If the applicant has strong family ties to Canada, meaning if their family lives in Canada, their application may get refused. This happens because the visa officer might think that you will not be willing to return to your home country and would want to stay for longer.
Lack of Travel History: If you have never travelled outside your home country before, your visitor visa can be refused if you apply on your own. You can get in touch with a visa firm to get valid arguments made on your behalf and refer a Federal court case in your application.
Length of Your Stay: A visitor visa allows visitors to stay for a maximum period of 6 months in the country. However, if you mention “6 months” as your proposed stay in the country, the visa officer may reject your application as you are asking for the maximum time allowable. This makes them believe that you are more likely to stay longer.
Lack of Employment Prospects in Home Country: Apart from showing proof dor your financial situation, you must also show where your money is coming from. The best way to show this is by proving that you are employed. If an applicant is unemployed at the time of the application process, they are at a higher risk for visa refusal.
Lack of Sufficient Funds, Income or Assets: If you are unable to prove that you have sufficient funds to pay for your trip to Canada for the purpose of your stay, the visa officer can reject your application. Additionally, if the visa officer believes that the purpose of your visit is going to cost you more money than you have, your application will be refused.
Purpose of Your Visit: If you are unable to provide a concrete reason for your visit to the country, then you can risk having your visitor visa refused. Additionally, if the visa officer is unsatisfied with your reason for visiting Canada, they may deny you entry.
Immigration Status: As per the law, you must have a legal status as a resident in the country you are currently located and applying from. You must also prove that you have been staying there for the minimum amount of time, or your visitor visa may be refused.
Insufficient Documentation of Income and Assets: To enter the country, you should be able prove that you have funds according to your purpose of visit. If you have stated that you have sufficient funds, then you will also have to provide documentation to prove that.
Misrepresentation: If your visa officer believes that all the documents you have provided are not genuine and authentic, then you will be refused to apply for a visitor visa. Not only this but you will be barred from entering the country for a certain period of time.
What to do after your visitor visa has been refused:
If your visitor visa has been refused, you can consider any of the following options:
Appealing the Visa Refusal
You can appeal your refused visa under certain considerations. You can contact an immigration lawyer and file an appeal to the court if you have a reason to believe that the visa officer has made a wrong decision by refusing your visa. This appeal is made in a Federal Court of Canada and goes through a judicial review process.
Making a Reapplication
You can always reapply if your visitor visa has been refused. But you have to make sure that you have all the important documentation ready this time to support your reason. If, during the application process, your personal situation is changed, then you have to mention that in your application; always make sure to study the reason why your visa was refused in the first place so that you can avoid making that mistake the next time,
Request Reconsideration
You can also make a reconsideration request to the immigration officer if it was refused because you have entered some wrong information or failed to provide sufficient documentation the first time.
How Can We Help You?
Your visitor visa can be rejected due to a variety of reasons, but no matter what the reason is, the Visa Immigration firm can help you. We have seasoned lawyers who are experienced in solving every issue concerned with visa refusal and have decades of experience in successfully helping people enter Canada from all over the world. Contact us today to learn more.