Hi all,
Hope everyone is well. I am in a bit of a pickle with my Mexican girlfriend, who requires a visitor visa to enter Canada, which we have applied for and been refused.

I am in the process of applying for GCMS notes, to understand the exact reason for her refusal. We applied with the support/blessing of my MP's office who said it was a solid application. We applied with multiple reasons she would return to Canada:

1. Her university studies in Mexico
2. An appointment in Mexico City for a US Visitor's Visa which I would travel to Mexico with her for
3. A planned trip with myself to Malta. My thought process there was if they think she would stay in the country for me, if I am also leaving the country they will not think she will overstay for me.

The proposed trip was for 3 weeks over Christmas/New years and included detailed support letters from both my and her parents, a financial pledge of $2,000.00 from me plus food, room and board, transportation etc. She has travel history together with me to the Schengen area in Europe.

The exact reason for refusal is:

• I am not satisfied that you will leave Canada at the end of your stay as required by paragraph 179(b) of the IRPR (https://laws-lois.justice.gc.ca/eng/.../SOR-2002-227/ section-179.html).
• I am refusing your application because you have not established that you will leave Canada, based on the following factors:
  • • The purpose of your visit to Canada is not consistent with a temporary stay given the details you have provided in your application.
  • • Your assets and financial situation are insufficient to support the stated purpose of travel for yourself (and any accompanying family member(s), if applicable).

Which again, I don't understand as we covered both of these points in the application. But clearly something was not sufficient for them.

She does not work at the moment as she is a full-time student and wishes to focus on her studies. There are also the issues of safety with a young woman like her working an odd job. It's just not worth it. But if the sticking point is her financial situation, that is not going to change as she is dependent on her parents and to a lesser extent on me for splurging.

As far as I see it, we have a few ways around this

1. Wait for the US Visitor's Visa interview and hope she gets approved. (50/50 chance - her interview is on 15th Jan so before Trump is inaugurated.) - With a US visa, she can come to Canada under eTA.
2. Try to re-apply for a Canadian visa - MP office says guaranteed refusal at this point.
3. Sod Canada and spend time together in Mexico and Malta
4. Try to get her some other kind of visa for Canada - a work permit? She has a bachelors degree in Business Administration which means there are jobs on the LMIA exempt list for CUSMA nationals that she could work in Canada.


Our original intent was to spend Christmas with my family in Canada, then continue on to Mexico and then Malta after that. We have been dating for almost a year now and I have visited Mexico and she Malta. So the next logical step is for her to come to Canada. I'm aware at the moment IRCC is basically refusing everyone due to the racket going on with the excess of immigrants from India/Pakistan/Asia via the international student method, it's just too bad we are caught up in it as well.

Any help appreciated.

Our original intent was to spend Christmas with my family in Canada, then continue on to Mexico and then Malta after that ......

$2,000 is not going to cover such a trip

- no point in applying again, if you've just been refused and her circumstances have not changed.
- get a work permit for Canada - that's a tall stretch for just a vacation?
- get a US visitor visa - another tall stretch
- yes, just do Mexico and Malta

Why? Surely $700 a week in spending money is enough when food, lodging and transport are already covered as stated in the sponsor letter.

Re work permit - yes its a tall stretch but if the government are blatantly refusing visit visas not much choice other then to get married (which I don't want to do just for immigration reasons) so she can get PR, or live together for 1 year outside Canada so she can get PR (more doable, but i'd have to make a lot of preparations to spend 1 full year outside Canada without returning.)

So, given there is an easy route under CUSMA to get an LMIA exempt work permit, why not try and get her a job with her business degree at a Cdn. company? It would only help us to have 2 incomes contributing to our lifestyle and then after 1 year of that work permit she can apply for PR.

Hello friend