Disclaimer: This is long and detailed!
My Dominican boyfriend recently moved to Switzerland (October '09) on a family reunification visa and subsequently got his B-permit, which is the basic equivalent of a Canadian PR card.
We never bothered to apply for a visitor visa for him in the past because we all know the outcome of 99.9% of applications from Dominicans wishing to visit Canada. It just seemed silly for us to "donate" $75 CAD to the Canadian government for a visa application that was probably going to get denied before they even took the time to read the paperwork.
So, with Schengen visa and B-permit in hand we made the trek to Paris last week where all visitor visa applications are to be submitted for residents of Switzerland. Yes, there is a Canadian embassy in Switzerland but NO, they do not accept applications for visitor visas. And yes, you can mail in your application from Switzerland to Paris and have it processed in 4-6 weeks...or you can give yourself a great excuse to travel to Paris and submit it in person and get a response on the same day. We chose option #2.
We got all of our paperwork and required documentation in order (I will give an exact list of what we brought below) and showed up bright and early at the embassy, prepared to wait hours (and we did have to wait for HOURS). My boyfriends application was given an initial check to ensure that all the required forms and documents were there and then we were given a number, paid the fee and then sat down to wait for an interview. After a couple of hours his number was called and we went to the wicket and had a "chat" with the immigration officer.
(Side note - originally they weren't going to let me come into the embassy because I was not applying for a visa but my boyfriend asked if I could come because his english is not very good...which isn't exactly true, but it saved me standing outside for 5 hours wondering what was going on.)
My boyfriend was asked several questions mainly about his employment status and his residency status in Switzerland. I clarified a few points for him in spanish but really he would have been fine without me I think...he was just nervous. We were told to take a seat and would be called up again shortly. After 45 minutes his number was called again but not to the receptionist (we had watched enough people coming and going to know that you are called to reception if you are approved and called to a different wicket if you are not approved), he was called to the original officers wicket.
The officer had a second person with her this time and told me that she wanted to talk to my boyfriend without me so she had enlisted the help of a translator. I went and sat down and eavesdropped on the ensuing conversation where they asked him almost all the same questions as when I was present the first time. I guess they were just testing him?
Anyway, he was told to sit down again and after another 30 minutes his number was finally called TO RECEPTION! We went up and the lady handed my boyfriend's passport back and gave a short explanation of the visa and how it works. She told him to check over the visa to ensure it was accurate (spelling, dates, etc) and then we could leave.
So, sorry, this was very long but I thought people would appreciate hearing exactly what goes on if you're applying for a visitor visa to Canada for someone living OUTSIDE of the DR. There must be some other people in the same or similar situation as me!
Here is a list of th documents we brought with us:
-Visa application
-2 photos (exact dimensions listed on visa application)
-applicants 3 most recent paystubs
-letter from applicants employer stating EXACT DATES of holidays, type of employment (full time, part time, contract, etc), HOW LONG employed and brief description of duties at job
-recent bank statement for applicant
-letter of invitation (I indicated approx dates of visit i.e. arrive AROUND July 3, depart no later than July 30, that I would understake all expenses including medical expenses if any arise, that my boyfriend would pay for his own flights, what we plan to do while he's here i.e. meet friends & family, day trip to Banff, etc, and that he wants to improve upon his english skills.)
-photocopies of his passport and B-permit
-original passport and B-permit
The visa was issued for 6 months, meaning that he can enter any time between now and 6 months from now. We were told that generally a leave of 6 months is granted upon arrival but that the final decision rests with the officer he sees at the checkpoint in the airport. The lady made a point of telling us that even if he enters on December 3 (last possible entry date) he will still be granted up to 6 months to stay.
We are aiming for my boyfriend to visit me in July for 2 weeks. I am sure I do not need to tell you all how overjoyed we both are that this is actually happening! This forum has been a gold mine of information and even though we are not going through the sponsorship/immigration process right now I am sure we will be sometime down the road and I've learned SO much from everyone here...so thank you! If all goes well my boyfriend will be here in Calgary for Stampede...yeehaw!
My Dominican boyfriend recently moved to Switzerland (October '09) on a family reunification visa and subsequently got his B-permit, which is the basic equivalent of a Canadian PR card.
We never bothered to apply for a visitor visa for him in the past because we all know the outcome of 99.9% of applications from Dominicans wishing to visit Canada. It just seemed silly for us to "donate" $75 CAD to the Canadian government for a visa application that was probably going to get denied before they even took the time to read the paperwork.
So, with Schengen visa and B-permit in hand we made the trek to Paris last week where all visitor visa applications are to be submitted for residents of Switzerland. Yes, there is a Canadian embassy in Switzerland but NO, they do not accept applications for visitor visas. And yes, you can mail in your application from Switzerland to Paris and have it processed in 4-6 weeks...or you can give yourself a great excuse to travel to Paris and submit it in person and get a response on the same day. We chose option #2.
We got all of our paperwork and required documentation in order (I will give an exact list of what we brought below) and showed up bright and early at the embassy, prepared to wait hours (and we did have to wait for HOURS). My boyfriends application was given an initial check to ensure that all the required forms and documents were there and then we were given a number, paid the fee and then sat down to wait for an interview. After a couple of hours his number was called and we went to the wicket and had a "chat" with the immigration officer.
(Side note - originally they weren't going to let me come into the embassy because I was not applying for a visa but my boyfriend asked if I could come because his english is not very good...which isn't exactly true, but it saved me standing outside for 5 hours wondering what was going on.)
My boyfriend was asked several questions mainly about his employment status and his residency status in Switzerland. I clarified a few points for him in spanish but really he would have been fine without me I think...he was just nervous. We were told to take a seat and would be called up again shortly. After 45 minutes his number was called again but not to the receptionist (we had watched enough people coming and going to know that you are called to reception if you are approved and called to a different wicket if you are not approved), he was called to the original officers wicket.
The officer had a second person with her this time and told me that she wanted to talk to my boyfriend without me so she had enlisted the help of a translator. I went and sat down and eavesdropped on the ensuing conversation where they asked him almost all the same questions as when I was present the first time. I guess they were just testing him?
Anyway, he was told to sit down again and after another 30 minutes his number was finally called TO RECEPTION! We went up and the lady handed my boyfriend's passport back and gave a short explanation of the visa and how it works. She told him to check over the visa to ensure it was accurate (spelling, dates, etc) and then we could leave.
So, sorry, this was very long but I thought people would appreciate hearing exactly what goes on if you're applying for a visitor visa to Canada for someone living OUTSIDE of the DR. There must be some other people in the same or similar situation as me!
Here is a list of th documents we brought with us:
-Visa application
-2 photos (exact dimensions listed on visa application)
-applicants 3 most recent paystubs
-letter from applicants employer stating EXACT DATES of holidays, type of employment (full time, part time, contract, etc), HOW LONG employed and brief description of duties at job
-recent bank statement for applicant
-letter of invitation (I indicated approx dates of visit i.e. arrive AROUND July 3, depart no later than July 30, that I would understake all expenses including medical expenses if any arise, that my boyfriend would pay for his own flights, what we plan to do while he's here i.e. meet friends & family, day trip to Banff, etc, and that he wants to improve upon his english skills.)
-photocopies of his passport and B-permit
-original passport and B-permit
The visa was issued for 6 months, meaning that he can enter any time between now and 6 months from now. We were told that generally a leave of 6 months is granted upon arrival but that the final decision rests with the officer he sees at the checkpoint in the airport. The lady made a point of telling us that even if he enters on December 3 (last possible entry date) he will still be granted up to 6 months to stay.
We are aiming for my boyfriend to visit me in July for 2 weeks. I am sure I do not need to tell you all how overjoyed we both are that this is actually happening! This forum has been a gold mine of information and even though we are not going through the sponsorship/immigration process right now I am sure we will be sometime down the road and I've learned SO much from everyone here...so thank you! If all goes well my boyfriend will be here in Calgary for Stampede...yeehaw!