Dear Editor,
I wish to express my concerns regarding persons who have come to my office to make enquiries in relation to applications made to the Canadian Embassy for non-resident visas.
Many persons are of the view that their applications were not treated with any seriousness because of the fact that they presented the Canadian High Commission with more than adequate details of their assets in Guyana and offered several reasons why they would return to their native Guyana, and yet their applications were denied. I have advised them that a non-resident visa application, once dealt with was not subject to review or appeal. The officer who inspects the documents makes a ruling and it is final. That person will receive the regular generic form that tells him or her why that particular application was denied and that person is advised to re-apply if circumstances change.
I have inspected the applications of two persons who are relatives of mine and I have also offered a personal, written guarantee to the Canadian Mission that both these persons will return to Guyana after their brief sojourn. What is more appalling is the fact that one of these persons was already granted a visa and visited Canada before, and abided by all the conditions of return with no breach. He re-applied to visit Canada again and his application was denied, and he received that generic piece of paper.
I wish to voice my concern about the attitude of these overseas missions, because what they do when it comes to non-resident visa applications, affects us negatively. A lot of money is spent on these applications and there is no refund of any kind if an application is denied. Then there is a cost for sending one’s application to Trinidad, while an additional $13,000 has to be paid if one wants one’s application to be sent to Trinidad via the Canadian Mission
Once a person is granted a visa and he/she satisfies all the conditions of the visit that person will naturally expect to be granted a visa on a second occasion. Of course it is quite clear that they have to raise funds to cover certain costs that the Canadian Mission will encounter, but to charge so much money and then offer no grounds of appeal is unfair and our government officials should look to address this particular issue.
Yours faithfully,
Charrandass Persaud
