Why was I refused a Canadian visit visa?

Question

Hi I'm a citizen of Mauritius. I applied to Canada for a temporary visa to see a friend who would give me accommodation for 1 month. To my surprise my visa was refused, for the following reasons:

1. Travel history: I don't understand this statement as I have been to Japan, Malaysia, Australia, Switzerland, France, England, Germany, Italy and Spain.

2. Family ties in Canada and Mauritius: True for Canada as I'm visiting a friend; incorrect for Mauritius, as mentioned in my application that my dad and I live in the same house.

3. Reason for my visit: I said that it was for tourism.

4. Finance: I said that I would bring $2000 for the month, and I would have free accommodation. However, the bank statement which I provided showed more than that amount.

5. Job: I provided a letter from my employer, a international company, in which I'm a senior software engineer.

With all this, I don't understand the refusal. Can I do anything about it?

Answer 1

Two things:

1) Visa refusal letters in Canada do not tell the whole story of why your visa was refused. You need to request your actual case notes. (See here or Google "CAIPS request"). There are some complications with requesting these notes outside Canada, but there are companies that help arrange the process for you for a small fee. Unfortunately the process takes a long time (about a month as far as I know).

2) Before re-applying, talk to a Canadian immigration lawyer. The lawyer will probably want to examine your previous application, maybe decide to wait for the notes (#1 above), and maybe even decide to appeal the existing application instead of submitting a new one. It is expensive, but if you reapply yourself you risk a 2nd rejection and this seriously hurts your chances of getting into Canada.