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wanderbeast
Joined: 19 Feb 2012
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 Posted: Mon Feb 20, 2012 5:42 am Post subject: Passport photos and background check for E2 Visa |
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Hi everyone,
I could use some clarification on a couple of the E2 visa requirements for Canadians because it seems like every online source I read says something slightly different:
1) With regards to the 4 passport photos: Can I take them myself provided that I have a white background, no smile etc. or do they need to be done by a professional?
2) In terms of the criminal background check - are fingerprints required or can just a basic check be conducted?
Thanks for your help! |
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sbp59
Joined: 01 Apr 2009
Location: Somewhere in SK
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| Posted: Mon Feb 20, 2012 10:13 am Post subject: |
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You should be able to take your own passport photos. I have in the past, using some online passport photo software.
You do not need fingerprints in Canada for the CRC but it must be stamped by a korean consulate in Canada. |
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ssavage4
Joined: 04 Feb 2012
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| Posted: Mon Feb 20, 2012 10:27 am Post subject: |
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| I did not get my fingerprints done for my background check in Canada (went to the local police who used the national CPIC database), and now immigration is saying that they may deny my visa because it wasn;t done directly through the RCMP. This is despite the fact that the Korean Consulate in Toronto notarized my background check. I would consider contacting immigration in Korea to clarify this so you don;t end up in the same situation as me. I've used the same process 3 times before with no problems, so I'm unsure if I'm just unlucky at the moment, or if there have been changes. |
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wanderbeast
Joined: 19 Feb 2012
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| Posted: Tue Feb 21, 2012 12:17 am Post subject: |
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| Thanks for the advice, both of you. |
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kitchenquiet
Joined: 08 Aug 2011
Location: Vancouver, British Columbia
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| Posted: Tue Feb 21, 2012 2:58 am Post subject: |
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Yes, the contradicting information you will get is very frustrating (but I suppose this is just how it is with bureaucracy in general, all over the world).
Korean Immigration told me: We don't need the record check to be fingerprint-based. It can be name-based.
Korean Consulate (Vancouver) told me: No, we will only stamp fingerprint-based record checks.
Since it needs to go to the consulate before it goes to Immigration, I realized I had to get the fingerprints taken. Perhaps consulates in other Canadian cities will accept name-based checks, but Vancouver certainly does not. If you have the time to do it with fingerprints, be on the safe side and do it. I submitted mine electronically from Vancouver (via the Commissionaires office) and I received my record check in the mail from the Ottawa RCMP office within a week. |
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wanderbeast
Joined: 19 Feb 2012
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| Posted: Tue Feb 21, 2012 12:32 pm Post subject: |
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| A further question - I'm traveling and I'm trying to get my visa without going back to Canada first. Again, I keep receiving conflicting information about whether I need to apply for the visa from Canada or whether I can simply mail in the documents. Does anyone know anything about this? |
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Skippy
Joined: 18 Jan 2003
Location: Daejeon
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| Posted: Wed Feb 22, 2012 3:24 am Post subject: |
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| kitchenquiet wrote: |
Korean Immigration told me: We don't need the record check to be fingerprint-based. It can be name-based.
Korean Consulate (Vancouver) told me: No, we will only stamp fingerprint-based record checks.
Since it needs to go to the consulate before it goes to Immigration, I realized I had to get the fingerprints taken. Perhaps consulates in other Canadian cities will accept name-based checks, but Vancouver certainly does not. If you have the time to do it with fingerprints, be on the safe side and do it. I submitted mine electronically from Vancouver (via the Commissionaires office) and I received my record check in the mail from the Ottawa RCMP office within a week. |
That sounds wrong. I had mine which was a city name check verified by the Vancouver Consulate. It was no problem about 3 months ago. Immi in Daejeon took it no prob about 2 months ago.
Overall Vancouver is the best because the website has the best info and instructions. Maybe you got a bum clerk. Maybe he said no because you did it wrong (notarization, Commissionaires print out, etc).
Did you use Commissionaires for the fingerprint scan. The company then sends it to the RCMP? The print out does it have Commissionaires anywhere on the header or label. If so, that might be why it got refused.
Remember people Commissionaires is NOT accepted by the Korean Consulate. |
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kitchenquiet
Joined: 08 Aug 2011
Location: Vancouver, British Columbia
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| Posted: Wed Feb 22, 2012 2:49 pm Post subject: |
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| Skippy wrote: |
| kitchenquiet wrote: |
Korean Immigration told me: We don't need the record check to be fingerprint-based. It can be name-based.
Korean Consulate (Vancouver) told me: No, we will only stamp fingerprint-based record checks.
Since it needs to go to the consulate before it goes to Immigration, I realized I had to get the fingerprints taken. Perhaps consulates in other Canadian cities will accept name-based checks, but Vancouver certainly does not. If you have the time to do it with fingerprints, be on the safe side and do it. I submitted mine electronically from Vancouver (via the Commissionaires office) and I received my record check in the mail from the Ottawa RCMP office within a week. |
That sounds wrong. I had mine which was a city name check verified by the Vancouver Consulate. It was no problem about 3 months ago. Immi in Daejeon took it no prob about 2 months ago.
Overall Vancouver is the best because the website has the best info and instructions. Maybe you got a bum clerk. Maybe he said no because you did it wrong (notarization, Commissionaires print out, etc).
Did you use Commissionaires for the fingerprint scan. The company then sends it to the RCMP? The print out does it have Commissionaires anywhere on the header or label. If so, that might be why it got refused.
Remember people Commissionaires is NOT accepted by the Korean Consulate. |
I did use the Commissionaires for the fingerprint scan, yes, and everything went well. my document did not mention the Commissionaires at all, it just had the rcmp seal on it, so there was no problem in getting it accepted by the Consulate.
I can absolutely believe that your name-based check was accepted by the Consulate and by Immigration a few months ago (and I am certain that many people are getting through this way these days as well). The thing is, my immigration application had already been denied once, so I decided to go the safest route and get the fingerprint-based one. It only took a week in total, so that wasn't really too bad, either.
(As to why my visa application was denied the first time: I am an American citizen who spent the last 6 years studying in Canada. Because of my Canadian degree, and the length of my stay over there, Korean Immigration demanded that I go and get myself a Canadian record check on top of my FBI one. Apparently these are "new regulations". If you are about to say that most likely tons of people with comparable situations are passing through Immigration every day: Yes, I absolutely agree. If this is indeed a new regulation, then I still doubt that every officer is enforcing it.) |
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