Leaving Canada · Visitor visa · Super visa · Transit
R179(b) — the officer was not satisfied you would leave Canada
The most common visitor-visa refusal. The officer was not convinced you would go home at the end of your trip.
Common refusal groundThis is one of the most frequently cited grounds. It is fixable.
What the law actually saysIRPR s. 179(b)
An officer shall issue a temporary resident visa to a foreign national if, following an examination, it is established that the foreign national will leave Canada by the end of the period authorized for their stay.
This is by far the most common refusal ground on Indian visitor visa applications. It does not say you lied, and it does not say you are a bad applicant. It says one thing only: the officer was not persuaded that you would return home when your visit ended.
The legal wording matters. The officer does not have to prove you would overstay. You have to satisfy them that you would leave. If the evidence is thin either way, the application is refused. The burden sits with you.
Officers weigh what pulls you back home against what pulls you towards Canada. Job, property, business, dependants and a settled life at home pull one way. Close family already in Canada, no job to return to, or a weak reason for the trip pull the other.
Why this gets written
These are the situations that most often produce this finding. Your notes will usually name the specific one.
No stable employment at home, or a job letter that looks arranged for the application
Close family (spouse, children, parents, siblings) already living in Canada
No property, business or financial roots in your home country
A trip purpose that does not clearly need you to return by a set date
First-time traveller with no previous international travel history
Being single, young and without dependants — not fatal on its own, but it removes one anchor
What actually fixes it
Fix the thing the officer named. Changing everything else at once usually makes a file look staged.
Document your ties in evidence, not in claims: property papers, business registration, land records, employment continuity
Show a job you must return to — approved leave letter with return date, ongoing role, salary credits over several months
Give the trip a clear end: a specific event, a booked return, a reason the visit has a natural finish
If close family is in Canada, address it head-on in your letter of explanation rather than hoping the officer misses it
Build a genuine travel history if you can — even one or two other countries changes the picture
This is general information, not legal advice. Every file turns on its own facts. We have quoted the legislation above so you can check it yourself. For a misrepresentation finding under A40, speak to a Canadian immigration lawyer or an RCIC before you do anything.
Officers write several codes on one file, and only one of them is usually the real reason. Send us your notes and we will tell you which line actually decided your case — and what to do about it.
