Everything‌ ‌you‌ ‌wanted‌ ‌to‌ ‌know‌ ‌about‌ ‌the‌ ‌Canada‌ ‌Visitor‌ Visa‌

Abhishek Rai
[Published 08 Sep, 2021 | 03:53 PM]
About Author - 7 min read
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Millions of individuals arrive in Canada every year with a Canada Visitor Visa. It could be for visiting family or friends, sightseeing or finding out if the nation is suitable for moving permanently. The Canada Visitor Visa allows such visitors to stay in the nation for a maximum of 6 months at one go.

The Government of Canada is making all-out efforts to promote Canada as the favored destination for young and skilled workers. Several measures are being implemented to enhance the efficiency and speed of economic immigration to Canada. Thus, it is the right time to explore and discover what the nation has to offer through the Visitor Visa.

You will need Canada Visitor Visa for arriving in the nation except if you belong to a Visa-exempt nation. The Visitor Visa is also known as TRV - Temporary Resident Visa. The TRV will be included as a part of your application if you are applying for a Work Permit or Study Permit. But you have to apply for it separately if you wish to arrive in Canada only as a Visitor.

Visa-exempt nations are the countries with whom Canada has accords permitting their nationals and PR Visa holders to arrive in Canada without the TRV.

Check Your Eligibility for Canada PR

Temporary Resident Visa or Visitor Visa

The Visitor Visa or the Temporary Resident Visa is a formal document affixed to your Passport by the Canadian Immigration Authorities. It proves that you have fulfilled the criteria for arriving in Canada.

The majority of the travelers require a TRV for traveling to Canada. It can also be required if you have to transit through an airport in Canada en route to your last destination. The application for TRV can be submitted on paper or online.

You can need an ETA - Electronic Travel Authorization or TRV. The entry document that you require relies on:

• The kind of travel document that you intend to travel with

• The nation that offered your travel document

• Your citizenship

• Your travel mode for your Canada trip

You may like to stay beyond your authorized stay duration. If so, you have to submit the application for an extension minimum of 30 days prior to the end of your authorized stay.

Types of Canada Visitor Visas

Canada offers two types of Visitor Visas:

Single-entry Visitor Visa

This Visa will permit you to arrive in Canada only once.

This Visa authorizes your multiple entry and exit from Canada as per your need while the Visa remains valid. It must be noted here that the date of expiry of your Visa does not decide your stay duration in Canada.

For instance, you may have obtained a Multiple Entry Visitor Visa with a validity of 3 years. It does not imply that you can remain in Canada continuously for this period.

The maximum validity of the TRV or Visitor Visa is 6 months. But the exact validity of the Visa is determined by the Immigration Official handling your application.

You can obtain the extension of your TRV while staying in Canada only while the TRV remains valid. If you stay in Canada with an expired TRV and without any extension application in the process, it can hamper your immigration applications in the future.

You are allowed to remain in Canada through the implied status while your application is under process. This is only if you complete the extension application prior to the expiry of the Visitor Visa.

Canada Visitor Visa and your stay duration in Canada

The majority of the visitors can remain in Canada for 6 months on the TRV. It is also applicable for Canada Tourist Visa for Indians.

• If you have received a stamp in the Passport while entering Canada, you must exit the nation by the date specified on the stamp. If you have received a Visitor Record, you must exit Canada by the date specified on this record.
• If your Passport has not been stamped, you can stay in Canada only for 6 months from the date of first entry into Canada or prior to the Passport’s expiry, which ever occurs first.

You can apply for TRV notwithstanding the current curbs due to the pandemic. But only those people who are exempted from the curbs are permitted to arrive in Canada currently.

Extending your stay on the Canada Visitor Visa

Canada Visitor Visa permits overseas nationals to remain lawfully in the nation for a maximum of 6 months. They must exit Canada at the end of this period upon expiry of the lawful status. However, you can extend your stay in Canada after this period in specific ways.

For this, you have to file an application with IRCC - Immigration, Refugees, and Citizenship Canada while your Visitor Visa is still valid. The TRV is a document that demonstrates that you have fulfilled the conditions for entering Canada as a provisional resident.

You have to apply for a Visitor Record for extending your stay in Canada as a traveler. It will have a date of expiry after which you need to exit Canada or apply for more extensions for remaining lawfully in the nation. This record does not guarantee your re-entry to Canada if you opt to exit from the nation.

In case your TRV expires during the processing of your extension application, you can remain in Canada till the verdict is announced. This is called ‘Maintained Status’ earlier known as ‘Implied Status’. The conditions of your status as a visitor are extended after the expiry date during this period. You will be only permitted to remain in Canada as a guest.

If your Visitor status has however lapsed already, your status can be restored if you continue to fulfill the initial conditions and requirements.

Short-term policy permits visitors to apply for Canada Work Permits

IRCC launched a special policy on 24th August 2020 permitting overseas citizens in Canada with a TRV to apply for a Work Permit Employer-Specific if they have a valid job offer. Previously, it was required to apply for the initial Work Permit prior to entering Canada. If they were present in Canada on TRV during the approval of the Work Permit, they had to exit and re-enter Canada for its activation.

Applicants seeking to avail of the benefit of this special policy are required to: