Canada Tourist Visa

A visitor means a person who is lawfully in Canada, or seeks to come into Canada for a temporary purpose (such as work, study or visit) and who is not a Canadian citizen, Permanent resident or the holder of a minister's permit.

A Canadian Temporary resident visa, often referred to as a tourist visa or visitor visa for Canada is a temporary Canadian immigration option allowing tourists to visit Canada for a maximum of six months.Travel visa of this kind is required by nationals of some countries when visiting the country.

In Canada, visas of this kind are not intended as a route to settlement and do not offer Permanent residence or the opportunity to apply for Canadian citizenship.Visiting visas are issued on the understanding that you will not be permitted to work, and that you will depart on or before the expiry of your tourist visa.

The Canadian visitor visa application involves a two-step process, which begins with the submission at the consular office abroad. A person who makes an application for a visitor visa has the burden of satisfying the visa officer that he or she is not an immigrant. The applicant may be convoked to interview where the visa officer will verify the applicant's reasons for visiting Canada, the applicant's ability or willingness to leave Canada within the visa validity date and the applicant's overall admissibility to Canada.

Once issued the applicant will proceed to the second stage, which takes place at the POE where an immigration officer will question the applicant to ensure admissibility.

A visitor visa may be for single entry or multiple entry use. Single entry visas may be issued up to six months before the expected date of travel. The maximum validity date for multiple entry visitor visas is up to five (5) years or one month prior to the expiry date on the passport/re-entry visa, whichever is earlier. POE officers will routinely grant entry for a period of six months to a person requesting entry as a visitor.

How Visa Immigration Can Help

As a Canada immigration consultant, Canada Visas can assist you in determining the best option for you. No matter which path is best for your relocation to Canada immigration consultants at Canada Visas can offer a comprehensive Canadian visa service taking care of everything you will require for your move to Canada from immigration lawyer expertise, detailed information on the processes of immigration and more. We will also be happy to advise you as to whether you need to apply for a visit visa for Canada in order to enter the country.

Single entry Visitor Visa

This category allows you to visit Canada once for the duration of no more than six months. However, once in the country you can apply for a Canadian visa extension so long as you do so no later than 30 days before the expiry of the original document.

Multiple Entry Visitor Visa

Under this category, you may enter and depart on several occasions during the validity of the Canadian travel visa. In this case, you will need to specify the length of time you require. The length of time subsequently awarded will be decided by an issuing case officer.

Transit Visa

The third category is intended for people entering the country en route to another destination who will be spending no longer than 48 hours in the country.

Eligibility Criteria

In order to meet the eligibility requirements for a visiting visa, you will need to demonstrate that you:

Possess sufficient funds to support you and your family for the duration of your visit.

Do not intend to seek or undertake employment.

Have no criminal record and intend to abide by the laws of the country.

Do not pose a security risk.

You may also be required to complete a medical examination.

Working and studying in Canada

Whilst in the country on any of the above tourist visas it is not permitted to undertake employment.If you wish to work during your time in the country, you will need an accompanying Canadian work permit. You may study so long as the course is short term and will not exceed the six months expiry date.

Subjects of the following areas are not required to obtain a visa before entering Canada at a POE:

(1) Citizens of Andorra, Antigua and Barbuda, Australia, Austria, Bahamas, Barbados, Belgium, Botswana, Brunei Darussalam, Cyprus, Denmark, Estonia, Finland, France, Federal Republic of Germany, Greece, Hungary, Iceland, Ireland, Italy, Japan, Latvia, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Malta, Monaco, Namibia, Netherlands, New Zealand, Norway, Papua New Guinea, Portugal, Republic of Korea, St. Kitts and Nevis, St. Lucia, St. Vincent, San Marino, Singapore, Slovakia, Slovenia, Solomon Islands, Spain, Swaziland, Sweden, Switzerland and Western Samoa.

(2) Persons lawfully admitted to the United States for permanent residence who are in possession of their alien registration card (Green card) or can provide other evidence of permanent residence.

(3) British citizens and British Overseas Citizens who are re-admissible to the United Kingdom;

(4) Citizens of British overseas territories who derive their citizenship through birth, descent, registration or naturalization in one of the British dependent territories of Anguilla, Bermuda, British Virgin Islands, Cayman Islands, Falkland Islands, Gibraltar, Montserrat, Pitcairn, St. Helena or the Turks and Caicos Islands;