There are so many places where people are dreaming to be at least for a day or two in their lifetime. Canada is one such beautiful destination that tops the list of any person. Located in North America, Canada is a wonderful country with many attractive places to be. If someone is asked to choose a place where they would be lucky to be, Canada is one of the most frequently picked. People come to Canada for various purposes. Some people come to study, some come for business purposes, and some come as tourists. When it comes to visiting Canada, there are certain things that you should have and know about. Canada Visitor Visa is the first thing that you should give a priority to if you are visiting Canada. There are different types of visitor visas. Visit/tourism, work, study and temporary residence are some of them.
Basic Requirements Needed to Visit Canada on Visitor Visa
- You should have a valid passport to represent a valid identification document.
- You should be in good health.
- You should not have any criminal record or a connection to criminal related activities.
- There should be a fair reason to convince the immigration officer that you have bonds like; occupation, family, assets that will take you back to your country.
- There should be a fair reason to convince the immigration officer that you will leave Canada at the end of your visit before the expiry date of your visa.
- You should be financially strong so that you can last your visit without any trouble. The amount of money that you should have may depend on the time of your stay and if you stay in a hotel or with friends and relatives.
With these main requirements, you may also need a medical exam and a letter of invitation from someone who lives in Canada, but it’s not a must. Most importantly if you have any connection with criminal activities, human rights violations or organized crimes, you are not allowed to visit Canada.
How to Apply for Canadian Visitor Visa
There are two methods that you can apply for the Canadian Visitor Visa:
- Apply online
- Apply on paper
When applying online you should have a scanner or a camera to make digital copies of your documents and you should have a valid credit card for the payment.
When it comes to applying online, you will have to answer a questionnaire that will check whether you are eligible to apply for the Canadian Visitor Visa. After completing that, you can fill the application and submit it online.
When it comes to apply on paper this is the procedure that you should follow:
- First of all, get the application package
This includes all the guidelines or instructions that you need to fill the application form. Read them carefully and fill it with perfect attention. Since the application fees are not refundable, make sure that you are eligible to apply for the Canadian Visitor Visa.
Each individual applicant must submit a completed application form and every child who is under the age of 18 must have the signature of their parents or guardian on the application form. - Pay the application fees
Most of the time application fees are paid in Canadian dollars. If you are applying through a Visa Application Center or VAC, you will have to pay their service charge too, because the application fee does not include service charges. - Submit the application
Unless you are applying with your whole family you can submit your application on your own. Families should send their individual applications in one package and the principal applicant should send their combined package to the place where their applications are processed.
One question people have regarding applying for a visa is “how long will it take”. It cannot be answered precisely, but it is better to apply at least two months before your departure to Canada.
Who doesn’t need a Visitor Visa to visit Canada?
There are some countries that do not need their citizens to have a visitor visa to visit Canada. Citizens of the United States, Australia, Singapore, Portugal, Bahamas, Finland, Greece, Iceland and more than 40 countries are mentioned as being exempt. So people from these countries do not need a visitor visa to visit Canada.
How to extend your stay
Usually, for the Canadian Visitor Visa, you will be able to stay up to 6 months. After that period you will have to leave Canada, if not it will be an offence. However, there is a way, if needed, to extend your period of stay. You have to apply for the visitor status in order to extend your stay. You can apply for visitor status from within Canada at a Canadian immigration office. You should apply for this before your visa expiration. If your Visa has expired, but you have applied for the visitor status and are waiting for your visa to renew, you will get a status called “implied status” until the final verdict is made.
One of the most frequent questions people have on a visitor visa is if they can leave Canada and return back within the visitor visa period. You will get two answers; yes and no. Because there are different types of visiting visas depending on the visa’s features. If you have the feature of multiple entries in your visa, yes, you can leave Canada and return back within your visiting visa period, but if you have only a single entry then you do not have that privilege.
If you are overwhelmed with how to apply for a visiting visa, and the basic requirements you can always contact Top Notch Immigration Professionals. We can make sure all of your documents are in order so you can make the process of obtaining a Canadian visitor visa much convenient.