Do You Need a Visitor Visa to Enter Canada?
Do you wish to come to Canada in the near future, and have no intentions of working or studying in Canada for longer than 6 months? Are you from a non-visa exempt country? If this is the case for you, you’ll need to apply for a temporary resident visa, and receive approval on this application, before you are permitted to travel to Canada. If you are from a visa-exempt country, you may only need to apply for an eTA (electronic travel authorization), if you are flying to Canada. An eTA gives you permission to board your flight which will land at a Canadian airport. A visitor visa gives permission to citizens from countries who are not allowed to enter Canada without a valid visa, the permission to enter Canada, the permission to do so. Please remember, everyone needs a valid travel document, and must not be inadmissible to Canada. Though, this article will cover how to apply for a temporary resident visa, for those individuals who must go through this extra step, before being permitted to enter Canada.
Step 1: Gather Documents
Always start by collecting all the necessary documents, which will have to be submitted with your application for a temporary resident visa. This helps to ensure nothing is missing once your application is submitted, which will result in increased processing times on your application. You will need to provide a variety of things, which Akrami and Associates would be glad to help you with. We help our clients applying for visitors visas every step of the way, to ensure they truly understand what is required in their application. You application must include the following, but is not only limited to these documents.
- Valid passport
- A letter of invitation (if applicable)
- Criminal record checks from your country of origin
- Proof of financial stability
- Proof of good medical health
- Please note – all documents must be translated into either English or French, by a certified translator.
Step 2: Prove Strong Ties to Home Country
Arguable the most important aspect of an application for a visitor visa is that you prove to an immigration officer that you have every intention of leaving Canada at the end of your authorized stay. To do this, you could prove you have responsibilities you cannot abandon in your home country, or, in general, that you have very compelling reason to return, and no reason to stay in Canada. You could provide your itinerary with proof of intent to return based on pre-purchased return tickets from a return flight. Or, as mentioned, you could show your responsibilities in your country of origin, which compel you to return. This is one of the main reasons you must prove you are financially stable enough to travel. It is essential you have access to enough money to finance your trip home.
Step 3: Explain Purpose of Visit to Canada
Additionally, it is very important to explain thoroughly the purpose of your travel to Canada, again, to convince immigration officers you are not entering Canada without the intention of leaving. You may notice there is a trend in your application for a temporary resident visa. Essentially, the purpose of the application is to completely determine what you claim your intentions are while in Canada, and then to assess the supporting documents to ensure you are being honest about your intentions. It is not important that you are coming to Canada for something more than leisure, though, it is important that you can prove you are genuine. Therefore, if you are someone who would like to travel to Canada for simple tourism, it may help to show that you have extensive experience travelling to other countries, and you have always complied with the rules of the country you were visiting, and your visit to Canada will be no different.
Step 4: Assess Your Specific Situation
Depending on your country of origin, you may need to provide biometrics to Canadian immigration officers. Therefore, it is very important to look at what the Canadian government will expect to see in your application for a temporary resident visa, to avoid experiencing any delays in application processing. When you provide biometrics, you will provide a picture of your face; like a passport picture, as well as fingerprints. If you have to provide biometrics, you can do so in person at the nearest visa application center in your country of origin.
Step 5: Submit Your Application and Wait
Even though this step requires the least work, it is probably the most difficult for most applicants. It is very nerve wracking to await a decision on an application that will determine if you can visit Canada or not, though, there is nothing which can help application processing go faster, other than ensuring your application is complete and straight forward upon initial submission. There is a $100CAD non-refundable fee which covers the processing of your application for a temporary resident visa, and the length of time it takes your application to be processed, depends entirely on your country of origin. Luckily, the Canadian Immigration Services website offers a tool which applicants can use to check updated processing times on visitor visa’s, or, any other type of immigration application. It is important to note if you apply on paper at a visa application center (VAC) in your country of origin, you will also have to pay the VAC services fees. These fees are not already included in your application fees. It is also an option to apply online, and avoid these extra fees.
Contact Akrami and Associates
We have an abundance of experience dealing with applications for temporary resident visas, for individuals from all over the world. These seem like a straight forward application, but they are actually assessed with a high degree of seriousness, and are not approved easily. Therefore, it is important you fully understand what the Canadian immigration officers processing cases are looking for, to avoid submitting a weak or incomplete application, and ultimately having your application for a temporary resident visa refused. We recommend that you seek out professional and experienced help before attempting to apply. Here, at Akrami & Associates, we work and have experience with many different immigration issues. We have helped many of our clients enter Canada as Temporary Residents for tourism or other purposes. If you believe that you may be eligible to apply for a Temporary Resident Visa, please feel free to contact Akrami & Associates at our office at 416-477-2545 for more information or if you would like to book a consultation with an immigration professional for more advise.
With Akrami & Associates, there is always a way!