Visitor Visa, Extensions & Visitor Record

Dual intent is lawful: a person may also be interested in permanent residence, but must still satisfy the officer that they will comply with temporary status if no further authorization is granted.

1. 01

   Provide passport pages and travel history, civil-status records, proof of lawful residence in the country of application, and compliant translations of non-English/French documents.

2. 02

   Use a focused purpose letter covering the exact reason, dates, itinerary, accommodation, who pays, cost estimate, employment or study leave and the planned return.

3. 03

   Show available funds and their source with reliable records. Explain large or recent deposits; the host’s funds do not replace the applicant’s own circumstances unless the support plan is credible and documented.

4. 04

   Include the host’s invitation, identity/status, address, relationship and financial evidence where relevant. An invitation supports the purpose but never guarantees approval.

5. 05

   Match evidence to purpose: tourism itinerary; family relationship and event; business meetings and foreign employment; compassionate medical/family evidence; or sponsored-spouse AOR and continuing temporary-visit compliance.

6. 06

   For a minor travelling alone or with one parent, include custody documents and a signed consent letter where applicable. Never submit a purchased invitation, invented job or altered bank evidence.

1. 01

   Use the official travel-document checker first. Visitor, family, business, compassionate, super-visa and transit applications can use the applicable IRCC Portal route; some applicants use the IRCC secure account.

2. 02

   Answer the questionnaire accurately and use the document checklist created for the applicant’s nationality, location and purpose. Paper applications are limited to specified situations.

3. 03

   Upload readable documents, pay the live processing and biometrics fees, submit before any deadline and keep the payment receipt and full copy of the filed package.

4. 04

   After submission, book biometrics promptly if instructed and monitor the account for medical, interview, additional-document or procedural-fairness requests.

5. 05

   Approval of an online TRV application normally leads to passport-submission instructions. The applicant cannot travel on the approval letter alone; the visa must be placed in the passport.

6. 06

   If refused, read the reasons and officer record strategy before reapplying. Re-submitting the same facts and documents rarely fixes purpose, finance, ties or credibility concerns.

Medical exams, translations, notarization, VAC services, passport transmission, courier, insurance and professional fees are separate. Always re-check the live fee list before payment.

A valid multiple-entry visa may remain usable after one trip, but every arrival is a new examination and every stay has its own expiry date.

1. 01

   Apply if you want to remain longer as a visitor, continue an activity legally permitted without a work/study permit, or change from worker/student status to visitor.

2. 02

   Find the current expiry date on the entry stamp, visitor record, work permit or study permit. If there was no stamp or record, status is normally 6 months from entry, subject to passport expiry.

3. 03

   IRCC recommends applying at least 30 days before expiry. The legal deadline is before status expires; do not wait for the recommendation window if less time remains.

4. 04

   Request a reasonable new departure date and explain why the extension is temporary, why plans changed, how the whole extended stay will be funded and what requires departure afterward.

5. 05

   Each accompanying family member needs their own status and application. A family submission does not automatically extend every person.

6. 06

   Apply online through the IRCC secure account. Paper is limited to disability accommodation or specified exceptional situations.

Upload the checklist produced by the account, translations and any representative form. A long extension without a concrete purpose, funding or departure plan may raise temporary-intent concerns.

1. 01

   If IRCC receives a complete visitor-record application before the current leave-by date, the applicant may legally remain in Canada as a visitor until a decision is made.

2. 02

   Keep the submission confirmation, fee receipt and a copy of the complete application as evidence of timely filing.

3. 03

   Maintained visitor status does not authorize work or study. A worker or student who applies only to become a visitor must stop the authorized activity when the existing permit expires.

4. 04

   An application returned as incomplete is treated as never submitted and may eliminate maintained status. A temporary resident permit application does not create maintained status.

5. 05

   If approved, IRCC mails the visitor record and its new expiry date controls. If refused, maintained status ends on the refusal date and departure/restoration advice should be obtained immediately.

6. 06

   Update the Canadian mailing address and respond to biometrics or document requests. IRCC says to contact it if the approved visitor record is not received within the published mailing period.

1. 01

   An eligible person generally must apply within 90 days of losing temporary resident status, continue to meet the original requirements and have complied with the other conditions of stay.

2. 02

   Apply to restore status as a visitor, pay both the restoration and visitor-related fees required by the live instructions, and explain fully how and why status was lost.

3. 03

   Restoration is discretionary and is not an extension. The person has no maintained status and cannot work or study while waiting unless a separate legal authorization applies.

4. 04

   A former worker or student seeking visitor restoration should address any unauthorized activity and use the correct restoration category. Do not hide the expiry or backdate documents.

5. 05

   After the ordinary 90-day window, restoration is generally unavailable unless a specific public policy applies; departure and a new outside-Canada application may be required.

1. 01

   A visitor record shows status and the leave-by date inside Canada. It does not guarantee re-entry after travel.

2. 02

   A visa-required traveller normally needs a valid TRV to seek re-entry; an eTA-required traveller flying needs a valid eTA linked to the passport. Limited direct-return exceptions from the United States or Saint-Pierre-et-Miquelon must be checked against the live rule.

3. 03

   Only a person already in Canada with a valid study or work permit who plans to leave and return soon—and whose TRV is expired, expiring or single-entry—can normally use the special in-Canada TRV process.

4. 04

   IRCC recommends that an eligible worker/student apply for the new TRV at least 2 months before travel and not leave before receiving it. A person present only as a visitor generally cannot use this inside-Canada TRV route.

5. 05

   Leaving while a visitor-record application is pending does not secure return or the requested extension. CBSA makes a fresh admission decision at the border.

Canadian citizens cannot use an eTA and normally fly with a Canadian passport. Permanent residents cannot use a visitor visa or eTA and need a valid PR card or PRTD for commercial travel. An eTA never gives work or study authorization and never guarantees entry.

1. 01

   Count the applicant and every other Super Visa applicant supported by the host; the host; the host’s spouse or common-law partner, including a separated spouse; dependent children of the host and spouse; previously approved Super Visa applicants still covered by an invitation; and people under an active sponsorship undertaking signed or co-signed by the host. Do not automatically count the applicant's other family members.

2. 02

   Prepare the signed invitation with the name and date of birth of every person counted, every income provider, the support promise, accommodation plan and proof of the host’s Canadian citizenship, PR or registered-Indian status.

3. 03

   For income option 1, include CRA income evidence showing the full current minimum in either of the 2 preceding tax years. For option 2, prove at least 75% from the host/co-signer in the most recent 12 months or taxation year; applicant income may cover no more than 25% and should be supported by official records and 12 months of bank evidence.

4. 04

   Provide proof of parent/grandparent relationship, such as the host’s birth/baptism certificate or another official record naming the relationship.

5. 05

   Complete the immigration medical with an approved panel physician and include the required proof.

6. 06

   Provide a qualifying insurance policy—not only a quote—with insurer/underwriter name, at least 1 year from entry, minimum CAN$100,000 emergency coverage, health care, hospitalization and repatriation. A foreign insurer must be OSFI-authorized and issue the policy while doing insurance business in Canada.

7. 07

   Follow local visa-office instructions and include complete translations. An uncertified translator generally needs an affidavit and cannot be a listed close relative of the applicant.

A material update does not remain only in News. Its practical effect is reflected in the related guide, with the complete article available here.