Apply For Canada Tourist Visa
There are different ways by which one can travel to Canada, but the one that seems very easy to many to go through is by applying for a visa. Among the wide range of available visas to immigrate to Canada, is a tourist visa, also known as Traveller/visitor visa.
Applying for a Canadian tourist visa is straightforward, once you have the required documents, the application fee is $100.
In this guide, we shall walk you through all that is needed for you to know to apply for this type of visa, and also give you hints that can easily make you get approved.
The visa processing time depends on your country. Some countries take longer than each other. Do not get discouraged, if your visa does not get approved on time. Also, kindly bear in mind that, you will as well need to provide your biometric fingerprints, as this is part of your application process.
How Long Can You Stay?
Mostly, travelers with Canadian visitor Visa can stay up to six months or pending till their passport expires.
However, at the port of entry, the officers will go through your documents and may put your date of exit on your passport. Also, at times, they may decide that you are not eligible to stay up to six months, and in such instances, they will tell you the exact date you are to leave.
If the officers do not give you a date to leave the country, you can stay for up to six months, or till your passport expires, whichever one comes first. The date you will leave the country will be on a visitor record, which will be given to you by the officers at the Port of entry.
Make Sure You Need A Visa Before You Apply
Before applying for a visa, make sure you need one, some countries do not need a visa before they can migrate into Canada. However, the type of documents you will need depends on the following
- Your purpose of traveling to Canada.
- Your nationality
- The method you want to adopt to travel to Canada
Tourist Visa: Who Can Apply?
Everyone can apply for a visitor visa, so far you meet up with the visa requirements. Before you can decide to apply for a tourist visa, you must meet up with the following eligibility criteria
- You must have gotten all the required documents, and they must be valid, such as passport, etc
- You must not be battling with any health challenges
- You must have no criminal record.
- You must have an asset in your home country, such as property, business, etc, that will make you return to your home country.
- You must be able to present convincing reasons to the Immigration officers that you will return to your home country when your visa expires.
- You must have enough financial capacity to take care of yourself, throughout your stay in Canada.
- The amount of money you must have is subjected to the length of your stay in Canada. Or if you have someone that will accommodate you, or you will be staying in a hotel.
In addition to all this, there may be a need for you to take a medical exam, and as well, get a letter of invitation from a permanent resident or citizen of Canada.
Some People are not Allowed To Enter Canada
Before you apply for a Canadian tourist visa, you should first bear in mind that some people are not allowed to travel to Canada, which means they are not admissible in the country. You should check this list, to see if you do not belong to those categories before applying.
- Those who have ones engaged in a criminal activity
- Those who have ones violated human right
- Those who have organized crimes in the past.
Also, applicant Inadmissibility can be due to many reasons, such as financial, security, or health issues. You can find more, about what can lead to Inadmissibility here
Minor Children Traveling To Canada
Minor children (Children below 18 years of age) traveling to Canada, have a separate form of application, you can learn about it here
How To Apply
There are two ways to apply for a Canada Tourist visa, which are
- On paper and,
- Online
Mostly, depending on the country where you are applying from, your biometric fingerprints may be required with your photo, learn about how to provide your biometric fingerprints here
Also, to all Venezuelan passport holders, you need to complete an extra step here, before you can proceed further.
Among the two processes, by which you can make use of to apply for a tourist visa, the one we can recommend is the online process, you wonder why? Here are the reasons
- You won’t be charged a courier fee, and there will be the timely delivery of your application
- Your application will receive a faster processing time, than the paper process
- Incomplete applications won’t be submitted, this is to ensure that your application gets complete and error-void
- In a situation where you are asked to provide further documents to support your documents, you can quickly and easily do so online.
- You won’t be required to submit your passport until it’s needed to do so.
- You can easily get all the latest updates, to assist your application processing.
How To Apply Online?
The online process is quite easy and straightforward. However, you need a camera and a scanner, to enable you to create copies of your documents, and as well as your credit or debit card.
However, before you proceed further, kindly read these instructions first. Also, bear in mind that as an online applicant, skip steps 3 and 4 which are submitting your application and paying fees, and do so, when your application is complete.
Also, to avoid delays, ensure you pay for your biometric, before submitting your application.
Sign-In To Your IRCC Secure Account
Your IRCC account will let you begin your online application, upload the required documents, make payments, and as well get all the latest updates as regards your application processing.
Quick notice
- As a result of the impact of COVID-19, your application may experience a delay. However, if you are from a visa-exempt country. Your application will still be processed faster.
- You may not get feedback or notice changes on your application depending on your visa type
- If you’ve provided your biometric fingerprints, and taken a medical exam, you might not see them in your online application until it’s being processed.
- There is always a processing delay of medical results, but once it’s being processed, you will surely see it.
There are different available options by which you can make use of to sign in to your IRCC account and commence the application.
Option One: GC Key
You can make use of the GC key, to sign in, make use of your GC key and user ID to sign in
Option two: Sign-In Partner
You can as well make use of your Canadian banking app if you have one. You can make use of your banking information to sign in.
Don’t have any of the above accounts? Register here
Who Can’t Apply Online For A Tourist Visa?
There are some instances where you won’t be able to apply online, such instances include when you are using either of these documents, from visa-exempt countries
- If you are a stateless person, and you are using an alien’s passport
- If you are a non-citizen and you are making use of a refugee passport.
How To Apply On Paper
If you are unable to apply online, there is another available option, by which you can apply for a Canadian tourist visa.
This guide contains all the required documents you need, and all the necessary forms you need to fill.
Before proceeding, endeavor to read this instructional guide first, and be sure you need a tourist visa before you apply. As your application fee won’t be refunded, after making payment.
Before you submit your application, make sure it’s completed. All minor candidates (candidates below 18 years of age) should have their parent or guardian sign this form for them
Kindly download the application package here, the application guide contains all the required forms needed, kindly download and carefully go through them.
Pay Your Application Fee
You will be required to pay an application fee for yourself, and anyone you include in your application. To avoid delay, endeavor to pay for your biometric fingerprints.
Third-Party Fee.
In most cases, depending on your situation, and your nationality. You may be required to pay for a third-party fee, which includes.
- Police result
- Medical fee
This instruction will help you understand better the fee that applies to you.
Submit Your Application
For families, they should endeavor that each application is being submitted in one package.
The application should be submitted by the principal applicant to where the application will be processed.
To know where you will be submitting your application to, in your home country, kindly make use of this guide, while we proceed.
If you will be required to provide your biometric fingerprints and photograph, endeavor to submit your application in person. Your application will be checked by VAC staff, to ensure it’s complete, and you have paid the right and required fees before you will be allowed to give your biometric fingerprints and passport.
After You Apply
In case you are curious about what will happen after you apply.
You Will Need To Give Your Photo And FingerPrints
After you have completed your application, and pay the right fees, you will be sent a letter with an instructional guide, that will put you through how to provide your biometric.
Also, you only have a maximum of 30 days, to provide your fingerprints and photo, endeavor, you commence immediately, once you receive a letter for you to do so.
In addition to this, if you haven’t made payment for your application fee, you will be sent a reminder to do so, as you won’t be allowed to provide your fingerprints and photo until you make payment for your application fee.
Your Tourist Visa Application Will Be Processed
Once you’ve submitted your application, and it gets received. It will be thoroughly checked and gone through, to ensure you provide all the required documents.
If you provided an incomplete application, it will be rejected immediately and sent back to you, without processing.
If your application is found to be complete, you may be asked to do the following.
- Book an appointment with a Canadian official in your home country.
- Be asked to provide more information
- You may be asked to take a medical exam.
- You may as well be asked to provide a police result.
However, wait for instruction before you do this. In some instances, it may not be needed.
The application gets processed within a few weeks, based on the visa office you apply from.
Also, your original documents and passport will be returned to you after processing your application. Bear in mind that, fake documents and original bank statements won’t be returned to you.
If your visa gets approved. It will get stamped inside your passport, if otherwise declined, it will be returned to you, with an explanation on why you were denied a visa.
Furthermore, that you were approved a visa and travel documents doesn’t 100% guarantee that you will travel to Canada. Further checks will still be made.
On your arrival to Canada, your identity will need to be confirmed, to be sure you were the same person that was approved for a visa. If otherwise, you will be sent back to your home country.
- There are 10 major airports in Canada: If you enter via any of the 10 airports
- A fingerprint check will be immediately conducted at the primary inspection kiosk
- The system will immediately run a check on your identity against the information collected. Trace it down to when your application was submitted, to be sure everything tallies. If anything is found suspicious about your application, you will have to return to your home country with immediate effect.
- If you travel to Canada, via small airports and all land ports of entry.
- Your fingerprints will still be checked, if you were being referred to secondary inspection, where an officer will make use of a fingerprint checker, to verify your fingerprint identity.
Minor Children (children under 18) are required to meet all the requirements before they will be allowed to travel to Canada. You can learn about the tourist visa requirements for minors here.
Once you meet all the requirements, you will be allowed to enter Canada, the officer will stamp your passport, and let you know how long you are allowed to stay in Canada. In most cases, it’s usually 6 months, however, you may be allowed to stay longer than this. Be free to ask the officers questions, if you are not sure about something.
Be sure enough that if you provide inaccurate or false information, you will be denied entry into Canada. Be ready to
- Convince the officer, that you are qualified to enter Canada
- Once your visa expires, you are ready to leave Canada
Conclusion
Applying for a tourist visa into Canada is one of the easiest types of visa to get. We hope this guide is helpful enough to enlighten you on how to apply for a tourist visa. If there are questions you will like to ask, kindly drop them in the comment box, we will be glad to be of help to you.
We will be glad if you can share this useful information with others.
