Whether it’s your first time traveling to Canada or you are returning to Canada to explore the country or for whatever reason, you’d need a Canadian visa.
This visa is necessary for your entry into Canada and you stay there. It contains the duration at which you can be there depending on the kinda visa you choose to opt in for.
Talking about types of visas, there are quite a number of them. There’s the Visitor Visa (Temporary Resident Visa), student Visa and work Visa. Depending on the reason for being in Canada, you should opt in for the appropriate visa.
While we’d love to go into more details on the types of visas and the validity period they carry, we’d rather leave that for another post entirely.
In this post, we will be dealing exclusively on how long it takes to get Canadian visa. We’d also give an insight on how to apply for one.
How Long Does Canadian VISA Take
The processing time for Visas can take up to 30 days depending on the type of application submitted. Other factors that can affect the processing time, are the volume of applications received and whether or not, the application is complete.
Simply put that Canada Visas and immigration will prioritize the processing of your application. The standard timing is 10 to 15 days after application. However, depending on the conditions at the time, it can take longer.
How Long Does Canadian Tourist VISA Processing Take?
As earlier mentioned, there are different types of Canadian visas. If opting in for the Canadian Tourist Visa which is also referred to as temporary resident VISA (TRV), processing time can take from 2 days to 4 weeks.
A few things you should know are:
- If you have NOT travelled to Canada or the US in the last 10 years, Canadian tourist visa can take anywhere from 2 to 4 weeks.
- If you have traveled to Canada or the US in the last 10 years, the Canada tourist processing time can be anywhere from 2 to 5 days.
To make the process fast, you should submit every necessary forms and documents. You may be required to submit your travel history for the last 10 years.
Is It Easy To Get A Tourist VISA To Canada?
We cannot ascertain whether or not, getting a tourist visa to Canada is easy. However, the success rate in general, depends on two factors:
- Strong ties with your home country or the country of residence. This is to better understand the applicant and the possibility of them wanting to stay in the country illegally.
- Sufficient funds to support yourself. Traveling does require money. Staying in Canada isn’t cheap. The reason for this is to be certain that the applicant has more than enough to live fine in Canada and not be involved in remuneration activities.
How To Apply For Canadian Tourist VISA
There are two steps through which you can apply for this visa.
- Online application
- Mail original passport.
Online application
Online application must be submitted at the Canada Immigration and Citizenship (CIC) website. Below are the steps to submit your Canada TRV online application.
- Login into Canada Immigration and Citizenship (CIC) website using your GC key
- If you do not have a GC key, you must create one at Government of Canada (GC) website
- Fill all the mandatory information
- Download, fill, sign and then upload the TRV application form IMM5257 (Downloadable from your application page)
- Upload a proof of means of financial support (Last 4 months bank statements or pay stubs or employment letter)
- Upload a copy of your passport (First, last pages along with pages that have stamps/visas)
- Download, fill and then upload the family information form IMM5645 (Downloadable from your application page)
- Upload travel history (Old and new passport in the last 10 years with visas/stamps)
- Upload digital photo (In JPG format around 240KB)
- Download, fill and then upload Schedule 1 Form 5257 (Downloadable from your application page)
- Upload a letter of explanation of your trip (Optional, explaining your purpose of travel to Canada)
Mail Original Passport
On approval, you will receive an e-mail confirmation indicating that your visa is approved and you would need to mail your passport to the nearest Visa Application Center (VAC). Take a print of this approval letter. Mail your original passport along with the approval letter to your nearest VAC.
What Is The Canadian Visa Free?
Upon initiating the visa application, you will be required to pay the visa fee of $100 CAD. You are required to make this payment using a credit card. Depending on your country, you may be charged a foreign transaction fee by your bank.
See Next: Canada Travel Guide : Experiences, Things To Do, When To Visit
Hope this answers all that you need to know regarding Canadian visa? Questions? Do not hesitate to ask.
