In order to visit Canada, one must possess a valid visa or Electronic Travel Authorization. A visitor visa is commonly required by people to travel to Canada. The visitor visa is also called temporary resident visa.
What is visitor visa?
The visitor visa is an official document that proves that the traveller has fulfilled all the requirements of visiting Canada. There are some basic requirements that the applicant must fulfil in order to be issued a visitor visa. The requirements are as follows:
- The applicant must possess a valid passport.
- Must not be a convict in any criminal or immigration related cases.
- Must be in good health.
- The immigration officer must be convinced that the applicant would leave Canada at the end of the visa period.
- The immigration officer must also be convinced that certain binding obligations such as job, family, home, etc. would make the applicant go back to his/her own country.
- The applicant must possess enough money to stay in Canada.
An applicant may be denied a visitor visa on many grounds such as involvement in criminal activity, human rights violations and organized crime. Financial and health reasons can also be the basis of rejection of the visa application.
How to apply?
In order to apply for visitor visa for Canada from India, the applicant can choose the online mode. However, in order to apply online, one must possess a credit card and a scanner or camera to create electronic copies of the supporting documents. In order to apply on paper, the applicant must download the form. The form must include the barcode page. In case of offline mode, the processing fee can be paid by bank draft or a cheque.
The next step is to visit the local Canada Visa Application Centre with passport, photographs, completed forms and all the required documents. Once the completed application form is submitted at the centre, the applicant receives a receipt containing a unique tracking number to monitor the progress of the application online.
The application fee is not refunded in case the application is rejected. The fee can be pain in Indian currency based on the conversion rate from Canadian Dollars to Rupees.
What are the visa types?
The Canada immigration visitor visa are of two types:
- Single entry visa- Single entry visa allows the traveller to enter Canada just once. The validity of this visa expires once the holder leaves Canada and he/she would have to apply for a new visa to enter Canada again. However, if the visa holder is travelling to the USA or St. Pierre and Miquelon, he/she would not need a new visa to visit Canada again.
- Multiple entry visa- A multiple entry visa can be valid for a period of 10 years. This visa allows the holder to enter and leave Canada for six months at a time without the need to reapply for visa each time.
The Canadian visa fee for a single-entry visa is Rs4000 while the fee is Rs8000 for a multiple entry visa.
