Immigration to Canada | Temporary Residence | Temporary Resident Visa
Visitors to Canada who are not Canadian citizens or permanent residents may require a Temporary Resident Visa (i.e. a Visitor’s Visa) prior to seeking admission to Canada. Citizens of certain countries must apply for a Temporary Resident Visa at a Canadian mission prior to entering Canada. Certain visitors to Canada are exempt from the requirement to apply for a visa
In most cases, a visitor’s status does not allow an individual to work or attend school in Canada.
An applicant for a Temporary Resident Visa must undergo a medical examination if:
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the applicant has resided or sojourned for a period of six consecutive months, at any time during the one-year period immediately preceding the date they sought entry or made their application, in an area that the Minister of Citizenship and Immigration determines, after consultation with the Minister of Health, has a higher incidence of serious communicable disease than Canada, or:
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an immigration officer or the Immigration Division has reasonable grounds to believe the applicant is inadmissible on health grounds.
A Temporary Resident Visa obtained overseas can either be issued on a single-entry basis or a multiple-entry basis. The validity of a multiple entry visitor can be up to five years.
How to determine your stay in Canada as a Visitor:
The pictures below are samples of typical stamps inserted on a foreign national’s passport upon entry to Canada:
The expiry date on the visa is the date prior to which you are required to enter Canada. The expiry date is NOT indicative of the time allowed for your stay in Canada.
The allowed maximum stay in Canada is determined at the port of entry upon arrival to Canada. A foreign national is allowed to stay in Canada for up to six months from the date of arrival as a visitor unless an officer at a port of entry has placed limits on the length of stay.
Stamp A allows the foreign national, who entered Canada on March 30, 1993 to stay in Canada as a visitor until June 30, 1993.
Stamp B allows the foreign national who entered Canada on March 30, 1993, to stay in Canada as a visitor for six months from the date of arrival in Canada, which is September 30, 1993.
Further reading
Converting from ‘visitor' to 'student' not always possible, Sept. 28th, 2009
American fiancé gets too cozy here, September 14th, 2009
British MP lucky to have avoided unpleasant welcome, April 6th, 2009
Clarification on 'implied status' is not so clear, February 9th, 2009
Ethnicity, please? – Guidy Mamann, April 21st, 2008
Understanding officers – Guidy Mamann, December 19th, 2005
Don’t let visas ruin holidays – Guidy Mamann, December 12th, 2005
Visitor visas need truth on spouses – Guidy Mamann, February 28th, 2005
