Visitor visa

The most popular and flexible way to visit Canada for family reunions, travel, or short-term business trips. There are no special requirements, but you need to submit a carefully prepared application and provide convincing evidence of the purpose of your trip. Below is a detailed description of the conditions, documents, application stages, typical reasons for refusal, and tips to help increase your chances of a positive decision.

Features and benefits of a visitor visa to Canada

A visitor visa allows anyone to visit the country for a short period of time. This visa is issued for a wide variety of travel purposes: to visit family, friends, or acquaintances, to participate in a business event, or to visit the country as a tourist.

This is a universal way to visit the country if you do not intend to work, and the advantage of this travel permit is that it can be issued for the duration of your passport (up to 10 years). To do this, you must have a serious reason. For example, if close relatives have been living in Canada for a long time and are Canadian citizens, then there is a high probability of obtaining a long-term visitor visa to Canada.

Long-term tourist visas are multiple-entry visas. In this case, you can stay in Canada for 6 months within one year.

Who can obtain a visitor visa?

A visitor visa to Canada is universal. After receiving the application, the embassy officer considers whether the purpose of the trip to the country is truly serious, whether the intentions of the trip are honest, and whether there is any false information or risk of non-return.

Anyone can apply for this travel document, as there are no special requirements.

Instead, previous travel history, financial status, employment, and the absence of violations during trips to previously visited countries are taken into account.

List of documents for a visitor visa

The documents for a visitor visa to Canada are standard:

• A document showing the purpose of the trip. This can be an invitation from a close relative or friend, a booked tourist tour, an invitation to a business meeting, etc.
• Foreign passport.
• Documents confirming financial status. Bank account statements or card transaction statements, a certificate from the place of work – these documents may be sufficient. Each application is considered individually, so documents and certificates in this category must reflect the individual situation.
• Diploma (certificate) and supplement to it, confirming the highest level of education obtained.
• Documents confirming the intention to return to the country of residence after visiting Canada. This category includes a wide variety of documents confirming that the family remains, as well as expensive property or business, in the country of permanent residence.
• Additional data, documents, and information. This category may include all other additional conditions and circumstances that increase the chances of obtaining permission to travel to Canada.

It is important to remember that all documents are submitted online. A Canadian visitor visa is issued based on the information provided and the documents submitted. All documents must be scanned in high quality and, if necessary, translated and certified.

Steps for obtaining a visitor visa

The phases for obtaining a visitor visa to Canada consist of logical steps that should ensure that you receive permission to travel:

1. Consider the purpose of your trip. Before submitting an application, the purpose of the trip must be clearly defined. For example, visiting a classmate with whom you have maintained close communication for 20 years.
2. Analyze your individual situation. It is worth asking questions about your financial situation, stable employment or business, ties to your country of permanent residence, travel history, etc.
3. Carefully prepare the best application based on your own situation. In addition to the standard list of documents, it is worth adding any additional information that may positively influence the consideration of your application for a Canadian visitor visa for Ukrainians.
4. Submit your application online, enter all the data and necessary information correctly, attach the documents and their translations.
5. Once you receive a request to provide biometric data, register and arrive to have your fingerprints and your photo taken. 
6. Wait for the officer’s decision on the approval of your application. If necessary, provide answers or explanations to requests received from the Canadian Embassy.
7. Once you receive a positive decision, submit your passport in person or by mail for the Canadian visitor visa to be affixed.
8. Once your passport is returned, the next step is to plan your trip to Canada.

It is important to remember that a visitor visa does not entitle you to a work permit or official employment.

Common reasons for refusal of a visitor visa to Canada

The reasons for refusal of a Canadian visitor visa vary greatly, as there are no clear requirements for obtaining this type of document. The most common reasons are:

1. The host party is not settled. If friends, acquaintances, or relatives have recently moved to Canada, do not have permanent residence or citizenship, do not have a permanent job or own property, these factors may lead to a refusal.
2. The applicant’s lack of stability. A good job or business, income, and own property contribute to obtaining a travel permit. The embassy officers will approve the application if they see that the applicant can support themselves and their trip and has good reasons to return to their country of residence.
3. A serious refusal is one after which the applicant is prohibited from reapplying to the Canadian embassy for a certain period of time (often 1 to 5 years). Such serious consequences occur if you submit “fake” documents to the embassy for consideration by an officer: fictitious bank statements about a substantial account, fake real estate extracts or purchase and sale agreements, etc.
4. Uncertain reasons for traveling to Canada also result in the application being denied. A student applying for a tourist trip is usually unable to support themselves and is at high risk of not returning to their country of residence. Such reasons apply to a wide variety of cases: a trip to visit a boyfriend/girlfriend, a visit to Niagara Falls, etc.
5. A separate category of refusals is due to serious misconduct in the applicant’s past. Illegal residence abroad, refugee applications, criminal convictions, and criminal offenses significantly increase the risk of being denied a travel visa. In this case, it is better to attach a certificate of no criminal record to the application.

MV Group – get a visitor visa to Canada quickly and easily

MV Group’s licensed immigration consultant provides effective assistance with visitor visas to Canada.

First, she analyzes your individual situation, determine the necessary documents, and considers whether it is worth submitting an application.

Next, we prepare a package of documents, translate the necessary documents into English, and fill out the required forms and questionnaires.

We await consideration and, if necessary, provide the required additional information upon request from the embassy.

After attaching the travel permit, we prepare for the flight to Canada.

FAQ

Cost and processing time for a visitor visa

How much does a visitor visa to Canada cost: the application processing fee is 100 Canadian dollars. There is an additional biometric fee of 85 Canadian dollars. Biometrics are taken for applicants aged 14 to 79.

The processing time for an application ranges from several weeks to months. The more complete the application for a travel document is, with all possible documents attached, the faster the decision will be made.

What to do after a visitor visa is denied?

Each refusal is accompanied by an explanation from the officer as to why such a decision was made. It is worth analyzing the reasons for the refusal in detail, improving your situation, and resubmitting your application.

It often happens that an application is submitted without a complete list of all possible documents. In this case, it is worth resubmitting the application with all the necessary additional papers.

How long is a visitor visa to Canada valid?

A visitor visa to Canada for Ukrainians is issued at the discretion of the officer, so its validity period depends on his decision. The purpose and validity of the trip are taken into account.

A travel document can be issued for a period of several days, for example, to attend a business conference. It can also be issued for a period of several years or even until the end of the validity of the foreign passport, for example, for parents whose children have been living in Canada for a very long time.

How to fill out the documents to obtain a visitor visa?

Information on filling out applications can be found on the Internet. Applications are submitted online on the official website of the Ministry of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship of Canada.

However, those who have their applications processed by professionals have the highest chances of obtaining a visitor visa to Canada. They know how to best carry out the entire process.