Visitor Visa to Canada

Inviting Family to Canada?

Are your family members back home missing you? Are they planning on coming over to Canada to visit? With all of the amazing attractions that our beautiful country hosts it is hard to deny them the trip they’ve been dreaming about. When it comes to arranging their travels, flights and lodging is not all that you must keep in mind. Even though making plans is exciting there is something important you must consider, which is filling out the application and starting the process to have your guests become temporary resident of Canada; they need to possess a Visitor Visa. Individuals that come from non-visa exempt country need to apply for Visitor Visa to Canada also known as Temporary Resident Visa (TRV).

What is a Visitor Visa?

A Visitor Visa also known as Temporary Resident Visa (TRV) is a document that is issued by an Canadian immigration visa office that shows proof that you as the applicant has met the requirements to enter Canada for temporary basis as a visitor. This document is placed in your passport which is to be shown to the immigration officer at the port of entry when you arrive in Canada. Remember just because you have obtained a visitor visa does not guarantee your entry to Canada. The officer at the border can still ask you questions about how long you intent to stay in Canada, who you will be visiting, how you will support yourself during your time of stay in Canada, why you want to visit Canada. The reason immigration officers ask questions about your visit to ensure you will leave Canada before your visa expires and will not overstay your welcome stay in Canada. Visitor visas are granted for a period of 6 months which can be either single or multiple entry trips.

Important Documents for Visitor Visa

Applying for a Temporary Resident Visa (TRV) mainly consists of showing three important documents to be successful in obtaining the Visitor Visa. The first part would be demonstrating to the immigration officer that as the applicant your stay in Canada is only temporary and that you have ties to your home country. Showing ties to your home country means you have responsibilities back home and therefore will not stay longer than your intended stay. Some ways to show you have reasons to return back home include proof of having a job or a business back home; maybe show family members who depend on the applicants return. Even showing proof of rent or that the applicant has a property that they are paying for. So as per the example, if your family members were going to come to Canada and visit you, they can show proof that back home they have ties to their jobs by providing pay stubs or time off requests showing when they shall return. Or maybe proof that they have a home in which they pay taxes and upkeep on; showing that they have reasons to go back home and not breach the terms of their temporary residency helps with granting the visa. Another important document to include would be how you would support yourself during your time of stay. This means you would have to have sufficient funds for your time of stay in Canada. This can be done by showing bank statements or bank statements from individuals that will be supporting you while in Canada. Finally, the immigration officer looks at why you want to visit Canada, this can be done by providing a schedule of what you plan to do with your time while you are in Canada.

How long is your stay in Canada?

One of the main concerns with filling out the application is the concern of time- how long will your guests be visiting Canada. Depending on how long you stay in Canada you would need to provide sufficient documents to prove how you will support yourself during your time of stay. For example, if you request a six month stay and you only show $1000 in your bank account most likely that won’t be sufficient funds to support yourself during that period of time.Continuing on with this scenario of your family visiting think about how these guests will fund their stay in Canada, as adults they probably have their own finances and would need to show what they are bringing in to fund themselves. However if you(the host) are the one who is helping fund their trip it is important to provide your finances to show that you have money to support them- a good practice is showing bank statements.

What is your purpose in Canada?

Finally including a travel itinerary is important to show what you will be doing once you arrive in Canada such as where will you be staying, reservations made, who is covering accommodations, how you will pay for transportation and food anything else that you will be doing. Having a flight that shows date of departure also assists with having a higher chance of approval.

What is a letter of invitation? Why do I need one?

Also a good practice if someone will be visiting Canada to come see a family member or friend to include an invitation letter. In the invitation letter include your relationship to the person, why they are coming to Canada, how long they are staying, and how they are paying for the trip. The letter is not a requirement if you want to obtain a visitor visa, however it is a good practice to have one as it strengthens your application. If you choose to have a letter of invitation written you should consider who it is written by, if you are significantly involved with the person, it is not that good of an idea. If you have your husband/wife write the letter for you it won’t be sufficient, however it is more acceptable to write for a friend or someone you know and someone who is not too close and has a direct relationship with you. When writing a letter of invitation it is important to not have someone who is a significant tie to you, because as above mentioned, it is important to establish that it is just a visit to Canada and that the person will be going home. However if you’re writing a letter for a girlfriend/ boyfriend the immigration officer might think of you being the significant tie to the person and that they might breach the conditions of the temporary visa. When writing the letter you should have included all of the above mentioned topics that were discussed like: who you are going to be staying with, where is this place? What funds you will use for the stay? Who is funding it? And also documents that have identification documents top show that this is a Canadian citizen or Permanent Resident who is inviting you to Canada. When in doubt make sure you have all the mentioned documents and fill out the application honestly and fully, this will help you

Contact Akrami & Associates

If you like to have a higher chance of obtaining a visitor visa to Canada it is recommended to get the assistance of an immigration expert. Citizenship and Immigration Canada refuses visitor visas mostly due to the applicant not showing sufficient ties to their home country. When hiring a law firm that has experience such as Akrami & Associates you have a higher chance of success as we will ensure you have sufficient documents to prove your intensions are temporary to Canada. If you like to submit your application or have been refused before please don’t hesitate to contact us at 416-477-2545.

With Akrami & Associates there is always a way!!