Recent developments concerning visa processing times have many people worried. Many international students feel that they are spending too much time waiting for their documents to be reviewed, and there is little hope of things getting faster due to limited staffing at some embassies and consulates.
Some say this has become an intolerable situation which negatively impacts studying and career opportunities in Canada or abroad. It also creates stress for those who want to study here, as well as being uncomfortable knowing you don’t have proof of your qualifications!
Fortunately, there are ways to avoid having to spend lots of time waiting around while your Canadian visa is processed. In fact, most of these tips will save you hours every week, if not days every month!
This article will go into detail about how to manage visa processing times by doing it yourself, using professional services, or both. So put on your patience sock and get ready to take action!
I hope you enjoy reading all of the information I provide and help you find the best solution for you.
The term ‘visa’ is often used interchangeably with passport, but they are two different documents. A visa allows you to enter a country for a certain amount of time while a passport gives you international travel privileges.
Most countries require both a visa and a passport before granting entry. With that in mind, how long does it take to process a Canadian visa usually depends on three things: length of stay, number of visits, and whether your visit is for business or pleasure.
Business trips will typically need less paperwork and take shorter amounts of time to process than personal vacations. So if you have a return flight home after the same vacation every year, then your second trip should go more smoothly.
On the other hand, if you only have one night left in town during your annual winter vacay, your current affairs may be even tighter! Luckily, we can help you out here too as we have some great tips that can save you money and energy when it comes to Canada visas.
Applications can take anywhere from several days to weeks, depending on many different factors. The length of time for processing depends mostly on two things: how long it takes us to receive your documents and whether there is anything we need to confirm or verify about you.
The first thing our officers must do in order to process your visa is make sure that everything they require to review has been received by us. This includes passports, visas, criminal records, flight tickets, etc. – all of these items have to be in place before we can begin reviewing your paperwork.
Once all this information has arrived at our office, our staff members will start going through each document carefully and verifying details such as names, addresses and dates. We also have to check if any of those documents are expired or not valid anymore so we cannot accept them.
When everything is complete, our team will put together all the documents into one package and send it off to another department where an officer will review it and give their opinion.
Recent developments in Canadian immigration have shifted away from quick, short visits to our country and towards longer stays. This is good! Visas should be a lasting representation of your love for our great nation and desire to live here.
But with this shift has come an increase in complexity for visa offices across the country. Decisions now can take much longer as there are more people requesting visas and having to deal with multiple government agencies.
There are several reasons why visa processing time may be extended due to the growing demand. The main one being limited resources.
Canada’s Department of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship (IRCC) only has so many officers at its disposal who work through private companies to process visas. Because of this, they must assign cases to these firms instead of doing it themselves which could cut down on waiting times.
Another reason is that some requests need to be checked or confirmed by other departments such as health, banking, etc. Before coming up with a decision, IRCC needs to make sure everything is okay and that person will not become a public safety risk if allowed into Canada.
We hope this article helped you understand how long it takes to process visas in Canada and what parts of the process hold back completion.
It is very possible to find out how long it takes for a Canadian consulate or embassy to process a visa. Some places publish their processing times online, while some do not.
Some consulates and embassies also have a 30-minute window during which you can visit them to check if there are any delays. This time is usually published as well.
It is very difficult to determine just how long it takes for an embassy in another country to process visa applications due to various reasons.
Some countries simply do not update their information readily, making it hard to know what kind of progress if any they are making with regards to visa processing.
Other times, there could be a lot of traffic at one particular embassy which can delay things slightly.
Still other times, some embassies may have too many applicants waiting so they offer short intervals of updates to see whether anyone drops out first.
It is important to be aware of your application’s progress while you are waiting for it to process. Applications can take anywhere from several days to weeks, even months in some cases.
Visas typically fall into one of three stages: ‘processing’,'refused' or 'approved'. You will know when your application has moved onto the next stage by receiving an email notification.
If you do not see this happen within a few days, contact the Canadian consulate directly with any questions. They may need more information that they did before sending out their initial correspondence.
It is very important to stay in contact with your visa sponsor or employer while you are waiting for approval.
If you have notified them of an intended departure, they may need some time to finalize things before they can confirm your exit.
They might also need to gather documents or proof that you will be returning at a later date.
In both cases, it is crucial that you keep in touch and update your applications every few days until there has been a significant amount of time passing since your last conversation!
Sadly, this cannot always be avoided as people outside of Canada’s borders usually work according to their own internal processes and deadlines.
We recommend being proactive and keeping in touch as much as possible to avoid any complications down the road.
What happens if you run out of money during processing?
Most countries offer limited credit cards which can sometimes be used for international flight tickets. This way, you would not risk running out of funds due to having spent all available cash on your visa!
Be sure to check if such a card exists by doing some research first though. Some may even allow you to use the card internationally!
General tips for staying organized
Make yourself a habit of checking your applications regularly to see whether they have been processed or if there is still something left to do.
It’s very important to note that visa processing times are dependent on several things, not all of which you have control over.
First, your country of destination is an influential factor in how long it takes to process visas. If there’s a lot of demand for Canadian tourist visas in another country, that can put additional pressure on Canadian consular officials.
Second, the consulate or embassy where you apply for your visa is also an influencer. Some countries are much faster at getting you into their territory than others.
Third, the individual staff members working at the consulate or embassy you visit are key factors in what length of time it takes to process your visa. There may be more experienced officials who work there who can move quicker.
Fourth, when winter comes many tourism-related jobs become difficult if not impossible. During cold weather months, some embassies and diplomatic offices close down, reducing availability of workers. This could mean longer wait times for applicants.
