Visas are one of the biggest expenses when traveling to or residing in another country, which is why it can be frustrating when their processing takes longer than expected. Luckily, there are some ways you can stay informed about what stages of visa processing your trip goes through!
There’s an app for that! In today’s article we’ll look at some easy ways to keep tabs on Canadian visa processing times via smartphone. Read on to see how you can track CAN VISAS HERE, GET INFO ABOUT VISA DOCUMENTS HERE, AND LEARN HOW TO REAPPLY FOR A NEW PERMIT HERE!
I hope you enjoy reading these tips as much as I did!
Disclaimer: The content below was written with information gathered from various sources. Although we make every effort to ensure accuracy, please read our disclaimer first. This article may contain links to sites where you can get more info. We are not responsible for the information found at those sites, so do your research before visiting any site.
Canada Visit Visa Checklist
Canadians require a visa to enter Australia for stays shorter than three months. Because this rule changes frequently, check out our comprehensive list of everything you need to know about Canvisa here! You will also find helpful information about staying safe while in Australia and getting around Sydney.
Recent developments have made it known that Canadian visa processing can take anywhere from three to eight business days. This is not ideal, but hopefully you will find this article helpful in helping you stay active while your documents are processed!
Visas for Canadians traveling to The United States or Mexico takes around five working days, so why double the time frame here?
There are several reasons as to why our government has doubled down on how long it takes to process visas for Japan.
One of these reasons being COVID-19.
Canada’s Department of Foreign Affairs and International Trade (DFAIT) runs its consulate bureaus like any other department within the federal government. They are run with professional staff, and senior level officials work directly under the minister himself.
This means that no one is above anyone else when it comes to asking questions about deadlines and what can be done to help get things moving along more quickly.
So if there is someone at DFAIT who could possibly make changes or do something to save time, they would know about it – and maybe even tell their colleagues!
If you feel that your document needs to be updated, corrected, or completed, ask whether anyone knows anything about making fixes or finding solutions to speed up the process.
After submitting your visa application, it is next to impossible to get an update of when you can expect to hear back from Immigration, Citizenship or Your Bank/Credit Card Company!
Four week wait times are not only frustrating for you but also pose a risk to your financial situation as you await news on whether or not you have been approved for Canadian residency.
It is important to note that most people fail to realize how much time it takes to process visas at the Consulate General level. Only then does it begin to climb through the immigration processing chain in Ottawa.
This includes everything such as medical exams, security checks, credit check, etc. All these steps take very close proximity to four weeks on average! This means that it could easily take six months before we receive word if you’ve got yourself a new life here in Canada.
After arriving at your destination, you will have five week to process your visa! This is not only for the Canadian consulate in your country, but also for their headquarters back home where they process VISA applications.
This can be done either by them or through a third party that specializes in processing visas. The length of time depends on how quickly your documents are verified and whether you need an entry permit into Canada.
We recommend doing it this way as there may be additional costs if you do it yourself, so make sure you know what services exist before starting.
After submitting your visa application, it is next to impossible to get an update on when you will receive your passport or proof of citizenship!
Six weeks seems like a very long time but remember that this can be due to many different things — such as national holidays or possible delays at the Canadian embassy or consulate.
It’s important to note that even though there are deadlines for documents being submitted, there is no deadline to leave the country (unless you have already left). This means that it is totally okay to stay in Canada until all documents have been received and approved!
At times, governments do not send out reminders about paperwork so it may go unnoticed that you have not heard back from someone. Make sure to check up on your status every week or two days to ensure that everything is moving along smoothly.
After you have all of your documents sorted, gathered, and organized, it is time to begin the process of submitting your visa application! The next step in the process is to pick where you will send your completed document collection.
Some places offer fast visa processing times, but this may not be the best option for you. Some countries cannot accept file submissions from outside sources, so that should also be considered.
There are some great companies out there that can help you through the process of applying for your Canadian tourist visa.
The ten day visa processing time is typically given as the deadline for receiving your passport or visa after applying. This is not true, however!
As mentioned before, it’s very difficult to track the exact date that Canadian officials receive your application due to the volume of applications they process every day.
However, we do know some key dates in the visa approval process which can help you determine when to expect word from Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC).
After you have all of your documents sorted, it’s time to wait for them to be reviewed! The next step in processing your visa is to find out how long it will take for us to receive everything we need and determine when you can expect to travel.
The length of time needed for processing depends on several things – including but not limited to country of destination, consulate type (i.e. regular embassy or honorary consul), season or off-season timing, whether you are applying as an individual traveler or with a traveling companion, and more.
In general though, the longer our officers have to process paperwork, the lower the completion times will be! That’s why it’s so important to send us only the necessary documents and proof, and no more.
If possible, do your best to apply during business hours, this will help ensure that your application goes as quickly as possible. You also want to make sure to check back periodically to see if there has been any update news about your application.
After submitting your visa application, you have what’s called the Application Monitoring Period (AMP). This is the time it takes for VFS to check all of their documents and software they use to process applications and make sure that everything is in order before moving onto the next step.
During this twelve day period, your documents will be monitored twice – once by VISA and then again at the embassy or consulate where you apply.
If there are any issues detected during either visit, the staff will contact you to let you know and/or tell you if you need to do anything about them.
This can include having your documents re-checked, proving additional supporting documents, sending new documents or changing the way you organized things when filling out forms. It also means going back and fixing mistakes made while processing your application!
Because of this, we recommend taking some time after the AMP to review your documents and see whether you might want to re-organize anything. We also suggest keeping an eye on your email and social media accounts to see if there have been any alerts.
We hope this article has helped you understand how long it takes to process your Canadian visa.
