The process for obtaining permanent resident status in Canada is long and can take anywhere from one to three years depending on your personal situation. During this time, you will need to prove that you have enough money to support yourself and your family, that you will leave your home country soon, and that you are willing to live permanently in Canada as a citizen.
If you want to know when you could apply for PR, there’s an easy way to find out. You can use our tool to determine how many months it will be until you can apply! This article contains all the information you need to know about how to calculate how much time it will spend in processing.
We've broken down everything here into separate sections so that it's easy to access what you need at any given moment. Let us begin by looking at some key terms first though.
Key term: Indefinite Visitor Status (IVS)
Definition: IVS means that you do not require visa sponsorship to enter or stay in Canada. What this effectively does is allow you to work and reside here indefinitely.
It is very important to know when you need to process your Canadian visa in order to make sure it is valid for travel. If you find out that you do not have enough time before your departure, you can always apply extra days or weeks onto your visit!
It is also important to be aware of what kind of entry visas you will require depending on where in Canada you are traveling from and for how long you plan to stay. For example, if you are leaving Vancouver to go somewhere else in British Columbia then you will only need a short-term visitor’s visa, but if you are going outside of B.C. then you may need an international tourist visa instead.
Unfortunately, there is no set timing requirement for processing your Canadian visa as there is with some countries’ passports.
It is important to know what kind of visa you will need for Canada and how long it will take to process!
Many people are not aware that every immigrant in Canada needs to have a work permit before they can live here. This includes non-permanent residents, such as students and tourists.
A work permit is like having permission to work while living in Canada. Work permits are given to immigrants who will be working at a job site within the city limits of Ontario or Quebec.
There are two main types of work visas available to professionals in their field from outside Canada. Both require applicants to submit several documents and proofs about themselves and the company that hired them.
The next step in processing your canadian visitor visa is to apply with Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC), the federal agency that oversees immigration into Canada.
This application process typically takes around two months, although it can take longer depending on the type of visa you are seeking and our department’s current capacity.
It is very important to start this process as soon as possible after arriving in Canada so that you do not have to return home before your visit.
We recommend starting your I-526 application as early as possible once you have confirmation that your travel documents will be valid for your stay in Canada. This could mean having them authenticated by an official embassy or consulate, or just confirming their validity from within Canada.
Remember, if there was more than one person listed as applicant on your I-526 form, then only you need to confirm the document! Your spouse/partner does not need to sign unless they want to claim benefits for you.
Having been granted conditional entry, you now have one year to process your visa in Canada. This can seem very hard at first as there is no clear direction on what needs to be done next.
It is important to remember that this time frame does not mean that you need to stay in Canada for one full year before leaving. You are free to return and visit any time within the one-year window!
Some common things needed include having your passport verified, proof of sufficient funds to remain in Canada for your trip, and confirmation from work or studies that you will be returning home after your vacation.
There is also an initial 90 day grace period when it comes to working while on a tourist visa, but this drops down to 60 days once you reach renewal stage two.
Most countries require you to pay a processing or application fee for their visas. Fees are typically paid via credit card, but you can also choose to use PayPal or another online payment method. Make sure to check with each country’s specific requirements before paying anything.
Some fees are mandatory, whereas others are not. The amount of the fee is usually determined when it comes time to submit your documents so make sure to have enough time to prepare!
It is very common to be given an estimate of how much money you will need for the visa process at the airport. Some embassies even provide free services such as a hotel room while you wait for approval.
Many times, people forget about this cost until just days before they leave. It is best to confirm that these things exist in advance to avoid wasting money.
If you receive word that you have been denied entry into Canada, then it is important to know where to go next. The first place you should visit is the embassy or consulate of Canada in your home country- this can be done either online or through an app.
By visiting here first, you will also get some time to process your return flight back home, which makes sense since you will likely have to leave the country soon!
Many countries grant individuals with tourist visas one year to enter Canada as a visitor. This way you do not need to apply for a work visa nor a resident visa in Canada. Some people are able to come onto a short term working visa but most must apply for permanent residency after spending one full year in Canada.
This article will talk more about how long processing a Canadian Work Visitor Visa takes at different levels and what things may influence this.
Recent updates to immigration law in Canada require that you have six months’ worth of residency before you can apply for permanent resident status, or what is commonly referred to as a visa. This includes those who lived here previously, and then moved back after a certain amount of time.
There are exceptions to this rule, but only if you live abroad with your family and intend to return within two years. If you do, you will not be required to wait six months. You can instead apply at any time up to two years from the end of your current residence permit!
If you don't meet this requirement, you could face delays in getting your life together (and paying more money to stay), and possibly even deportation if you no longer qualify for visitor visas.
Sometimes, it can be difficult to determine how many months have passed since your last visit to Canada. This is especially true if you visited very close to the expiration of your visa.
If this has happened then it is important to make sure that your passport expires at least six months after your current visa expires. If it does not, then you may need to apply for another visa or get permission to enter Canada as an ordinary visitor!
We recommend that you check your visa status every four weeks until they tell you that it has expired and then checking again two weeks later. This way you will know with certainty when your visa expires so that you do not overstay in Canada.
