STAY IN CANADA

Visitor Visa (Temporary Resident Visa - TRV)

To stay in Canada legally as a temporary residence you require to have a valid temporary resident visa (TRV). A temporary residence is anyone who is not a Canadian or a permanent resident. A TRV enables you to travel to Canada as a:

• visitors

• workers

• students

How long you can stay with a visit visa

Most visit visas are issued for 6 months. At the port of entry, the border services officer may allow you to stay for less or more than 6 months. If so, they’ll put the date you need to leave by in your passport. They might also give you a document, called a visitor record, which will show the date you need to leave Canada.

You may need a visitor visa or an Electronic Travel Authorization. The entry document you need depends on:

• the type of travel document you plan to travel with

• the country that issued your travel document

• your nationality

• your method of travel to Canada for this trip

What are the requirements you must meet for a TRV?

You must show the officer that you meet the requirements of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act (IRPA) and the Immigration and Refugee Protection Regulations and that you will be in Canada for a temporary stay.

You must also:

• have a valid travel document, like a passport

• be in good health

• have no criminal or immigration-related convictions

• satisfy an officer that you will leave Canada at the end of your stay,

• show that you have enough money to maintain yourself and your family members in Canada and to return home,

• not intend to work or study in Canada unless authorized to do so,

• be law abiding and have no record of criminal activity,

• You may also need a medical exam and letter of invitation from someone who lives in Canada.

How do I apply for a visit visa

• Complete the application (either online or paper)

• Pay your application and biometric fees

• Submit your application to a Visa Application Centre (VAC) in your country

• Complete the documentation checklist and include it with your application form

• Attach all the supporting documents listed on the documentation checklist

• Provide your your biometrics as soon as possible

• The visit visa is issued and you can visit Canada.

You may be issued a visit visa for a single entry or multiple entries. Single-entry visas are usually issued for six months before the expected date of travel. The maximum validity of the multiple entry visitor visas is up to ten years or one month before the expiry date on the passport.

Can I work or study during my stay in Canada

Visitors are not allowed to work or study in Canada unless they are authorized to do so under the Immigration and Refugee Protection Regulations. In many cases, a work or study permit will be required.

A temporary resident may also take a program of study up to six months duration without having to obtain a study permit.

How much money can I bring with me, click here

Permanent Residency

A permanent resident is a person who has been given permanent resident status by immigrating to Canada, but is not a Canadian citizen. Permanent residents are citizens of other countries.

A person in Canada temporarily, like a student or foreign worker, is not a permanent resident.

What permanent residents can do

As a permanent resident you:

• get most social benefits that Canadian citizens receive, including health care coverage,

• live, work or study anywhere in Canada,

• apply for Canadian citizenship,

• protection under Canadian law and the Canadian Charter of Rights and Freedoms.

You must pay taxes and respect all Canadian laws at the federal, provincial and municipal levels.

What permanent residents cannot do

You are not allowed to:

• vote or run for political office,

• hold some jobs that need a high-level security clearance.

Residency requirements

You must comply with the residency obligation rules with respect to a 5-year period if, for at least 730 days in that 5-year period, you must be

• physically present in Canada

• accompanying outside Canada a Canadian citizen who is their

  • spouse

  • common-law partner

  • parent, in the case of a child

• employed outside Canada on a full-time basis by

  • a Canadian business

  • the federal or a provincial or territorial public administration

• accompanying outside Canada their spouse, common-law partner, or parent (in the case of a child), where the person they accompany is a permanent resident and is employed on a full-time basis by

  • a Canadian business

  • the federal or a provincial or territorial public administration

• referred to in regulations providing for other means of compliance

Time Lived in Canada

To keep your permanent resident status, you must have been in Canada for at least 730 days during the last five years. These 730 days don’t need to be continuous. Some of your time abroad may count towards the 730 days.

To help you track your time in Canada, use a travel journal. Other ways to know how long you’ve been in Canada:

• Ask a Canadian border officer when you enter Canada.

• Apply for or renew your PR card. We will tell you if you’re eligible.

Losing your permanent resident status

You don’t lose your permanent resident status when your PR card expires. You can lose your permanent resident status if:

• if you spend too much time out of Canada

• If you are not in Canada for 730 days in five years

• You don't lose your permanent resident status automatically, even if you've been outside Canada for an extended period of time. You're still a permanent resident until there's a decision to take away your status. There are things you can do to keep your status. Seeking legal help would assist you.

• you voluntarily renounce your permanent resident status;

• a removal order is made against you and comes into force; or

• you become a Canadian citizen.

Even if you don't meet the residency obligation, you are still a PR until an official decision is made on your status.

Voluntarily giving up (renouncing) permanent resident status

Losing your permanent resident status does not happen automatically.

There may come a time when you no longer want to be a permanent resident of Canada.  If so, you can apply to voluntarily give up (renounce) your permanent resident status.

For example, if you:

• know you have not met your residency obligations by being outside of Canada for a long period of time, and

• would like to visit Canada, and

• do not want to wait for a visa officer to do a formal assessment of your permanent resident status

OR

• would like to avoid processing delays at the Port of Entry

You may not be able to enter Canada until your permanent resident status is resolved either by receiving a permanent resident travel document or by voluntarily giving up your permanent resident status.

Types of Permanent Residency

Economic Classes

Federal skilled workers

• Quebec skilled workers

• Provincial nominees

• Entrepreneurs and self- employed persons

• Canadian experience class

• Federal skilled trades class

• Investors

• Start-up business class

• Home Child-Care Provider Pilot and Home Support Worker Pilot

• Caring for children and caring for people with high medical needs classes

• Interim Pathway for Caregivers

• Live-in Caregiver Program

• Immigrant Investor Venture Capital class

• Atlantic Immigration Pilot Programs

• Rural and Northern Immigration Pilot Program

• Agri-Food Immigration Pilot Program

Non-economic classes

• Members of the family class

• Adoptions

• Spouse or common-law partner in Canada class

• Humanitarian and compassionate consideration

• Temporary public policy for out-of-status construction workers in the Greater Toronto Area

• Protected persons

• Temporary resident permit holders

Permanent resident (PR) card

The permanent resident card (PR) is proof of your permanent resident status in Canada.

If you travel outside Canada, you will need to show your card and your passport when you come back on a commercial vehicle, like an airplane, boat, train or bus.

PRs traveling outside Canada who do not have a valid PR card, or who are not carrying it, need to apply for a permanent resident travel document before returning to Canada by commercial vehicle.

To be eligible to apply for a PR Card you must:

• Be in Canada physically

• Have a valid PR status

• Not be under an removal order, and

• Not committed an offense

Application to get, renew or replace a Permanent Resident Card (PR Card)

• Download the application form

• Complete application for permanent residence card - IMM5444

• Print the form

• Sign, write the date

• Pay the fees

• Mail it to the case processing centre in Sydney, Nova Scotia
  
  

Temporary resident permits (TRPs)

Individuals who do not meet the requirements of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act (IRPA), or who are inadmissible under the IRPA, may be

• refused a permanent resident visa (PRV) or temporary resident visa (TRV) abroad

• refused an electronic travel authorization (eTA)

• reported inadmissible under section A44(1)

• allowed to withdraw their application to enter Canada at a port of entry (POE)

• refused processing within Canada

In certain cases a TRP may be issued to allow a person who is inadmissible, or who does not meet the requirements of the IRPA, to become a temporary resident (to enter or remain in Canada) if the circumstances are justified.

A temporary resident permit (TRP) can be issued when the following two criteria apply:

• The reason to enter or remain in Canada is balanced when the objectives of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act (IRPA) are considered.

• The issuance outweighs any risks that might exist and is compelling and sufficient to overcome any risks that the individual might pose.

A TRP may be issued to any person who is

• seeking to come into Canada, provided an officer is of the opinion that the individual’s purpose to enter Canada is consistent with the objectives of the IRPA, while also mitigating any risk associated with the inadmissibility, and the individual is one of the following:

  • inadmissible under the IRPA

  • subject to a report under subsection A44(1)

  • reportable for a violation of the IRPA

• already present in Canada, provided an officer is of the opinion that the individual’s purpose for remaining in Canada meets the objectives of the IRPA, while also mitigating any risk associated with the inadmissibility, and the individual is one of the following:

  • inadmissible under the IRPA

  • subject to a report under subsection A44(1)

  • reportable for a violation of the IRPA

  • not eligible for restoration of status

Officers may recommend or issue permits only in accordance with the IRPA and IRPR.

Inadmisibility : Permanent Residents & Temporary Residents

If you’re are inadmissible, you won’t be allowed to enter Canada. If you have a valid reason to travel to Canada that is justified in the circumstances, we may issue you a temporary resident permit (TRP). (See the sectionTRP above)

An immigration officer will decide if you can enter Canada when you:

• apply for a visa or an Electronic Travel Authorization (eTA) or

• when you arrive at a port of entry.

Reasons For Inadmissibility

You could be found inadmissible for a number of reasons, such as:

• security reasons, including

  • espionage

  • subversion (attempts to overthrow a government, etc.)

  • violence or terrorism

  • membership in an organization involved in any of these

• human or international rights violations, including

  • war crimes

  • crimes against humanity

  • being a senior official in a government engaged in gross human rights violations or subject to international sanctions

• committing a crime, including driving while under the influence of drugs or alcoholFootnote1

• organized crime, including membership in an organization that takes part in organized criminal activity, people smuggling or money laundering

• medical reasons – this includes medical conditions that:

  • endanger public health

  • endanger public safety or

  • causes excessive demand on health or social services (some applicants are exempt)

• financial reasons – if you’re unable or unwilling to support yourself and your family members

• misrepresentation, which includes providing false information or withholding information directly related to decisions made under the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act (IRPA)

• failure to comply with any provision of IRPAFootnote2 or

• having an inadmissible family member.

Overcoming inadmissibility

You can overcome inadmissibility and come to Canada by submitting your application either for an an authorization to return to Canada (ARC), a temporary resident permit (TRP) or criminal rehabilitation along with your temporary resident application (visitor visa, study permit or work permit), you should submit everything together and apply at the nearest visa application centre.

The below steps will guide you:

1.Determining inadmissibility

Are you inadmissible because of past criminal activity?

In general, temporary residents and applicants applying for permanent residence are considered to be criminally inadmissible if the person:

• was convicted of an offence in Canada;

• was convicted of an offence outside of Canada that is considered a crime in Canada; or

• committed an act outside of Canada that is considered a crime under the laws of the country where it occurred and would be punishable under Canadian law.

2.Overcoming criminal inadmissibility

Criminality

Convictions / offences outside Canada

If you were convicted of or committed a criminal offence outside Canada, you may overcome this criminal inadmissibility

• by applying for rehabilitation, or

• you may be deemed to have been rehabilitated if at least ten years have passed since you completed the sentence imposed upon you, or since you committed the offence, if the offence is one that would, in Canada, be an indictable offence punishable by a maximum term of imprisonment of less than ten years.

If the offence is one that would, in Canada, be prosecuted summarily, and if you were convicted for two (2) or more such offences, the period for rehabilitation is at least five (5) years after the sentences imposed were served or are to be served.

Convictions / offences in Canada

If you have a criminal conviction in Canada, you must seek a record suspension (formerly a pardon) from the Parole Board of Canada (PBC) before you will be admissible to Canada.

Note: Do not complete the forms in this guide until you have received your record suspension.
You can request a Record Suspension Application Guide or additional information from:

Parole Board of Canada
Clemency and Record Suspension Division
410 Laurier Avenue West
Ottawa, Ontario
K1A 0R1
Telephone: 1-800-874-2652 (Callers in Canada and the United States only)
Fax: 1-613-941-4981
Email: suspension@pbc-clcc.gc.ca
Website: https://www.canada.ca/en/parole-board.html

3.Complete the application FORM

Application for Criminal Rehabilitation (IMM 1444)

4.Pay the processing fees

How to pay the fees for your application

To pay your fees for your application you’ll need:

• a valid email address;

• access to a printer (you’ll need to print the receipt), and

• a credit card or Canadian debit card.

Visit the link below and follow these instructions to pay:

• Go to Online Payment.

• Follow the online instructions.

  • At the end, click on the button to print the IRCC official receipt with barcode. Print two copies.

• Attach a copy of this receipt to your completed application.

  • Keep the second copy of the receipt for your records.

5.Submit your application

Where do I apply?

In Canada: Mail your application to the Canada Immigration Centre responsible for your area. Addresses are available online.

Outside Canada: If you are applying for criminal rehabilitation along with your temporary resident (visitor visa, study permit or work permit) application, you can submit everything together and apply at the nearest Visa Application Center.

If you are submitting a separate application for criminal rehabilitation you must complete the application and submit it directly to the visa office responsible for your region by mail or courier only.