Home Visas and Immigration TEMPORARY RESIDENT VISA Instructions

Instructions

Temporary Resident Visa Application
For visitors to Canada

Read these instructions carefully before you submit an application or call the Consulate. Failure to follow the instructions could lead to the delay of the processing of your application and possibly a refusal.

When you apply for a temporary resident visa (TRV), you must bring documents that demonstrate your permanent ties to a country outside Canada. If you are a visitor to the US this normally means ties to your home country.

I. Your application MUST include
- A completed application form (all questions on both sides of the form must be answered).  Please complete the fillable form and print it for submission to our office. For ease and speed of processing, we ask that you do not complete the application form by hand. If more than 3 dependents (spouse/children) travelling to Canada, please complete a second application form to include the additional dependents.

- A completed Supplementary Information Sheet

- Resumé/C.V (Curriculum Vitaé) and additional questionnaires for nationals of any of the following countries: 

• Afghanistan
• Haiti
• Iran, Iraq & all West Bank & Gaza Palestine, Lebanon, Syria
• Rwanda
• Somalia
• Sudan
• Bosnia & Herzegovina, Croatia, Macedonia, Montenegro, Serbia (including Kosovo)

For ease and speed of processing, we ask that you print clearly your answers using CAPITAL letters in each box.  If a question does not apply to you, write N/A meaning "not applicable" in the space provided.

- Your original valid passport or travel document that guarantees re-entry to the country that issued it; with at least one completely blank page, other than the last page. A Canadian TRV may never be valid beyond the expiry date of the passport.
- 2  identical passport photos taken within the last 6 months  (name and date of birth written on the back). Click here for photo specifications.  If photographs do not meet these specifications, no file will be created and the application will be returned to the applicant.

- The processing fee
- Your current I-94 card (U.S.I.N.S. departure record)
- All US immigration documents (e.g. forms I-94 / I-20 / I-797A / DS2019 formerly IAP66) you've held during your current stay in the US
- Proof of employment in your country of residence (e.g. letter from your employer, pay stubs)
- Proof of funds (e.g. bank statements)
- Other documents relating to your trip, such as a letter from your employer, an invitation from your business or personal contacts in Canada, registration for a conference, tour agenda, etc ...

NOTE: The Consulate is not responsible for any lost or damaged documents.

ALL APPLICANTS MUST ENSURE THEY COMPLETE THE APPLICATION FORM, SUPPLEMENTARY INFORMATION SHEET AND ANY COUNTRY SPECIFIC QUESTIONNAIRE AS SPECIFIED IN THIS WEBSITE.

II. In addition, you should present any of the following that apply to you:

- Students (F1 / M1) in USA: Your original valid I-20 endorsed by a foreign student advisor within the past 6 months and all
previous I-20's
- Exchange visitors (J-1) in USA: Your original and valid DS2019 form and all previous DS2019 forms & letter from school or employer- Persons who have changed or extended status in the USA: All previous I-797A forms
- Persons who will go to the USA Consulate to apply for a USA visa: your scheduled appointment letter with the USA Consulate
- Applicants for Transit Visa: Your ticket with confirmed flight bookings
- Applicants who are ALREADY students or temporary workers in CANADA: Your original work permit or student permit
document

- For prior visits to Canada: Any documents related to prior visits to Canada such as expired passports with old visas......
- For citizens of countries listed below: a complete itinerary, including the cities you intend to visit, your means of travel, and the full names, addresses and tel. numbers of all persons or businesses you will contact in Canada.
- For minors, travelling with only 1 parent or no parents: notarized consent letter from parent(s) not accompanying & birth certificate of the minor child
- For your common-law partner, "Statutory Declaration of Common-law Union" (IMM 5409)

- For diplomatic/official passport holders, note verbale from your office stating the purpose of travel to Canada
- If you wish to have your documents mailed back to you, you should send a prepaid, self-addressed return Express Mail envelope. For the security of your documents, we strongly recommend that you provide return express, registered or certified mail envelope. We will not return documents using courier services (DHL, FedEX, UPS, etc). Applications by mail that are sent without a return envelope will be returned by certified mail.

III. Processing times and waiting periods

Applications submitted in person before 10:00 am are generally processed the same day (unless your country of nationality or residence is listed in section IV). In some cases a personal interview may be required. You must make your own arrangements to present yourself at our offices for this purpose, if required to do so. Processing of properly completed mail-in applications is generally 10 working days excluding mailing time. 

IV. Countries that may require longer processing times (Up to 15 working days)

Citizens of Afghanistan, Albania, Angola, Argentina, Armenia, Azerbaijan, Belarus, Bosnia-Herzegovina, Burundi, Cambodia, Chile, China (PRC), Democratic Republic of Congo, Republic of Congo, Croatia, Cuba, El Salvador, Eritrea, Ethiopia, Georgia, Guatemala, Haiti, Honduras, Iran, Iraq, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Lebanon, Libya, Macedonia, Moldova, Nigeria, North Korea, Palestine Authority, Peru, Russia, Rwanda, Saudi Arabia, Sierra Leone, Somalia, South Africa, Sudan, Syria, Tadjikistan, Taiwan, Turkish Republic of N. Cyprus, Turkmenistan, Ukraine, Uzbekistan and Yugoslavia, may be subject to a waiting period of up to 15 working days. Please provide a complete itinerary, including the cities you intend to visit, your means of travel, and the full names, addresses and telephone numbers of all persons or businesses you will contact in Canada, and curriculum vitae (c.v.) or resumé including all post-secondary education and employment history.  Completion of additional questionnaires may be required.

V. Fees

Fees may be paid by certified cheque or money order. Payments in Canadian funds should be drawn on a Canadian bank and made payable to "the Receiver General for Canada". Payments in US funds should be drawn on a US bank, and made payable to "Consulate-General of Canada, New York". Personal and company cheques are not acceptable. Please do not send cash in the mail.
Failure to submit payment exactly as indicated will mean your application will not be processed.

Please note that processing fees are not refundable. If your application is refused, or if you apply for a multiple entry visa but only a single entry visa is given, no part of the processing fee will be returned.

Please Note: All applicants must present a valid passport or travel document. In general, your passport should be valid for a minimum of six months beyond the last day of your intended stay in Canada. We cannot place a Canadian visa in an expired passport.

If you have ever been arrested or convicted of a crime, you should bring copies of relevant police and court records.

WILL I QUALIFY FOR A VISA?

In order to qualify for most categories of a Canadian visa, you must be able to demonstrate to the Immigration Officer that you have a permanent residence outside of Canada that you do not intend to abandon. You may satisfy this requirement by showing you have strong economic and social ties to your country of residence. "Ties" are factors that would require you to return to your country of residence upon completion of your temporary visit to Canada.

Many applicants ask what documents they can bring to their visa interview that would demonstrate sufficiently their "ties" to their home country. The answer to this question is that no single document will be relevant to every case. Applicants should ask themselves the following question: "If I were visiting in Canada, what factors would cause me to end my visit and depart Canada?" Relevant factors, or "ties", outside Canada could be a job, property, dependent children, or other important responsibilities that require your presence in your home country. You must demonstrate to the Immigration Officer that these "ties" are strong enough to compel you to return to your home country upon completion of your visit to Canada.

TAKE NOTE: Visa applicants should normally apply at a Canadian embassy or consulate in their country of residence. If you are a not a resident of the US or have temporary status as a student or worker in the US, interviewing officers in New York may have difficulty in evaluating the circumstances in your country of residence. You may , therefore have greater difficulty establishing your eligibility for a Canadian visa in New York than you would experience in your home country. A substantial percentage of applicants are denied visas under these circumstances. Consequently, visitors to the US are strongly urged to apply for Canadian visas in their country of residence, especially for their first Canadian visa.

The validity period of your visa and number of entries you are allowed are printed on the visa. Immigration Officials at the Canadian port-of-entry have final authority to permit or deny entry to Canada. A visa entitles the bearer to apply for admission to Canada, but does not guarantee entry. The maximum permitted length of time to stay in Canada is also determined by the Canadian immigration officer at the port-of-entry. You should request a multiple entry visa only if you will be seeking to enter Canada several times in the coming year.

If you misplace your passport containing a Canadian Visa or it is stolen, you should report the loss to the police as soon as possible. If you apply for a replacement visa, you will be asked for a police report detailing the circumstances of the loss and a replacement fee will be charged.