Canada visit /tourist visa
A visitor means a person who is either lawfully in Canada, or seeks permission to visit Canada for a temporary purpose such as work, study or visit and who is not a Canadian citizen, permanent resident. Every visitor must apply to obtain a visa before appearing at a port of entry.
The whole visitor visa application involves a two-step process:
First step:
The foreign national who seeks visitor visa application first must submit a visit visa application to the responsible Canadian visa office in the country or region where applicant resides. This application need to attend an interview where the visa officer will verify the applicant’s purposes and reasons for visiting Canada. Visa officer also ensures candidate’s overall admissibility to Canada along with applicant’s ability or willingness to leave Canada within the visa validity date.
Second step:
Once a visitor visa has been issued to the applicant. While applicant may land in Canada, immigration officer will question the applicant to ensure his or her admissibility to Canada at the Port of Entry.
Visitor visas are generally granted for a single or multiple entry use. Single entry visas may be issued up to six months before the expected date of travel whereas multiple entry visas have a maximum validity of up to five years or one month before the expiry date on the visa / re-entry visa whichever is earlier. On the Port Of Entry officers will routinely grant entry for a period of six months to a person requesting entry as a visitor. A foreign national who already has immigrant visa in process is eligible to apply for temporary resident visa.