Visitor Visas
Temporary Resident Permit (TRP)
Canada is a very reasonable country and if you’re inadmissible, but have a really good reason to need to come, you can still get a TRP. If this applies to you, you want to talk to an attorney.
Temporary Resident Visa (TRV)
A TRV is a document giving you the right to visit, study, or work in Canada. It might allow you to enter the country multiple times or only once.
Visitor visa application
If you come from a country that requires visitor visas, you’ll need to apply for a visitor visa. You will automatically get an eTA once your work permit application is approved. If you leave and re-enter Canada, check to make sure your eTA is still valid.
When you arrive in Canada, you’ll need to provide the following documents to a border services officer:
- Your passport
- Your POE letter
- Proof of funds
- Proof of health insurance
- A ticket to leave Canada at the end of your stay or proof of funds to purchase a ticket
If you are doing an unpaid co-op, you may be asked to provide proof of enough money to support yourself for the entire time. You can be refused entry into Canada if you’re missing any of these documents.
If you are bringing C$10k or more across the border with you, you must declare this to the border services officer. You may be asked to show proof of where the money came from.
If you’ve lost your POE letter, Canada is very nice and will give you a new one. Your health insurance must be valid for your entire stay. It needs to cover medical care, hospitalization, and repatriation.
If your insurance coverage ends before your expected stay, your work permit will expire when your insurance does. A provincial health card will not meet this requirement. When you’ve been given your work permit, check it over carefully before you leave the international zone.
If there’s a mistake on the permit, tell a border services officer immediately. If there’s a mistake it’s much more difficult (or impossible) to fix it once you leave.
Planning your trip
You’re responsible for everything about planning your time in Canada, from completing the application to finding a job and getting a place to stay. If you’d like to have help organizing these details, you can work with a recognized organization (RO).
Pathways to Canadian Citizenship
These are the most common paths to citizenship for economic migrants. All the ways to live in Canada, legally. There are a lot of different ways to move to Canada.
Many of the ways you can move to Canada are designed to be temporary, but provide a way to extend your stay permanently.
Live in Canada as an expat
There are a number of ways you can live in Canada legally on a temporary basis. These programs can allow you to live in Canada a few months to a few years. Take an extended vacation If you don’t plan on working while in Canada, you can stay in Canada as a tourist. Most tourist visas are issued for six months. At the end of your time, you can either apply to extend your tourist visa or simply leave the country and come back. Visiting Canada can help you decide if you really want to move and where in Canada you’d like to live. It also gives you the opportunity to look for a job, check out schools, and look for love. Just remember, marrying someone for residency is a bad idea.
Visit your kids or grandkids
If you’re the parent or grandparent of a citizen or permanent resident, you can get a super visa that allows you to stay for up to two years at a time for a period of ten years or they can sponsor you to become a resident.
Have a working holiday
Canada has agreements with a number of countries that allow young professionals under the age of 30 or 35 to work for up to two years in Canada through the International Experience Canada (IEC) program. After a year, you might be eligible for permanent resident status.
Go (back) to school
Getting a university degree in Canada isn’t the only way to get a student visa. You can also qualify by enrolling in a career or vocational school or a language school. As a student you can work part-time during your studies and get a work permit for up to three years after you complete your program. You’ll likely be eligible to become a permanent resident before your work permit expires. If you have a spouse or common law partner, they can work full-time during your studies. Depending on their job, you could both become permanent residents based on their work experience before you graduate.
Engage in free trade
Thanks to the North American Free Trade Agreement (NAFTA), Canadian employers can easily hire American and Mexican citizens. You can work for up to six months without a work permit as a business visitor, trader, or investor. Professionals can file for a work permit and be issued a visa for up to three years within days. This is a streamlined process specifically for NAFTA.
You can extend your visa every three years with no limit on the number of times you renew. If your company has an office in Canada they can transfer you up with little hassle.
Find a job
Depending on your career and your professional network, you may find it easy to get a job in Canada or you may find it impossible. In order to hire you, a company will have to get you a work permit, which requires that they show there’s no Canadian worker available to take the job.
Become a migrant laborer
The Seasonal Agricultural Worker Program (SAWP) is one of the few programs that’s different depending on your citizenship. If you’re interested in this program, you’ll need to go through your government directly.