If you are presently in Canada and you are seeking how to apply for a Visa extension in Canada, you are reading the right informative piece.
Usually, Canada Visa Extension takes about 12-16 weeks to complete after application. A visa permit is one of the strong requirements that let you travel and stay without any challenges in another country.
Regardless of the visa type, once your visa is about to expire, you need to find a means of renewal or extension. That is what you will be learning about today.
How To Apply For A Visa Extension In Canada (Step By Step Guide)
This guide is also useful for those who are already in Canada but are seeking means how to apply for a visa extension in Canada. Follow the below guide to extend your visa in Canada:
1. Determine if you are eligible to apply for a visa extension:
Eligibility for Canada Visa Extension.
Be it a visitor permit, worker permit, or student permit, you may apply to renew your status and you can be eligible if you:
- Submit your application before the original expiry date of your status.
- Continually meet the initial requirements of your stay in Canada.
- Live by all the conditions of your status (i.e. not working or studying without authorization)
- Meet the requirements of the category under which you are currently applying to be restored as a temporary resident.
If this checking shows you are eligible, you must apply before your current visa expires.
2. Gather the necessary documents to apply for a visa extension.
These documents include your current visa, passport, proof of financial support, valid study permit, and proof of medical insurance.
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3. Visit the Citizenship and Immigration Canada website to find out the visa extension application fee.
4. Fill out your visa extension application form.
On the application, include all necessary information, such as your current visa details and reasons for why you want to extend your visa.
5. Submit your application form and the required documents via mail or online.
6. Wait for the visa processing time.
Depending on your application, it may take several months for your visa extension to be processed.
7. Once the visa extension is processed, you will receive your new visa in the mail.
Canada Visa Extension for Visitors.
Entering Canada using a visitor visa allows you to live legally in Canada for up to six months. Thereafter, your legal status to stay expires and you must leave Canada.
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To extend your stay in Canada as a visitor, you will need to apply for the Immigration, Refugees, and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) while your visitor visa, also called a Temporary Resident Visa (TRV), is still valid.
This can be done by sending an application for a visitor record. However, a visitor record is not the same as a visa.
A visitor record is a document that gives you status as a visitor in Canada and allows you to stay longer, and it includes a new expiry date (the new date that you must leave Canada), or further apply for another extension to remain in Canada legally.
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In addition, getting a visitor record does not guarantee you will be able to re-enter Canada if you decide to leave the country. If your current visitor visa expires during the process of your application for an extension, you will be able to stay in Canada until a decision is made called “maintained status”.
Importantly, the major step to consider on how to apply for a visa extension in Canada is to submit your application a minimum of 30 days before your current visa expires.
This will give you and the authorities involved ample time to go through the process before the expiration of your current visa.
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Also, you must note that the visitor record is an independent document and not placed in your passport. An expiry date for your stay in Canada is also included. This depicts the date by which you must leave Canada.
Canada Visa Extension for Students.
If you are studying in Canada and for one reason another, your study visa is about to expire, you will have to extend your study visa so that you can continue and conclude your study. As a student, you are constrained to extend your study visa if you want to study in Canada longer.
The requirement is that you have to apply to extend your study permit a minimum of 30 days before the termination of your current study permit.
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In case your study permit has already expired during the process of applying for the extension of your study permit before it expired, but you’ve yet to receive a decision on your application, you’ll be allowed to stay in Canada because you’ve maintained your status.
As such, you can continue to keep studying until you get a decision on your application.
Canada Visa Extension for Workers.
If you are a worker and you want to know how to extend your stay as a worker, the best thing to do is to apply for a visa extension. This will afford you enough and extra time to complete your work or project in Canada.
The important process you need to know as a worker is to apply as early as possible, at least 30 days before your current work permit expires, that is, if you want to extend your stay as a worker in Canada.
However, your employer may need to apply for a new Labour Market Impact Assessment (LMIA). This is a document from Employment and Social Development Canada that states that the employer is allowed to hire you.
But if you’re exempt from the LMIA process, your employer will need to pay the employer compliance fee and as well submit a new offer of employment through the Employer Portal.
Canada Visa extension Fee.
Extending your Canadian visa is not free! You have to pay a token for the process. What are the fees for extending a Canadian student permit, visitor permit, and workers permit?
If you don’t pay the fees for an extension, your application will not be processed.
As such, the fees per person per application for extension of student permit is CAD$150, for work permit extension is CAD$155, and CAD$100 for visitor visa extension. Remember, this is the cost per applicant.
How Long Does Canada Visa Extension Take?
The Visa extension application process is not sudden and it will require some days before the process is completed. Typically, online applications take 3 months to process on average, while paper applications take 4 months to process.
Note that if your application is successful, you will receive an immigration document granting you status and providing a new expiry date. But, if your application is refused, you can only stay in Canada until the expiry date of your current temporary resident status.
Conclusion.
I hope you had the information you needed to know reading through our discourse on how to apply for a visa extension in Canada.
I believe you now have the full knowledge on how to go about the process from scratch to finish.
