Visiting Canada: visitor visa, eTA and Super Visa

A visitor is a temporary resident who comes to Canada for tourism, to see family, or for short business activities. The rules come from the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act (IRPA) and the Immigration and Refugee Protection Regulations (IRPR). Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) decides visa and eTA applications. At the border, the Canada Border Services Agency (CBSA) decides whether you can enter and for how long.

The most common misunderstanding is that a visa or eTA is permission to stay. It is not. It only lets you travel to Canada and ask to come in. A border services officer checks that you still meet the requirements and sets your authorized stay. A valid visa and passport do not by themselves mean you will be admitted.

• Visitor visa (temporary resident visa, TRV): a document IRCC places in your passport, for citizens of visa-required countries such as Iran. The officer decides whether it is single or multiple entry and how long it is valid: up to 10 years, or until your passport or biometrics expire, whichever comes first.
• Electronic travel authorization (eTA): an electronic approval linked to your passport, for visa-exempt travellers who fly to or through a Canadian airport. It is valid for up to 5 years or until the passport expires, and allows repeated short stays.
• Super Visa: a multiple-entry visa for parents and grandparents, valid for up to 10 years, with stays of up to 5 years at a time.
• Business visitor: a visitor visa or eTA used for meetings, conferences and training, without entering the Canadian labour market.
• Visitor record: what you apply for inside Canada to extend your stay as a visitor.

To work in Canada, read the work permits page. To study for more than 6 months, read the study page. For parents and grandparents who want to live in Canada permanently, see family sponsorship; the parents and grandparents sponsorship program is currently paused, so the Super Visa is the main route for long visits.

Likely a good fit if:

• You want to visit for tourism, family or an event for a limited time.
• You have a job, business, studies, property or family at home that you will return to.
• You can show enough money for the trip, or a host in Canada who will support you.
• You are a parent or grandparent of a Canadian citizen or permanent resident and want long visits.

Look at other options if:

• You plan to work while in Canada. Visitors cannot work without authorization.
• You plan a course or program longer than 6 months. You need a study permit.
• You plan to settle in Canada. A visit is not a way to move here, although you can visit while a permanent residence application is in process.
• You have a criminal record or a past immigration violation. You may be inadmissible and need to address that first.

Citizens of some visa-required countries can fly to Canada with an eTA instead of a visa. IRCC's entry requirements list is Antigua and Barbuda, Argentina, Brazil, Costa Rica, Indonesia, Malaysia, Mexico, Morocco, Panama, the Philippines, St. Kitts and Nevis, St. Lucia, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Seychelles, Thailand, Trinidad and Tobago, and Uruguay. IRCC sets three conditions, and you must meet all of them: you are flying to or through a Canadian airport on that country's passport; you are coming for a temporary stay (normally up to 6 months); and you have held a Canadian visitor visa in the past 10 years or hold a valid US nonimmigrant visa on the day you apply. Otherwise you need a visitor visa. Indonesia and Malaysia were added on May 26, 2026; check IRCC's eTA page for any conditions specific to them.

If you already hold a valid Canadian visitor visa, you do not need an eTA. Canadian citizens, including dual citizens, cannot apply for an eTA and need a valid Canadian passport to fly to Canada.

To get a visitor visa or enter as a visitor, you must:

• have a valid passport (IRCC advises at least 6 months of validity from your travel date)
• be in good health and have no criminal or immigration-related convictions
• convince an officer that ties such as a job, home, financial assets or family will take you back home, and that you will leave at the end of your visit
• have enough money for your stay, which depends on its length and where you will stay

You may also need a medical exam and a letter of invitation. Some people are inadmissible, for example for criminality, human rights violations, organized crime, or security, health or financial reasons.

The Super Visa lets a parent or grandparent visit a child or grandchild who is a Canadian citizen, permanent resident or registered Indian for up to 5 years at a time, with multiple entries for up to 10 years. Holders who enter after June 22, 2023 can stay 5 years even without a passport stamp. You cannot include dependants. For a stay of 6 months or less, apply for a regular visitor visa.

The host's spouse or common-law partner can co-sign and add their income if they are also a Canadian citizen, permanent resident or registered Indian; other relatives cannot. Family size counts the applicants, the host, the host's spouse or partner, their dependent children (regardless of custody), Super Visa holders under an earlier invitation that still applies, and anyone the host or co-signer sponsored whose undertaking is still in effect.

Since March 31, 2026, the host can prove income in one of two ways:

• Option 1: the host's total income (with any co-signer) meets the minimum in either of the 2 tax years before the application, shown with the Canada Revenue Agency (CRA) notice of assessment.
• Option 2: the host's total income (with any co-signer) in the year before was at least 75% of the minimum, and the visiting parent's or grandparent's income covers the rest. The visitor must prove that income, in its currency, and that it will continue during the stay.

Applicants from visa-exempt countries can also apply and pay no Super Visa or biometrics fee; if approved, they get a letter for the border officer and an eTA if flying. A parent with a pending sponsorship application can apply for a Super Visa while waiting. Super Visa holders in Canada can apply to extend their stay by 2 years.

A business visitor comes for a few days or weeks for international business activities without directly entering the Canadian labour market (IRPR section 187). No work permit is needed, but you still need a visa or eTA if your passport requires one. You must show that you plan to stay less than 6 months, and that your main place of business and your source of income and profits are outside Canada. Activities IRCC lists include:

• buying Canadian goods or services for a foreign business or government, or taking orders for goods or services
• going to meetings, conferences, conventions or trade fairs
• giving after-sales service under a warranty or sales agreement
• being trained by a Canadian parent company you work for outside Canada, or by a Canadian company that sold you equipment or services
• training employees of a Canadian branch of a foreign company

Bring letters from your employer, an invitation from the Canadian host business, relevant contracts, your host's 24-hour contact details and proof of funds. If the event is registered with IRCC, the organizer gives you an event code for your application.

When you visit family or friends, IRCC may ask for a letter of invitation. The letter does not mean a visa will be issued, and it does not make the host legally responsible for you, but the host must tell the truth. IRCC suggests it include the visitor's name, date of birth, address, relationship to the host, purpose and length of the trip, where they will stay, how they will pay, and when they will leave. The host adds their own name, date of birth, address, job title, status in Canada (with a copy of proof) and family details.

Explain your own purpose of travel too, for example in a short letter of explanation about the trip, who pays, and why you will return home. Support it with documents IRCC recommends: travel history from the past 10 years, an itinerary, bank statements covering at least 6 months, an employer letter dated within 3 months of applying, and proof of your relationship to the family member who invites you. Documents not in English or French need a translation.

Your stay ends on the date stamped in your passport or on your visitor record. With no stamp, it ends 6 months after entry, or when your passport or biometrics expire, if earlier. Your visa's expiry date is not the date you must leave.

To stay longer, apply online for a visitor record before your status expires; IRCC recommends at least 30 days before. A visitor record gives you a new leave date but is not a visa: to return after travel outside Canada or the United States, you need a valid visa or eTA.

If your status has expired, you cannot extend it. Within 90 days of losing status, you may apply to restore it if you still meet the requirements for your stay (IRPR section 182). You use form IMM 5708, explain why you stayed longer, and pay the restoration fee. You cannot work or study while it is in process. After 90 days, you must leave Canada.

1. 1

   Check what you need

   Use IRCC's online questions to see whether you need a visitor visa, an eTA or neither, based on your passport and how you travel.

2. 2

   Gather your documents

   Prepare your passport copy, proof of funds, ties, travel history, itinerary and any invitation letter. For a Super Visa, add the host's income proof, status and relationship documents, insurance and medical exam proof.

3. 3

   Apply online

   Apply in the IRCC Portal and pay the processing and biometrics fees when you submit, to avoid delays. An eTA is a short separate form; most are approved within minutes, but some take several days.

4. 4

   Give biometrics

   If required, wait for your biometric instruction letter and book a VAC appointment quickly. Biometrics are valid for 10 years, and a visa cannot last longer than your biometrics.

5. 5

   Get a decision

   IRCC may ask for an interview, documents, a medical exam or a police certificate. If approved, you send your passport so the visa can be placed in it.

6. 6

   Enter Canada

   Carry your application documents in your hand luggage, and for a Super Visa, proof of paid insurance. The officer decides whether to admit you and for how long; ask for a stamp if you need proof of your entry date.

Children under 14 and applicants over 79 do not give biometrics. Visa-exempt nationals do not give biometrics to extend their stay. Fees are not refunded if you are refused. Super Visa medical exam and insurance costs are separate.

Processing times vary widely by country and visa office. The live figures below come from IRCC's processing times tool and do not include time to give biometrics. Apply well before your planned travel date.

An officer refuses a visitor application when not satisfied that you meet the requirements in IRPR section 179, for example that you will leave Canada at the end of your stay. Common reasons include:

• Purpose of visit: the reason for the trip is unclear or does not match the planned length of stay.
• Ties to your home country: the officer is not convinced your job, business, property or family will take you back.
• Funds: bank statements are missing, cover only a short period, or do not show enough money.
• Travel history: little documented travel gives the officer less evidence that you have travelled and returned home.
• Family situation: officers consider your family in Canada and at home when deciding whether you will return.
• Previous overstays or violations, such as staying past your authorized date or working without a permit.
• Super Visa: income below the minimum, a miscounted family size, or insurance that does not meet the rules.
• Misrepresentation: false information or a hidden material fact, for example not declaring a previous visa refusal. Under section 40 of IRPA this can lead to a 5-year ban.

The refusal letter lists the reasons. Since July 29, 2025, IRCC also sends an officer decision note with most temporary resident refusals, including visitor visas, Super Visas and visitor records (not eTAs), though parts may be removed.

IRCC can also cancel a visa already issued, for example if an officer has reasonable grounds to believe you will not leave at the end of your stay, or if you were later refused another visa or permit (IRPR section 180.1).

• Travel with the passport that holds your visa or is linked to your eTA. A new passport needs a new eTA.
• Check the date in your passport stamp or visitor record: that is when you must leave.
• Visitors cannot work without authorization. You may take a course of 6 months or less that ends within your authorized stay (IRPR section 188).
• Super Visa holders must keep insurance and their passport valid, and show proof of insurance on each re-entry.
• After a trip only to the United States or Saint Pierre and Miquelon, you can usually return within your authorized stay without a new visa.