Visiting Canada

Canada is a perfect country for nature lovers and explorers! It has beautiful mountains, lakes, rivers, and oceans from coast to coast.  In 2017 almost 20 million people visited Canada. Many of them fell in love with this majestically beautiful country and planned to visit again. Others decided to come back to work or study for some time.

Visitors obligations

All visitors must comply with the Canadian immigration laws . A visitor status starts by entering and it ends by leaving Canada. You have 180  days to stay as a visitor unless a CBSA officer tells you otherwise. It is against the law for a visitor to exceed longer than 180 days.

What if you must stay longer?

First of all, you have to apply for an extension at least 30 days before the expiry of your current status. Secondly, for any type of extension, you need to have a legitimate reason.

Stay out of trouble

Visitors are prohibited to work in Canada on a visitor status . And also, you cannot study or a course that is longer than six months in duration. This includes most diploma or degree programs. There is a big misconception about changing a visitor status. Visitors can not change their status  any other. In any case, a visitor must leave Canada in order to comply with the laws.

Apply for a study or work permit within Canada

It is possible to apply for a work or study permit but you need to send your application to a visa office. Unsurprisingly all visa offices are outside of Canada. If your application is approved, you must exit and re-enter to get your permit at the port of entry. If your plan is to study or work in Canada , apply for the appropriate program  from the beginning instead. Good luck in your journey and happy visit!