Verified against official sources — 30 Oct 2026

Canada Visitor Visa Guide: What a Temporary Resident Visa Is, Who Needs One, and How Long You Can Stay

NEW Published 30 October 2026

The complete pillar guide to visiting Canada — visitor visa or eTA, single or multiple entry, how long a visit can last, and what a visitor may not do.

SECTION 01What Is a Canada Visitor Visa?

IRCC describes a visitor visa — also known as a temporary resident visa — as an official document that citizens from visa-required countries need to travel to and enter Canada as a visitor for up to 6 months. It is placed in your passport, shows that you meet the requirements to enter Canada, and carries the date by which you must arrive in Canada — a date that is not an expiry date for your stay, as Section 04 explains.

The visa is an entry document for a temporary visit, not a residence status, and it does not guarantee entry: on arrival, your identity is checked and a border services officer decides whether you meet the entry requirements. One related point: if a study permit or work permit application is approved for the first time, you will automatically be given a visitor visa as part of that approval — the permit authorises the study or work, the visa covers travel. A visitor visa on its own authorises neither, as Section 05 explains.

SECTION 02Visitor Visa or eTA — Who Needs Which?

What you need depends, IRCC says, on your citizenship, on how you are travelling — by air, land or sea — and on your travel documents. Most travellers need either a visitor visa or an eTA, not both, and which one applies is set by your passport, not by where you live.

If your country is visa-required, you need a visitor visa

If you are a citizen of a country or territory on IRCC's visa-required list, you need a valid visitor visa and a valid passport to visit or transit through Canada, by any method of travel — by air, or by car, train, bus or boat, including a cruise ship. Stateless individuals and travellers with a refugee travel document also need a visa.

Stated plainly: India appears on IRCC's visa-required list. An Indian passport holder therefore needs a visitor visa to visit or transit through Canada, by air, land or sea. India does not appear on the separate list of visa-required countries whose citizens may, in some circumstances, apply for an eTA instead when flying — so that air-only alternative does not apply to Indian passport holders.

If your country is visa-exempt, you generally need an eTA to fly

An eTA is an entry requirement for visa-exempt foreign nationals travelling to Canada by air. It is electronically linked to your passport and is valid for up to five years or until your passport expires, whichever comes first; if you get a new passport, you need a new eTA. With a valid eTA, you can travel to Canada as often as you want for short stays, normally for up to six months at a time, and no eTA is needed when arriving by car, bus, train or boat. An eTA costs CAD $7 on IRCC's fee list; apply only on the official Government of Canada website. Like a visa, an eTA does not guarantee entry.

The narrow middle group: some visa-required citizens may fly on an eTA

Citizens from some — not all — visa-required countries may be eligible to apply for an eTA instead of a visa to travel to Canada by air, if they meet all three of IRCC's requirements: they have held a Canadian visitor visa in the past 10 years or currently hold a valid United States non-immigrant visa; they are coming for a temporary stay, normally for up to 6 months; and they are flying to or transiting through a Canadian airport with a valid passport from one of the eligible countries. If you do not meet all three, you need a visitor visa, and even for this group a visitor visa is still needed to come by car, bus, train or boat. If you already hold a valid Canadian visa, you do not need an eTA to fly. Some travellers need neither document — IRCC lists, among others, United States nationals and permanent residents. Because country lists change, use IRCC's official check — "Check if you need a visa or eTA to travel to Canada" — for your own passport before applying.

SECTION 03Single Entry or Multiple Entry — and How Long Is the Visa Valid?

There are two types of visitor visa: a single-entry visa allows entry one time only, and a multiple-entry visa allows entry many times before its expiry date. You do not choose between them — IRCC reviews your application and issues a visa depending on your situation — and the fee is the same either way.

IRCC's guidance says you may receive a single-entry visa in limited situations — for example, a fee-exempt official visit; a one-time special event, celebration or tour; short-term studies of less than 6 months or short-term work where no study or work permit is needed; or where approved country-specific procedures are in place. In most cases, once you have left Canada on a single-entry visa, you will need a new visa to enter again. The exception is narrow: no new visa is needed if you only travel to the United States, including its territories and possessions, or to Saint-Pierre-et-Miquelon, and return directly to Canada.

A multiple-entry visa, while valid, lets you travel to Canada as many times as you want. Its maximum validity is up to 10 years or until the expiry date of either your passport or your biometrics, whichever comes first — and an officer may set a different expiry date, depending on your circumstances. IRCC's guidance to its own officers confirms that officers exercise their judgement both in deciding the type of visa and in setting the validity period, which may be shorter than the maximum. You must arrive in Canada on or before the expiry date on your visa.

SECTION 04How Long Can a Visitor Stay, and Who Decides?

Most visitors can stay in Canada for up to 6 months. That is the usual position, not an entitlement printed on your visa: in some cases, the border services officer may limit or extend your time, depending on the purpose of your visit. The officer's decision at the port of entry fixes your authorised stay.

At the port of entry, the officer might stamp your passport, or give you a document called a visitor record showing the date you need to leave. If your passport was stamped, you need to leave by the date stamped in it; if you received a visitor record, by the expiry date listed on it. If you do not get a stamp, you can stay until whichever comes first of: 6 months from entry; your passport's expiry date; or your biometrics' expiry date.

Entry is a fresh assessment, not a formality: the officer must be convinced that you are eligible for entry and that you will leave at the end of your authorised stay, and you will not be allowed in if you give false or incomplete information. If you received a letter from a person or company that invited you, bring it with you, because a border services officer may ask to see it.

SECTION 05What Does a Visitor Visa Not Allow?

It does not allow you to work

A visitor visa is not a work permit, and visitor status does not authorise employment in Canada. IRCC's work guidance states the general rule plainly: most foreign nationals need a work permit to work in Canada. Some workers — IRCC names business visitors, foreign representatives and military personnel among the exempt categories — may not need a work permit for their specific activity, but those are defined exemptions with their own requirements, not a right that comes with visitor status.

It does not, in general, allow you to study — with one short-course exception IRCC states

Most foreign nationals need a study permit to study in Canada. IRCC states one clear exception relevant to visitors: you do not need a study permit if you are coming to Canada for a programme that lasts 6 months or less — IRCC calls these short-term students. You still need a valid travel document — an eTA or a visitor visa — to come to Canada for that short programme, and study longer than 6 months requires a study permit.

SECTION 06What Does It Cost — and Can You Stay Longer?

On IRCC's official fee list, checked for this guide: the visitor visa fee is CAD $100 per person for either type of visa (maximum CAD $500 for a family of 5 or more applying together); biometrics, where required, are CAD $85 per individual, capped at CAD $170 per family; the eTA is CAD $7; and extending a stay is CAD $100 per person. All amounts are in Canadian dollars, and fees change — check the fee list before you pay.

Extending a stay: the visitor record

If you want to extend your stay in Canada as a visitor, you need to apply for a visitor record. A visitor record is not a visa: it is a separate, independent document — not placed in your passport — that allows you to stay longer as a visitor and includes a new expiry date, your new deadline to leave Canada.

You must apply before your current status expires, and IRCC's guidance is to apply at least 30 days before your authorised stay expires. A visitor record may also be issued at the port of entry itself, to extend or restrict your stay — and if you arrive knowing you want to stay longer than 6 months, you have to tell the border services officer. It is issued either by the Canada Border Services Agency or by IRCC. One limit is easy to miss: a visitor record lets you stay longer, but it does not guarantee that you can leave and then re-enter Canada; for travel outside Canada or the United States, you need a valid entry document, such as a visitor visa or an eTA, to return.

SECTION 07How Is a Visitor Visa Different From the Super Visa?

The Super Visa is a specific kind of visitor visa, not a separate immigration programme. IRCC describes it as a multiple-entry temporary resident visa, valid for up to 10 years, which offers eligible parents and grandparents of Canadian citizens, permanent residents, and persons registered as an Indian under the Indian Act the possibility of visiting Canada for 5 years on each entry — rather than the usual up to 6 months. That stay per entry is the headline difference.

The Super Visa also carries extra requirements an ordinary visitor visa does not. The applicant must apply from outside Canada, must still meet the requirements for temporary residence as a visitor, and must also provide: proof of an eligible host child or grandchild who is at least 18, lives in Canada, and meets or exceeds the minimum necessary income based on Statistics Canada's low income cut-offs; a signed letter of invitation from the host with a promise of financial support; proof of an immigration medical exam; and a valid health insurance policy, valid for a minimum of 1 year from the date of entry, providing a minimum of $100,000 emergency coverage, from a Canadian insurance company or an approved insurer outside Canada. If you are not in that parent-or-grandparent group, the Super Visa is not open to you; if you are, and you want stays measured in years rather than months, the Super Visa guide linked below works through its requirements in full.

FAQFrequently Asked Questions

Official references and verification status

These official references were accessed and checked on 30 October 2026, and this guide's claims were verified against them (see the accompanying sources file). Three honest limits apply. First, entry, validity, and stay rules are stated only in the terms of the pages below; officers retain discretion over which visa is issued, its expiry date, and each stay. Second, the "About the document" page for the visitor visa itself could not be retrieved as a standalone page in this pass, so the visa's definition rests on IRCC's Help Centre answer and the arrival and extension pages below. Third, no processing times are given, because they vary and change.

• IRCC Help Centre — Visitor visa vs visitor record
• Government of Canada — Check if you need a visa or eTA
• Government of Canada — About the eTA
• Government of Canada — eTA for some visa-required countries
• IRCC Help Centre — Single-entry vs multiple-entry visa
• IRCC — Issuing a visa
• Government of Canada — Prepare for your arrival
• Government of Canada — Visitor record: About the document
• Government of Canada — Work without a permit
• Government of Canada — Study without a permit
• Government of Canada — How to apply for a visitor visa
• IRCC — Super visa (operational bulletin)
• IRCC — Fee list

General educational information, not individualized legal or immigration advice. Follow the official IRCC instructions for your own situation, and consult a qualified, authorised Canadian immigration professional for advice about an individual case.

General information only. This guide is based on official sources publicly available and checked on the date shown on this page. Visa rules change, and consular and USCIS officers decide every case on its own facts — nothing here is a confirmation or a guarantee for your individual case, and this is not legal advice. Always confirm the current requirement on the official page linked in this guide before you act, and consider a qualified immigration attorney for your specific situation.