Visa Options for Canada

What are the Canada Visa Types?

Before you apply for a Canadian visa, you must first know which visa you want to apply for. Here are the types of Canada visas:

• Visitor visas
• Student visas
• Work visas
• Permanent Residence visas
• Business Immigrant visas
• Express Entry Program visas

You must pick the one that fits the motive of why you want to go to Canada.

Temporary Canada Visas

The temporary Canada visas allow the person to stay in Canada for a specific period of time which is determined by the Canadian Consulate or the Border Services Officers (BSO). This time is usually up to 6 months. However, the temporary visa can be single entry or multiple entry visa.

Single entry visa allows the person to only enter Canada once, stay for 6 months and then return to their home country. A multiple entry visa allows the person to enter Canada multiple times until their visa expires and stay temporarily.

Here are the types of Canadian Temporary Visas:

• Canada Tourist Visa: The  Visitor Visa or the Tourist visa allows the holder to enter Canada for the purposes of tourism in the country.
• Canada Super Visa. The Canadian Super Visa allows parents or grandparents of Canadian citizens or Canadian Permanent Residents to visit their children or grandchildren for an extended stay.
• Diplomatic and Official Visa: The Diplomatic and Official visa gives permission to officials and diplomats from foreign countries to enter Canada for official duties and purposes.
• Courtesy Visa: The Courtesy visa is given to all those people who do not qualify for a Diplomatic and Official Visa but are considered of importance due to their ranks and positions. This includes for example, members of trade missions or diplomats with touristic intent.
• Canada Business Visa: The Business Visa is given to those who are travelling to Canada with business purposes as individuals or as a group of business people.
• Visa to Give Birth in Canada: This visa is given to people who fulfill all the criteria to stay temporarily in Canada and who are pregnant and want to give birth in the country. Giving birth in Canada makes the baby automatically a Canadian citizen.
• Intending Organ Donors Visa: This visa is given to a person who is traveling to Canada with the purpose of donating an organ to a Canadian citizen or Permanent Resident.
• Canada Facilitation Visa: Facilitation Visas are given to Canadian citizens with dual nationalities who do not have a Canadian passport but have a passport of another nationality. The facilitation visa is stamped on the person’s other nationality visa due to extreme hardships of the person getting a Canadian passport.
• Canada Student Visa: A Canadian student visa is given to those who have an admission from a Canadian university to complete their studies. If you are going to Canada to study for less than 6 months, then you can only get a TRV visa, but for more than 6 months of studies, you will need a Student Visa.
• Canada Temporary Work Visa: Canada temporary work visas are given to those people who have a job offer in Canada and will work for up to 6 months. To get this visa, the person must present a valid job offer letter from an employer and qualify for a temporary visa.
• Temporary Residence Permit. This permit is for people who need to go to Canada for different purposes but are otherwise not admissible for a Temporary Resident Visa (TRV). This permit is issued only for the length of time that the person needs to be in Canada, for example 2 weeks for a workshop.
• Working Holiday Visa: The Canada Working Holiday Visa is given to young people from 30 countries, so they can work in Canada and travel. It is a random selection visa which means that applicants will submit their applications and wait to be randomly selected to apply for the work permit.

Permanent Canada Visas

The permanent Canada visas are visas which allow the holder to permanently settle in the country. These are otherwise known as immigrant visas and can be of different types, as follows:

• Immigrant Investor Program: The Immigrant Investor Program is for people who will make investments in the Canadian economy and have a net worth of at least CAD$800,000. They must invest at least CAD$400,000 and the government will return this investment to them in 5 years without any interest.
• Startup Visa Program: The Canada Startup Visa is for people who will be individually involved in contributing to the economy. They must have a net worth of at least CAD$300,000 and must commit to owning and managing at least one third of a Canadian business as well as create and maintain employment within 3 years of being in the country.
• Self-employed Persons Visa: The Self-employed Persons visa is for people who have skills in business, athletics, culture, or farming and can start their own businesses. These people must demonstrate how they will finance the business as well as their skills in those particular areas
• Quebec-Selected Skilled Worker Program (QSWP): If you have one of the occupations which are required in the Canadian province of Quebec and you are fluent in French, then you can apply for the Quebec Skilled Worker Program which will allow you to move and work permanently there.
• Family-Sponsorship Program: The Family Sponsorship Visa allows the spouses and dependent children of Canadian citizens or Permanent Residents to immigrate to Canada permanently.
• Live-in Caregiver Program (LCP): This visa is given to caregivers who are qualified to take care for elderly, disabled people, or children and live in a private home in Canada.

Express Entry Visas

The Canada Express Entry Program is an electronic immigration program designed by the Government of Canada. It allows people from all over the world to apply for immigration to Canada based on their specific skills.

The following are part of this program:

• Federal Skilled Trades Program (FSTP)
• Federal Skilled Worker Program (FSWP)
• Provincial Nomination Programs (PNP)
• Canadian Experience Class