jammy123

Hello all, good evening.

My wife is currently in Canada on an open work permit, awaiting final processing of her PR application. Unfortunately for her, she needs a visa to enter Canada (even though she has a valid work permit). Her current visitor's visa expired about 4 months ago.

My question is, when applying for the visitor's visa, should she choose Visitor's Visa extension, or Visitors Visa (from inside Canada)? Also, if the answer is Visitor's Visa (from inside Canada), can she change her application that has already been filed and paid for? She filed a Visitor Visa Extension and paid the $100 fee. Can she somehow change this application to a Visitor's Visa (from inside Canada), or does she has to send in a new application for a Visitor's Visa (from inside Canada), and pay the $100 fee, and forget about the incorrect application (Visitor Extension).

Hope this makes sense. Thanks everyone for your help in advance!

Snowy560

Are you saying she is from a country that requires her to have a TRV (temporary resident visa) to travel to Canada?

She only needs this if she leaves and wants to come back to Canada. Does she have a valid work permit and when is the expiry date? Is she planning to leave Canada?

Visa = allows someone to travel to Canada and show up at the border
Permit = allows someone to remain in Canada (worker/student)

From what you say, I think she has filed the wrong application unless she wants to change her status from worker to visitor.

If it is the TRV application she needs to file from within Canada (because she may want to leave and then come back) and she has a valid WP/SP then see this link:

http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/visit/cpp-o-apply.asp

S

jammy123

That's correct. She is from a country that requires a TRV. Yes she wants to leave for a week or two and re-enter. She is on a work permit, expiring June 2017.

jammy123

The processing time according to CIC for this type of application (Visitor visa extension) is 86 days. She only submitted it about 25 days ago. Can we cancel the processing of it, and file the correct one? Will they reimburse the application fee that she paid?

Snowy560

You should get the money back eventually if you cancel and it hasn't been processed.

But if she needs a new TRV, follow the link I posted for the application package.

Good luck!

S

jammy123

Ok, thank you so much. I think the site has crashed from all my American friends evaluating all ways of moving north..

Snowy560

Yes. That's why. It has very much crashed.

S

jammy123

My gosh...this has got to be the most confusing thing ever that CIC has implemented. So it asks a series of questions, and at the end, it gives only one option, which is the Visitor Visa extension. However, this is not what we are trying to do...we are trying to apply for a Visitors Visa (from inside Canada)...Someone please, please help as I am just as baffled as the results of the US elections last night... I honestly do not know what to do.

Siouxie

There is an option to apply on paper, perhaps that would be an easier route?

jammy123

Hmm..but that is what I was trying to avoid. Very conflicting information coming from them because they encourage you to do so online.

Siouxie

I just went through a 'mock' application and it took me all the way through to the TRV without any issue - though strangely, despite doing it from the 'within' Canada application wizard, it ended up with the form 'outside of Canada'.

I wonder if you are putting something in somewhere differently, which is causing it to revert to the wrong thing?

Please see attached - hope it might help a little.



Apply for a new temporary resident visa from within Canada

*on the 'review your answers' I'm not sure if it should say 'permanently' or 'temporarily' as the reason to be in Canada - perhaps do both and see what it ends up with.

jammy123

Thank you so much for going through the trouble of doing this, just to help me out. I really, really appreciate it. Looking at your responses though, I notice that for the first question (purpose of the visa), your answer was to work. I chose to visit because that is what she needs (a visitor's visa, so that she can enter and leave the country) because she already has a work permit and it is still valid till next year.

I wish that someone from CIC would look into this because it is extremely confusing to say the least. Do you think that I should redo the application and say that the purpose of the application is to work, as per your answers? So confusing..

Siouxie

You are very welcome!

"Work" isn't the purpose for the visa, it's what the person is or will be doing in Canada - the purpose of their visit

Looking at the directions for a paper application, it says:
So I believe "work" would be the correct answer as she is already working (with an open work permit) and will be continuing to work.

The response I wasn't 100% sure of was the 'temporary; more than 6 months'.

It's probably worth your while to see if changing the response to 'work' results in the TRV application.



Best of luck!

Snowy560

A TRV is not a visitor visa. It is a visa. A (tempoary resident) visa allows the holder to get on a plane outside Canada and turn up at the border. Thereafter, you need status in Canada. Your wife already has this. She is a worker and has a work permit. She does not have "visitor" status because she has "worker" status. Only workers and students are allowed to apply from within Canada to Ottawa for this application, even though an application for a TRV is an "outside Canada" application.

Forget the word "Visitor". It does not apply in your wife's case.

S

jammy123

Thank you Snowy. So in this case, I should follow Siouxie's advice? Should I apply for the TRV and purpose of visit is work - as Siouxie recommended above?

Thanks!