Edo

Hi

Someone wants to visit me in Canada from a non visa-free country. They currently have a valid multiple visit visa but unfortunately it expires a month after their arrival in Canada. They would like to stay a little bit longer so they want to make sure that we plan things properly.

Would their best option be to apply for renewal in their home country? Although in this case there is a risk that the application may take longer than usual and delay their plans.

I know that a visitor can also apply for extension from within Canada. But if they arrive with that intention then will the Immigration question this if the return date on their ticket is beyond the expiry date of the visa in hand.

Thanks

Former Lancastrian

The expiry date on the visa is for when they enter Canada ie must enter Canada by X date. That date doesn't reflect on how long they are admitted for. Have they entered before on this visa as most are now issued for 10 year periods?

Edo

HI FL. I was hoping you will notice this thread and respond, so thank you

Thank you for clarifying. Yes, they have entered into Canada on the same visa previously.

Just so I can understand this well, regardless of when they enter into Canada (as long as they enter before the expiry date of the visa), they can stay up 6 months at a time?

And if the above is correct, then why is there a process for extension of Visitor's visa from within Canada? Is that if they want to stay beyond the 6 months period? Please clarify. Thank you.

Former Lancastrian

The extensions though not as frequent now were given for students/workers/visitors who might have been only issued with one time visas and wished to travel home on vacation as they could have been issued work/study permits valid for 1 to 4 years. Some countries are higher risk than others so not all now get multiple 10 year visas. Note its not automatic they get 6 months to stay as an officer CAN limit their stay on arrival as a visitor. If not then they get the 6 months and can apply to extend their stay and IRCC are the ones who make this decision for applications within Canada.
For those who have previously been issued visas and have complied then the renewal process is easier than a 1st time applicant applying for a visa.
Too many factors come into play about extensions, renewals, refusals and limiting time for a visit.

Snowy560

Edo I will try to explain further in case you are not quite clear.

A Visa Required Visitor to Canada requires a TRV (Counterfoil sticker in the passport) in order to board a plane to Canada/show up at the border. They must travel to Canada before the TRV expiry date. A TRV does not give status in Canada.
CBSA at the border decides how long to admit the person for: let's say 6 months
Before the 6 months has expired, if the Visitor wants to stay longer, they must apply to extend their status. A TRV at this point is irrelevant, even if it's a 10 year multi entry TRV, valid until 2026.

While a Visitor can apply to extend their status in Canada before the end of their authorized stay, (and if successful a Visitor Record will be issued), the person is ineligible to apply for a new TRV (counterfoil in the passport) from within Canada. The correct process is to leave Canada and apply for a new TRV outside of Canada when that person wants to travel to Canada again.
However, Students and Workers may apply for new TRV from within Canada (if the current one expires) as long as they have valid status as students or workers. As FL points out, that enables a student or worker to travel home or go for holidays and come back to Canada to resume working or studying.

Edo

Thanks to both of you FL and Snowy.

I somehow got under the impression that CBSA stamps dates on the visitor's passport upon arrival to say how long they are allowed to stay in Canada on every particular trip. So I got my visitor to check their passport from their previous entry to see if this was the case. But all they found on the passport was just a stamp of the arrival date and no other details.

Anyway, the above discussion now clarifies that the expiry date on the visa is to do with entry of the visa holder, and they should be able to stay 6 months max from that point onwards if they wish, even if their visa expires while they are in the country.

Former Lancastrian

Actually what compounds this problem is that persons using kiosks don't actually get their passports stamped which could lead to someone being detained say if stopped by the Police who then have to check with CBSA on their status as they do not see a passport stamp within the last 6 months that most are familiar with. I didn't make that decision

Snowy560

See this link

http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/helpcentre/answer.asp?qnum=1016&top=16

If you don't get a PP stamp be inventive! Buy yourself a Tim Hortons on your CC ASAP! Not definitive but ...

Snowy560

Oh I see what you mean: the Police might think a person's entered irregularly if no stamp (if that person got stopped on transit or something).

Former Lancastrian

Or could be an overstay or working illegally etc.