Thursday, September 27, 2018

Steps to apply a Canada Visitor Visa for Indians.

Hello all,

There is less information available on the internet about how to apply Canadian Visitor visa for Indians via online way. Most of the information is about offline process through agents and visiting Visa Application centre(VAC) and submitting the documents.

I am just giving you a short outline about how to apply for a Canadian Visitor Visa.

Create an account on the below link:

Apply for Canadian Visa

Create account using GC key option.

There is a guide like which type of Visa you want to apply.
Based upon it, you have to answer a series of questionnaire. Please answer all question truthfully just like you fill DS160 form for USA B1/B2 visa.

Based upon answers, they will ask you to submit list of documents that are scanned and clear. Good news is there is no need to resize the documents as the size accepted is till 4 MB.

I had to submit following things:

1. Digitally filled Imm5257e form. Don't forget to generate scan code in this form.
2. My travel history. I scanned pages having Schengen visa and corresponding stamps.
3. Scanned passport.
4. Invitation letter sent by my uncle.
5. My scanned bank statement of 6 months.
6. Scanned digital photo.
7.  Travel plan - a rough travel plan which coincided with dates mentioned in the invitation letter.
8. Digitally filled Imm5645 form where you need to provide information of your family members
9. Proof of relationship, I attached the scanned Canadian passport of my uncle.

As you can see in below pics, these are the documents I required to upload.




Pay the fees of 100 CAD online.

And then the long wait started. The official website showed 16 days processing required for Canadian visitor visa but for me, it took them around 21-25 working days. You can see the actual processing time.



Once you get request to submit passport, it should be done within 30 days. You have to visit the nearest VAC and pay some processing fees to VFS global. (IMHO, the VFS fees is a little bit high). No need to take appointments to visit the VAC.

Visitor visa get stamped only at two places in India. Bengaluru and Delhi. It took them four working days to stamp the passport. And lo, I got a visitor visa till the expiry date of my passport in 2020.

In cases on how you fill the questionnaire, the documents requested may change.

Pros:
1. It can be applied sitting at home.
2. No need to make puppy face and visit HR of your company asking for no objection certificate and holiday on company letter like Schengen visa.
3. No need to prebook air tickets and hotel. A simple travel plan helps.

Cons:

1. Processing times are huge.

As per the Government of Canada, Indians will have to give biometrics at VAC from 31st December 2018.



8 comments:

Unknown said...

Thank you! Informative post.

Rohit Talekar said...

Welcome

KS Arora said...

Thanks for the nice information. It was of great help. Are you sure we don't require NOC from our employer if we apply through this process.

Rohit Talekar said...

Yes no NOC required

Sameer said...

Hi Rohit

I landed here from T BHP! Thank you for the informative post on how to apply for a Canada Visitor Visa online.

I am applying for my wife and kids. in the questionnaire I have answered that I will sponsor their trip to Canada.

Based on the questionnaire list of documents are required, in that there are 2 requirements which is causing me a bit of confusion.Hope you can help!!

1) Proof of Financial Resource of Supporter.

f you depend on someone financially, that person can provide proof that they have sufficient funds to support you in Canada by writing a letter of support.

The letter includes the amount of money this person will be providing, with supporting evidence of their relationship to you. Along with the letter, proof that this person has sufficient funds can be shown by submitting as many of the following as possible:

proof of a Canadian bank account in the name of the person providing you with money if funds have been transferred to Canada
proof of a student/education loan from a financial institution
bank statements for the past four months
a bank draft in convertible currency
proof of payment of tuition and accommodation fees
a letter from the person or institution providing you with money

In this I will upload a letter of support stating that I will bear the cost of air tickets and living expenses for my wife and kids during their visit to Canada. I will upload my 4 months bank statement and a copy of my passport with my wife's name mentioned under spouse column.

2) Proof of Means of Financial Support

Temporary Residents

If you are visiting Canada, you must prove that you can support yourself and the family members who will be with you while you are in Canada. Provide as many of these documents as you can:

your bank statements for the past four months
a bank draft in convertible currency
pay stubs
an employment letter
proof of assets or business
proof of payment of tuition and accommodation fees
tax reports, declarations or statements
proof of a student/education loan from a financial institution
a letter from the person or institution providing you with money

I want to know what should I upload under this as I am confused whether I should upload my wife's bank statements or mine again? Can I upload my business papers.

This my confusion.

Rohit Talekar said...

Sorry for late reply. You could have PM me on Team BHP.

One question: do you work in Canada?

If yes, option 2 or else option 1

Micheal Alexander said...

I got here much interesting stuff. The post is great! Thanks for sharing it! Schengen visa online application

Unknown said...

Very very helpful and ideal write up for us. Thanks For such a nice & detailed information. Its really helpful...Keep Posting.

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