Canada Visitor Visa Checklist: Stop! ✋ Failing this Right Now Pink

This Canada visitor visa checklist will ensure that your visa process is as easy and smooth as it could be.

Of course, you want to cut off the chances of visa rejection.

Do you?

Then sit tight and read this post to last.

It covers all the most required items, things to do, points to take care of, and other important reminders.

Keep reading!

A Quick Overview of the Canada Immigration System 2024

Do you know every 1 out of 4 visitor visas in Canada is getting rejected?

Says this report by The Globe and Mail.

Can you spot the number increasing every passing year?

And behind almost every refusal case, the reasons are the following:

• Incomplete form filling,
• insufficient information,
• incorrect details,
• and (or) poor documentation.

So instead of rushing into application submission and facing a refusal.

Take a time to know how Canada's immigration system works. And how they handle your provided information.

Canada's Immigration Agencies Responsible for Your Visas

Immigration, Refugees, and Citizenship Canada, IRCC for short oversees the immigration of Canada.

IRCC handles your travel documents including:

• Tourist visas
• Study visas
• Work permit visas
• Permanent resident cards
• Citizenship of Canada
• and refugees asylum

So, if you are planning on getting a tourist visa for Canada, then IRCC is likely to handle your application.

To Better Understanding the Canada Visitor Visas

Before I talk about the specific Canada tourist visa requirements.

Or important documents you needed to apply for your Canada visit visa.

I wanna give you a quick rundown of what a Canada visit visa checklist is for. And whether or if you need a visit visa to travel or stay in Canada?

Let's begin.

Who Needs a Canada Visitor Visa And Who Don't?

Now the question comes if you need a visa to travel to Canada?

Well, the simple answer is, yes.

Unless you are from a visa-exempt nation, you need a proper visa to come to Canada.

Have a look at the list to check whether or if you are among the visa-exempt foreign nationals.

Eligibility Criteria for the Canadian Tourist Visas 2024-2025

First thing first.

If, you're not from a Canadian visa-exempt country and need a visa to enter Canada. Then check if you fulfill the eligibility criteria to apply for a Canadian visa.

The eligibility criteria for applying for a Canadian tourist visa application are:

1. Valid Passport
2. Stable Financial Record
3. Good Health Record
4. Clean Criminal Record
5. Inent to Visit
6. Intent to Leave
7. Invitation Letter

1. Valid Passport

To travel to Canada, you need to provide an ID proof.

It could be a passport, a Nexus card, or any other document mentioned on Canada's Justice Laws Website.

Since your passport also serves as a proof of your valid ID, you must have a passport valid for at least 6 months or more.

Make sure your passport have a few blank pages to affix visa stamps.

2. Stable Financial Record

The second criterion is that you'd be able to provide proof of your financial stability.

A financially unstable person can become a liability anytime after entering Canada.

So, they want proof that you're financially stable and can cover the cost of your travel & stay.

A good bank statement can prove your stable financial record. Or it could be your employment letter, salary slips, and (or) other means we discussed below.

3. Good Health Record

Third, you should be able to provide proof of your good health.

Depending on your origin or where you have recently been a medical checkup report is what you need.

We all know COVID-19, right? So it is to control or prevent the spread of infectious diseases in Canada.

4. Clean Criminal Record

No. 4 is the proof of no criminal record.

People with criminal convictions might be inadmissible to Canada. Resulting in a visa denial.

So you've to prove that you have a clean criminal record.

For that IRCC requires you to submit a police clearance certificate. A clean police certificate proves your good conduct and behavior.

5. Inent to Visit

On no. five comes the statement of your intent to visit and the proof of your stated intent.

In other words, IRCC wants you to state clearly your purpose of visiting Canada. And then provide evidences supporting your statement.

For example, if you stated your purpose of visit to explore Canada. Then a travel itinerary could be a supporting evidence of your exploring intent.

Hotel bookings, tour guide bookings, concerts/monument entry tickets too can be evidence.

6. Intent to Leave

At number 6 comes the most tricky, providing your intent to leave along with the proof of intent to leave Canada.

Again, if people visiting Canada choose not to leave after the expiry of their visiting visas. They all gonna turn into Canada's liability.

So you've to make the visa officer believe that you're not gonna become a liability if they give you a visa.

You can prove this by establishing your strong and close ties to your home country.

For instance, by showing your family commitments, your job or business commitments. And property ownership, etc.

Shortly, anything that suggests your reason for returning to your home country.

7. Invitation Letter

For no 7 the invitation letter is one of the key eligibility criteria for Canadian tourist visas.

While not necessary why are you asked for an invitation letter?

Well, for many reasons.

It helps them understand you and eventually gives you a visit visa to enter their country.

It's a proof of relationship with a Canadian resident. Proof of accommodation on Canadian soil.

And or proof of your intent to visit, etc, etc. More on it later in this article.

These were a few important eligibility criteria for Canadian tourist visas from IRCC.

Your understanding of matching these criteria will increase your odds.

Which will then increase your visitor visa success rate for Canada.

A Complete Canada Visitor Visa Document Checklist

That was the eligibility criteria. Now let's move towards the documents checklist for Canada tourist visa.

The visa applicant must meet the following requirements to apply for a Canada visitor visa:

1. Passport
2. Itinerary
3. Bank Statement
4. Medical Examination
5. Clean Criminal Record
6. Family Information
7. Invitation Letter (optional)

This is only a quick overview of the basic requirements. I'll go through each of them in detail in the coming sections.

Stick to that and you are going to become a visa agent.

Trust me. 😉

List of Documents Required for Canada Tourist Visa?

You must have these documents by your side before proceeding to the embassy for your visa.

Visa documentation is, for sure very important in the Canada visit visa process.

Based on this information a visa officer decides whether accept or reject your visa.

Now let's talk about in detail, all the important documents required for Canada visa. That you must have in your visa file.

1. Passport

No surprise, your passport is your identity document when you are traveling the world.

For that, you must have and provide the following when applying for a visitor visa Canada:

• Valid passport.
• Two clear color copies of your passport.

Depending upon the embassy or the consulate general of Canada you are applying from:

• A color copy of your passport sometimes would be a copy of the whole passport. i.e. all the pages on your passport.
• Or it would be the first page (that shows your name, DOB, and nationality) and stamped pages only.

2. Photographs

You'll need your passport-sized pictures for the visa application form filled out online.

The embassy may also ask you to fill out the additional forms requiring you to paste your photos on them as well.

All the photographs must be your recent passport-sized pictures on a white background.

The additional requirements for Canada visit visa application pictures are as follows:

• Your photo must be 50 mm (2 inches) wide by 70 mm (2.75 inches) high.
• The face height on the photo must be between 31 mm (1.25 inches) and 36 mm (1.44 inches).

Another specification for the visa application photo is to get it signed by a guarantor on the back.

The specimen is as shown in this image.

So, having a set of your recent photos before applying for a Canada Tourist Visa is always a good idea.

3. Evidence of Financial Support

The account statement is one of the important documents that you have to present for a travel visa.

Not only for Canada but for any country's travel visa though.

And that is because it proves that you have enough bank balance to pay your travel expenses.

If by any chance you do not have a bank account, you can provide any of the following documents as your proof of funds:

• Employment letter.
• Affidavit of Support/ Sponsorship
• Property ownership documents
• Stock, Bond, Debenture, and other Equities
• Income/ Property tax returns
• Pension slips/ Retirement funds

4. NOC from Employer

You need to provide a NOC from your employer in case you are submitting a letter of employment as proof of funds.

NOC oftentimes also comes with a leave letter.

A leave letter shows the approval of your leaves that matches your travel dates.

And the No Objection Certificate is but the sanction of your absence from your employer.

5. Invitation Letter

Invitation letter serves as a proof of relationship.

If someone in Canada is sponsoring your visit then he/she would send you a formal invitation letter.

That letter is a certified document by a registered notary public in Canada.

It shows that your Canadian host takes all the responsibility for your stay in Canada.

And is going to bear all your travel or other expenses.

No sponsor? No worries, skip it from your checklist for visitor visa Canada.

6. Cover Letter

A cover letter is a visa request letter to the Canadian embassy.

In the cover letter, you express your intentions of visiting Canada and make a visa request.

7. Itinerary

The itinerary is your scheduled traveling plan.

All the places (with the dates) you plan to visit, get in it.

For example:

Your itinerary gives the visa officer a sense of what your stay in Canada is going to be like.

8. Visa Application Form

First, you are gonna fill out your visa application form online at the immigration site of Canada.

Then, you are gonna print that form, paste your photo on it, put your signature, add your thumb impressions, etc.

That visa form along with other documents required for a Canada visit visa will go in your visa file. 

I'll go into detail on how to fill out your Canada visa application form online in the coming sections.

Be with me till the end.

How to Apply Visit Visa for Canada Step by Step?

There are 3 important steps and stages for you to get a Canada Visit Visa.

Let's get into it.

Step 1.

Fill up the online visit visa application form.

Download it, and attach other required or supporting documents with it.

Step 2.

Pay your visa fees and other dues.

Attach paid fee receipts and submit your application. You may be asked for the biometric upon submission.

Step 3.

Now sit back and relax.

It'll take anywhere from 1-3 weeks to process your visa request.

During this time you may also be asked to provide more information or documents.

If not, you're going to get your visa or otherwise once the verification of your provided info ends.

Visa Success Tips And Other FAQS

In this section, I'll be answering to all your quick questions that revolving into your mind right now.

And some tips, which, after knowing, you'd love to thank me.

Tada!

You're welcome. 😉

Now it's your turn — so bring it on

I hope this Canada tourist visa checklist will provide you with much guidance.

I'd like to hear if you find it well informative?

Or if there's something missing? Some question that is coming in your mind after reading this guide?

Whatever it is, let me know below in the comments.