Temporary residents: Determining duration of visits

The duration of a person’s visit to Canada is not determined by the Visa Officer. The Border Services Officer who examines the foreign national upon entry will determine the duration of the visit. Border Services Officers will routinely grant entry for a period of six months to a person requesting entry as a visitor, even where the person requests entry for only a very brief period.

When a temporary resident visa is issued, visa officers should consider it very likely that the person will be allowed to remain in Canada for six months. When in doubt that the person is a bona fide visitor, visa officers should not issue the visa (not even a transit visa).

A visa officer may, on a case by case basis, indicate a suggested duration just below the visa This may trigger the examining officer to check CAIPS/FOSS/GCMS. The officer would take those remarks into consideration when making a decision.

For specific information on how to process applications from citizens of special category and Visitor Information Transmission (VIT) countries, refer to IC 2, Security Vetting of Visitors.