Flights overseas for many Russians have long become a habit. They go on tourist and business trips, to study and work. Those who emigrated to Canada invite friends and relatives to visit. Having agreed to meet on the territory of this North American state, most of those who are going to travel have a poor idea of how a visa to Canada is issued by invitation. It is advisable to understand this issue in advance in order to obtain a travel permit quickly and without problems.
What does "visitor visa" mean?
If you have relatives or friends living in Canada, they can send you a random invitation to visit. There are no restrictions on the degree of relationship.
Naturally, it is better if you know well the person who invites you, but a visitor visa to Canada for Russians can be issued at the invitation of a casual acquaintance and even some friend of your comrade. It is good if he is a citizen of the Country of the Maple Leaf or permanently resides in its territory. But you can be invited, for example, by a son who is studying at one of the country's universities and a boyfriend who has left for temporary work.
It is only necessary to indicate the details of the inviter and the invitee, the time of the visit, its purpose and who will finance the trip.
An invitation is just the first step in starting a journey. We'll have to collect a package of documents in order to eventually get a permit, which provides the opportunity to go to North America.
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How to compose an invitation
An invitation is an unofficial document, it is not required to certify it by a notary. At the same time, there are certain requirements for the content of such a letter. In particular, it should contain information about the status of the one who invites you to visit, with whom he lives and what kind of relationship connects him with you.
The invitation should also contain information about the invitee: who he is, where he lives, who he works, what kind of family he has. Date of birth and contacts are indicated.
There is no form for such a letter, as already mentioned. It's just that it should convincingly explain why a person wants to go to Canada, what he is going to do there, whether he has any intentions to stay. The migration services should not have any questions.
Some agencies use standard templates where they simply enter all the data about a person. This form has a right to exist, but free writing is still preferable.
The moment is important - the language of the document. It is bad if the invitation is drawn up in Russian and a translation is attached to it. This may cause legitimate distrust of the inviter. The letter must be written in English or French and must be personally signed.
An invitation for parents, relatives or friends
Getting a visa to Canada by invitation for parents is the most common option. There are two types of visas for parents: a regular tourist visa (6 months) and a multivisa valid for up to 10 years, with the possibility of staying with loved ones for up to 2 years.
The main thing is to indicate the availability of funds that will allow you to support loved ones for a long time. Specific figures are not required: you need to provide a certificate of employment with real amounts of wages. Guests should also have money for expenses with them - about 1-2 thousand dollars.
If you invite friends, it is worth remembering that Canadians are not legally responsible for the invitees, they only provide reliable information about themselves and the guests. When writing a letter, it is necessary to indicate whether the person is invited to his home, where he will be provided with accommodation and meals, or the guest will live in a hotel and eat at his own expense.
This is what a sample invitation to Canada looks like.
How to apply for a visa to Canada by invitation
An invitation letter is sent directly to the person expected to visit. But sending it is just the beginning of the process. The invitee with a letter is sent to the consulate at the place of residence, where together with him it is necessary to provide documents for a visa to Canada by invitation.
Here is a list of them:
- Application form IMM5257Е (for applicants for a guest visa). You will also need a questionnaire with information about family members.
- Two photos 3.5x4.5 cm, as for a passport.
- Certified copy of your international passport.
- Financial documents: a certificate of income from work, a bank statement, information about the registration of your own company (if any).
- Trip plan: where and when you are going to travel.
- Copies of other Canadian visas, if any.
- Visa fee payment receipt.
Parents often ask how to get a Canadian visa by invitation for their children. An exit permit is issued in the same way, but each participant in the trip - even for infants - needs a personal passport.
Parents fill in and sign the questionnaires. If the child leaves with one of them, a notarized written consent to leave from the other will be required. If the child is traveling with someone from other relatives, both the father and the mother issue a permit.
Where can I apply for a visa
Visa to Canada by invitation is processed through consular visa centers by appointment. To make an online appointment in Moscow, send an email to [email protected].
Here are the contacts of the Canadian Embassy and Visa Application Centers.
| December | January | February | |
|---|---|---|---|
| Sydney | 17-26 | 19-26 | 19-26 |
| Melbourne | 12-24 | 17-26 | 17-27 |
| Canberra | 11-26 | 13-28 | 13-28 |
| Perth | 15-29 | 17-32 | 17-32 |
| Adelaide | 14-26 | 17-28 | 17-28 |
| Darwin | 25-33 | 25-32 | 25-31 |
Terms of registration, validity and cost of a visa
Consulates issue single-entry visas for six months or multiple-entry visas for 5 or 10 years. The vast majority of Russians get the right to cross the Canadian border multiple times over a decade.
The price of a visa may vary depending on the type of document. Thus, the cost of an ordinary visitor visa (single entry, multiple entry) does not exceed 100 Canadian dollars. It is paid in rubles at the appropriate rate. Add also the payment for VFS GLOBAL Visa Application Center - $ 39.99.
Parental Supervision will cost CAD 550.
A transit visa is provided free of charge.
The embassy does not set any specific deadlines for the passage of documentation. The official website has an average time frame of about 2 weeks. But in fact, a positive answer or a refusal can be given in 7 days or in a month. So if the trip is scheduled for a certain date, it is worth submitting documents well in advance.
What to do in case of refusal
Canadians are picky about guests, so the refusal rate remains quite high: about half of the applicants do not receive the desired permission.
The main reason for many refusals is inaccurate data in the documents or the suspicion that the applicant is thinking about immigration to Canada.
No appeals to the Foreign Ministry are valid. The only thing that can somehow help is going to a Canadian court, but this is expensive and time-consuming.
If the problem is incorrect paperwork or the absence of convincing data indicating your pure intentions, you should once again figure out how to get a visitor visa to Canada, collect a new package of documents and try again.
Conclusion
It is not so easy for citizens of Russia, Ukraine, Belarus and other post-Soviet countries to obtain a visa to Canada. You need to assess your chances in advance and make every effort to convince the migration authorities that you are not going to stay in the Land of the Maple Leaf.
