Extend your stay in Canada: About the document

More people want to immigrate to Canada than we can bring in each year. Applications received after we meet our yearly limit may have to wait longer to be processed.

Learn how processing times are calculated.

About the document: visitor record

When you first come to Canada as a visitor, you use one of these documents to enter:

• a visitor visa (also called a temporary resident visa)
• an electronic travel authorization (eTA)
• a valid passport or travel document

If you want to extend your stay in Canada as a visitor (stay in Canada longer), you need to apply for a visitor record. A visitor record is not a visa.

A visitor record

• is a document that allows you to stay in Canada longer as
  • a visitor
  • a worker authorized to work without a work permit in Canada or
  • a student authorized to study without a study permit in Canada
  • That’s the new date that you must leave Canada by.

  When to apply for a visitor record

  You must apply for a visitor record before your current status expires. If you’re not sure when your status expires, find out how long you can stay in Canada.

  Leaving and returning to Canada

  A visitor record is a document that allows you to stay in Canada longer. It doesn’t guarantee that you can leave and then re-enter Canada.

  If you plan to travel outside Canada or the United States, you need a valid entry document, such as a visitor visa or an eTA, to return to Canada.

  Image of a visitor visa

  

  Image of a visitor record

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  How long you can stay?

  Most visitors can stay in Canada for up to 6 months.

  If your passport was stamped when you entered Canada, you need to leave by the date stamped in your passport. If you received a visitor record, you need to leave Canada by the expiry date listed on the visitor record.

  If your passport wasn’t stamped and you used a primary inspection kiosk, you can only stay in Canada

  • for up to 6 months from the day you initially entered the country, or
  • until your passport expires, whichever comes first.