Appropriate length of the first visit to Canada?

[ChrisC]

Browsing these forums, I've seen a lot of rejections explained by the proposed visit being inappropriately long, say 2 months or more. This seems to be particularly applicable to people visiting Canada for the first time.

For tourists with a flexible time frame, how long (in days) should their first visit to Canada be so as to not look inappropriate/suspicious?

 

[scylla]

Browsing these forums, I've seen a lot of rejections explained by the proposed visit being inappropriately long, say 2 months or more. This seems to be particularly applicable to people visiting Canada for the first time.

For tourists with a flexible time frame, how long (in days) should their first visit to Canada be so as to not look inappropriate/suspicious?

2-3 weeks.

 

[ChrisC]

2-3 weeks.

Hmm... I swear I saw on this forum one poster who got rejected after applying for two weeks, with the community citing two weeks as suspiciously long for a first timer. I don't have the link to the exact comment though.

How short a trip would be too short for a first timer?

 

[Bryanna]

How short a trip would be too short for a first timer?

Unfortunately, going by your previous posts, you've been focusing on hypothetical scenarios. Every application is unique. What may work for X, may not work for Y.

You may want to focus instead on preparing your application instead

 

[ChrisC]

You may want to focus instead on preparing your application instead

I am. It's become clear to me that one of the most consequential decisions when applying is to schedule an appropriate duration for the trip. Hence, this thread.

you've been focusing on hypothetical scenarios

I'm not focusing on hypothetical scenarios, I'm focusing on people's experiences with rejection and how to learn from them. Funnily enough, your comments were some of the ones that inspired me to make this thread.

https://www.canadavisa.com/canada-immigration-discussion-board/threads/please-help-me-my-in-laws-visa-refusal.438401/#post-5328046
https://www.canadavisa.com/canada-immigration-discussion-board/threads/chances-for-getting-visitor-visa-for-pakistani-student-in-germany.389047/#post-4836472
https://www.canadavisa.com/canada-immigration-discussion-board/threads/docs-multiple-entry-visa.443927/#post-5375620
https://www.canadavisa.com/canada-immigration-discussion-board/threads/supervisa-please-advise.506824/page-2#post-6229527\
https://www.canadavisa.com/canada-immigration-discussion-board/threads/trv-refused-from-abu-dhabi-vis-office.524507/page-2#post-6455229

It's evident that even across a broad set of applicants with diverse circumstances, two months is universally seen as inappropriately long a duration for their trip. At the very least, this establishes that there is a window of acceptable duration for a TRV (of 2-3 weeks), and two months falls outside of this range of acceptability. What I seek to learn from this thread is the lower limit of this window. Would a trip of a week/7 days be considered unacceptably short for a first timer?

 

[Bryanna]

I am. It's become clear to me that one of the most consequential decisions when applying is to schedule an appropriate duration for the trip. Hence, this thread.

It seems like you're working on a visa research thesis, rather than a straightforward visa application

My advice to you:
You know the specifications of your situation + why you want to visit + how long you want to visit. So, put your application together along these lines.... and apply. Don't dither. Just go for it!

I'm not focusing on hypothetical scenarios, I'm focusing on people's experiences with rejection and how to learn from them. Funnily enough, your comments were some of the ones that inspired me to make this thread.

No one has the perfect visa application. Every single application is unique. Consider it to be unique like fingerprints.

You can only mitigate the risks.... you may want to take the tried-and-tested route.... but eventually, the visa approval would depend on the assessment made by the visa officer (and a little bit of luck + maybe the weather)

It's evident that even across a broad set of applicants with diverse circumstances, two months is universally seen as inappropriately long a duration for their trip. At the very least, this establishes that there is a window of acceptable duration for a TRV (of 2-3 weeks), and two months falls outside of this range of acceptability. What I seek to learn from this thread is the lower limit of this window.

Again, what may work for someone else may not work for you.

A 2-months' visit may work for some applicants. There's no hard-and-fast rule. We repeatedly advise a visit of 3-4 weeks to project stronger employment/other ties + to avoid being considered as a potential over stayer.

Would a trip of a week/7 days be considered unacceptably short for a first timer?

What is the real purpose of your visit?

 

[bellaluna]

What I seek to learn from this thread is the lower limit of this window. Would a trip of a week/7 days be considered unacceptably short for a first timer?

Someone could always apply for a single-day trip to Canada, in the scenario that he/she is primarily visiting the United States.

Again, as Bryanna has been saying, these applications are not regarded in a vacuum. Those of us on this forum can conclude some general tendencies and make suggestions/guidelines based on them, but in the end, the visa officer will assess an individual case based on the details...most of which people understandably don't want to disclose on a public forum.

 

[ChrisC]

You can only mitigate the risks

Which is what I seek to do by calibrating the duration of my visit. From your comments I linked earlier, you've noted a trip too long indicates a lack of ties to India and potential to overstay. My reasoning is: a short trip should indicate the opposite: a strong tie to India and an intent to return quickly.

you may want to take the tried-and-tested route.

Could you expand more on this?

What is the real purpose of your visit?

I'm a one-at-a-time person, meaning I'll be visiting only one city during my first stay in Canada. Since I'd still like to visit other places down the line, I'm hoping for a Multiple Entry Visa, but I'll still be thankful for a Singly entry visa. Other than that, I'm flexible on all other parameters of the trip. How short a trip would be too short for visiting one city? Would a stay of 5-7 days be ideal?

On a side-note, would you have any advice on getting Multiple Entry Visas?

 

[Bryanna]

Could you expand more on this?

I've done my share of research for my academics. I'm not going to get into hypothetical scenarios and thesis-type answers here.

How short a trip would be too short for visiting one city? Would a stay of 5-7 days be ideal?

If you want us to help, you'd need to list the facts here:
1. What is the real purpose of your visit? It's coming across as non-typical of either a tourist or a business visitor or a family visitor.

2. What strong ties can you demonstrate? How about your financial situation? Family ties? Property or land ownership?

On a side-note, would you have any advice on getting Multiple Entry Visas?

It's for the visa officer who assesses your case to decide whether of not to issue a MEV to you, and if yes, then for how long

 

[ChrisC]

Every single application is unique. Consider it to be unique like fingerprints.

You can only mitigate the risks.... you may want to take the tried-and-tested route.

It's curious that you said "Every single application is unique. Consider it to be unique like fingerprints." and in the same breath added: "you may want to take the tried-and-tested route". The two look mutually exclusive; how can there be a tried and tested route when every application is unique?

1. What is the real purpose of your visit? It's coming across as non-typical of either a tourist or a business visitor or a family visitor.

I'm certainly not a family visitor, just a tourist who wants to write about the experience. I suppose what's atypical of me is that I'm not confident enough in my navigation skills to travel internally in Canada on my first trip . I'd reserve that for subsequent visits.

2. What strong ties can you demonstrate? How about your financial situation? Family ties? Property or land ownership?

No family in Canada, just my father here. I own my residence, worth 1Cr. You have already assessed my case in previous threads and concluded I have little chance as a first timer. The one aspect I hadn't touched on previously is the duration of my trip, which plays a significant role in the outcome of an application. With my parameters in mind, what would be the ideal length of my proposed trip? Would one week be suitable to convince them my ties to India are strong?

 

[Bryanna]

It's curious that you said "Every single application is unique. Consider it to be unique like fingerprints." and in the same breath added: "you may want to take the tried-and-tested route". The two look mutually exclusive; how can there be a tried and tested route when every application is unique?

Nevermind.

I'm certainly not a family visitor, just a tourist who wants to write about the experience. I suppose what's atypical of me is that I'm not confident enough in my navigation skills to travel internally in Canada on my first trip . I'd reserve that for subsequent visits.

If this is your first visit outside your hometown (for example), you may want to explore cities/regions/countries closer home to build up your confidence before traveling to Canada.

It still doesn't make sense:
Why do you want to visit Canada? But then that's something you'll need to explain in your application.

No family in Canada, just my father here. I own my residence, worth 1Cr. You have already assessed my case in previous threads and concluded I have little chance as a first timer. The one aspect I hadn't touched on previously is the duration of my trip, which plays a significant role in the outcome of an application. With my parameters in mind, what would be the ideal length of my proposed trip? Would one week be suitable to convince them my ties to India are strong?

Like I had mentioned earlier, IMO, your chances of approval are low unless your personal, professional and financial situations change from a visa perspective. *Fixing* the length of your visit won't be the *miracle fix*

 

[bellaluna]

OP, instead of picking nits or arguing over something you already have your mind made up on, just go ahead and apply with what you think will work: a one week duration.

 

[ChrisC]

OP, instead of picking nits or arguing over something you already have your mind made up on,

I have not made my mind up on it yet, one week was just an example of a duration that hasn't been discussed in previous threads. I just realized I had not worded the question I had wanted to ask all along: Is there any way a short trip can be interpreted negatively and harm the application? (in the way that proposed trips being too long can indicate weak ties and potential to overstay)

 

[bellaluna]

I have not made my mind up on it yet, one week was just an example of a duration that hasn't been discussed in previous threads. I just realized I had not worded the question I had wanted to ask all along: Is there any way a short trip can be interpreted negatively and harm the application? (in the way that proposed trips being too long can indicate weak ties and potential to overstay)

OK, IMO, a short stay can be perceived negatively when it seems like the applicant isn't sincere in their presentation of the application and is maybe trying to "game" the system to get an approval. This is my totally unprofessional but informed guess, based on some of the cases I have seen around here.

 

[Bryanna]

I have not made my mind up on it yet, one week was just an example of a duration that hasn't been discussed in previous threads. I just realized I had not worded the question I had wanted to ask all along: Is there any way a short trip can be interpreted negatively and harm the application? (in the way that proposed trips being too long can indicate weak ties and potential to overstay)

Several applicants apply for short visits or one week or even less..... business visitors.... someone visiting for an exam/interview/conference.... or even tourists/family visitors who are visiting the US and want to see the Niagara Falls from the Canadian side (for example).

On the contrary, a short 1-week visit may not work for some applicants.... first-time travelers abroad and/or someone who doesn't have adequate financial resources, etc

I suggest you first apply for a visitor visa to either the UK or a Schengen country (pick a country which is perceived as being more generous in issuing visitor visas to Indian passport holders). This would help you to understand how to prepare a visa application + that visa could add to your travel history/visa history/may help for your TRV application later.

TRVs are not easy to obtain. IMO, you are risking a refusal given your personal/professional circumstances. In the end, being super precautious/trying to base your application on what worked for someone else, may not help your case.

The fact you are unable to explain why you want to visit and/or you are ultra-flexible for the duration of your visit seems to indicate you are not a genuine, short-term visitor