Visitor Visa (from India - outside of Canada) applicants of October or November 2020
- Thread starter sb0821
- Start date
Travel restriction exemptions for those departing from a country other than the U.S.
Immediate family members of Canadian citizens, persons registered as Indians under the Indian Act and permanent residents
A foreign national who is an immediate family member of a Canadian citizen, person registered as an Indian under the Indian act or permanent resident is exempt from the travel restrictions and permitted to travel to Canada if they have the required documentation for travel.
If the immediate family member of the Canadian citizen, person registered as an Indian or permanent resident’s stay in Canada will be 15 days or longer, they are to be considered to be travelling for a non-discretionary or non-optional purpose. If the foreign national is travelling for less than 15 days, they must be travelling for a non-discretionary or non-optional purpose. Officers should be flexible when processing immediate family members of Canadian citizens, persons registered as Indians and permanent residents of Canada travelling for less than 15 days, if they are travelling for a non-discretionary or non-optional purpose. The Canadian citizen, person registered as an Indian or permanent resident immediate family member may be in Canada or accompanying the foreign national.
Travellers are expected to self-identify to airlines at the point of boarding that they are exempt under this provision by presenting documentation to establish their family member’s Canadian citizenship, status as a person registered as an Indian or permanent resident status, as well as their relationship to that family member.
For more information on the extended family member process, refer to Extended family members departing from the U.S. or countries other than the U.S.
Immediate family member is a child
Where the foreign national is a child, age and dependency determine whether they meet the family member definition under the IRPR as a dependent child, and consequently whether they meet the immediate family member definition of the Orders. However, note that while a foreign national who is an adult child (over the age of 22) of a Canadian citizen, person registered as an Indian under the Indian Act or permanent resident is not an immediate family member, they are an extended family member.
Note: Immediate family members of Canadian citizens, persons registered as Indians or permanent residents do not require any written authorization from IRCC.
Immediate family member is a parent
Where the foreign national is a parent, there is no requirement to establish dependency.
Recommended documentation for travel
Note: Immediate family members of Canadian citizens, persons registered as Indians under the Indian Act or permanent residents do not require any written authorization from IRCC.
Documentation showing their immediate family member’s Canadian citizenship, status as a person registered as an Indian or permanent resident status, such as a
- Canadian passport
- proof of Canadian citizenship such as a citizenship certificate, citizenship card or provincial or territorial birth certificate
- Certificate of Indian Status (status card)
- Temporary Confirmation of Registration Document (TCRD)
- Canadian permanent resident card
- Canadian permanent resident travel document (visa counterfoil)
- visa-exempt foreign passport and IRCC Special Authorization for Canadian Citizens (consult Canadian citizens travelling on a foreign passport)
- marriage certificate or proof of common law status (documents showing a shared address or similar)
- birth certificate
- Confirmation of Permanent Residence (COPR) for the family class (the COPR category under Application Details will be FC) or under the one-year window (coded OYW under Special Program)
- other document(s) supporting an immediate family connection (for example, correspondence from IRCC showing spousal sponsorship in progress or documentation indicating a common residential address)
Hi, Just wanted to ask did your mom received her TRV visa on basis of PHAC approval??
Hi, Did anyone's parents received their TRV approval based on PHAC exemption in March/April 2021??
Hi guys! So I’ve been processing Trv for my parents. They recently gave their biometrics from Dubai. I also submitted PHAC. I have received a PHAC approval letter along with a request for itinerary.
Question: The request for itinerary letter mentions that it is a single entry visa for 90 days and the itinerary is mandating that we book a direct flight to Canada. 1) Is the “direct flight” always the mandate? I don’t see many direct flights. 2) If I ask my parents to travel via PHAC, will their normal TRV still get processed behind the scene?
Any insight would be appreciated! TIA
Question: The request for itinerary letter mentions that it is a single entry visa for 90 days and the itinerary is mandating that we book a direct flight to Canada. 1) Is the “direct flight” always the mandate? I don’t see many direct flights. 2) If I ask my parents to travel via PHAC, will their normal TRV still get processed behind the scene?
Any insight would be appreciated! TIA
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Hey! So I’ve been processing Trv for my parents. They recently gave their biometrics from Dubai. I also submitted PHAC. I have received a PHAC approval letter along with a request for itinerary in CIC portal.
Question: The request or itinerary letter mentions that it is a single entry visa for 90 days and the itinerary is mandating that we book a direct flight to Canada. 1) Is the “direct flight” always the mandate? I don’t see many direct flights. 2) If I ask my parents to travel via PHAC, will their normal TRV still get processed behind the scene?
Any insight would be appreciated! TIA
Unfortunately people seem to be incorrectly applying for PHAC to come to Canada to meet their new grandchild instead of applying for a normal TRV which isn’t the correct use of a PHAC. IRCC seems to be approving the PHAC but requiring biometrics for these cases. PHACs are really for an emergency and not meant for travel over many years so it is a single entry visa. Your parents will need to apply for a regular TRV or supervisa for any future visits.
For other parents of pregnant women please apply for a normal TRV or supervisa. You can then email IRCC for priority processing because parents of PRs and citizens are exempt from travel restrictions.
@canuck78 How does emailing IRCC help if none of the VFS centres in India are open for Biometrics collection? Are you saying that by requesting to IRCC via email they can omit the Biometrics step altogether? Have they done that for anyone? As far as I understand, PHAC is exactly what you need – to be able to skip Biometrics – if you need to visit Canada to care for a pregnant child of yours in either her prenatal or postpartum period?
You’d still have to travel to Dubai or Nepal to do your biometrics and the person I replied to did that already. If applying for PHAC to support your pregnant child IRCC is not waiving biometrics with PHAC so you either wait or go to Nepal or Dubai if you are in India. The email is to flag your application to be processed faster than other TRVs because you meet the travel exemptions.
Congrats, the request for itinerary letter is the last step of this process. There is only 1 direct flight operating between India and Canada right now, which is Delhi to Toronto. Just make sure to book that one. It's okay if you have a domestic leg before that flight in your itinerary, e.g. Mumbai > Delhi > Toronto.
Once you send them your itinerary you should have an approved single-entry TRV (~90 days) in a few days.
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Isn't Biometrics step waived if you get PHAC approval AND a follow-up itinerary request?
No. It is only waived if it says it is waived. Except for a few initial applications all the posted PHAC to be in Canada for the birth of a grandchild without severe medical complications has required parents to do biometrics. After a few people got approved I would assume that IRCC was flooded with applications for PHAC to attend the birth of a grandchild. They seem to have decided to come up with a happy medium with PHAC approval with biometrics. A TRV would actually have been more suitable and likely better for the parents because the visas would be more flexible and often multi-entry. There was a recent example where a daughter was in the ICU in Canada. I recommended they apply for PHAC. Then the biometrics on a PHAC would likely be waived to make it possible for parents to enter Canada as fast as possible.
Can you please clarify where in the PHAC letter it says whether or not Biometrics step is waived? My parent arrived to Canada a few weeks ago after PHAC + travel itinerary letter, followed by single-entry TRV. I'm looking at their PHAC, etc. and there is no mention of Biometrics being waived or not waived anywhere. So as far as I can tell, anyone who has received an itinerary request after PHAC has Biometrics waived? Why would they request an itinerary if they still want Biometrics?