6 month check-in on 2 year Visitor Visa

[cellblocka]

My friend was recently deported by Coutts (Aberta, Canada) Border Patrol for not checking in at the 6 month point on a 2 year visitor visa from Belize, Central America. Her passport was not stamped with any date when she came to Canada, she was not told about this so-called 6 month check in rule, and she was at the 7 month mark when she was forced to leave. I'm hoping someone can point me in the right direction to any Act or Regulation that clarifies this "6 month check in" stipulation. Or if anyone has gone through something similar, I would love to share information.

Thanks very much if you can help.

Annie

 

[scylla]

Visitors are allowed into Canada for six months unless their passports are stamped otherwise. Since her passport was not stamped, she was allowed in for six months and overstayed her visit. Once she was nearing the end of her 6 month visit - she should have applied to either extend her visit from inside of Canada or left Canada and returned to extend her stay. Unfortunately it was her responsibility to know that she was allowed in for a 6 month visit only and it was her responsibility to extend her stay if she wished to remain in Canada longer.

A 2 year visitor visa means that she's allowed to visit during the 2 year validity of the visa. It doesn't mean she is allowed to stay for 2 years (she's only allowed to stay for 6 months unless she extends her visit). I'm assuming she thought a 2 year visa meant she could stay in Canada for 2 years. That's definitely not the case and it was her responsibility to understand the conditions of her visa.

See the following brief for further information: http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/information/applications/guides/5256ETOC.asp

It really sucks that she didn't understand - but there's really nothing to be done here since the mistake was unfortunately entirely on her part.