Help in applying for TRV for March 2025 from India

[geraltofrivia]

Hi community members,
Greetings.

I am an Indian planning to apply for TRV for March soon. I'm been lurking over reddit and Quora for weeks to get adequate information before applying for TRV to increase my chances for Travel Visa. I found this community today and have been reading a lot of posts. After all this data, I'm still confused as there are different answers and reasoning to some questions
( which can be acceptable ) but the answers are exactly opposite. for eg : Proof of funds, duration of stay. After long thought, I thought to create this thread.

I'll start with my dates, background, purpose, reasoning to return back to India, Proof of funds, plan, followed by my questions and ending it with the conflicting answers I have received.

Dates: Initially, I planned a 7 days trip from March 8th to March 14th but I was being told that it's too less for such a hassle so I'm planning to extend it to 15 days from March 8th to 23rd. I'll be utilizing my remaining leaves which will be ending on 31st March anyways. My employer have no problem as long as the trip doesn't extend 15 days as after that they would like to have me work from there or apply for unpaid leave for the rest of the days. ( I'll be having 20 leaves in march out of which 10 will be expiring, rest will be carry forwarded )

Background: I work in CyberSecurity Domain with a top MNC in India while only dealing with US clients as my role is of Solution Designer for Zero-trust network. My previous employer was also a US firm having office in India. ( Zscaler ). I'm receiving a decent paycheck from my employer. My father is working as Lab technologist in a private hospital and leading the department, mom is home-maker. My sister is just starting college this month. Dad earns decent to get going but for major expenses my family will be dependent on me. No one from my family or even in distant family lives in Canada. My grandmother lives with my parents and totally dependent on us. I don't live with my family due to job and live in Delhi.

Purpose of Visit: Honestly speaking, I had a plan with my friend who's in Canada to enjoy the end of Canadian winters ( coming from hot region, I didn't wanted to to end up feeling totally out of climate ) We planned b/w Feb as she will be free in that time period. But, I've thought that I should give her a surprise on her birthday ( March ) and visit Canada without letting her know. She had the itenary ready for our trip ( which I'll be asking her soon as to apply for VISA )
I'll definitely update the itenary here once I'll have that. The itenary will be point to point with day by day details as I like to keep things in check and pre-plan everything to avoid last minute hassle.
TLR; Surprising friend on her birthday while already following over pre-planned tour.

Reason to return: As mentioned above, my family is not totally independent and relies on me for major expenses. I have a decent job here. I'm in middle of some huge projects so extending my stay is also out of question as I'll be leading the designs and my employer would not want the project to be delayed as client is US based and major healthcare one.

Proof of funds: I'll be having a total Net Worth of around 24kCAD (1.5million INR) but the problem is I don't like to keep liquid money ( cash, account balance) and invest the money as soon as I receive the paycheck. Out of this, I've 2.5kCAD (150k INR) in liquid which I'm planning to keep till 4kCAD ( 250k INR) as of now to keep it constant. Rest are in stocks, funds which can be redeemed in T day without any conditions. Apart from that, I've approx 4k CAD in retirement funds ( non-redeemable so I'll refrain to mention ).
In addition to this, I've credit limit of 40.5K CAD ( 2.5million INR ) on my credit cards out of which 2 are American Express and one is charge card with no limit.

Additional Note: I'll be booking the flights and hotels in advance using my credit cards for the stay before applying for the VISA. My Amex rewards points over the year in collaboration with Marriot can totally sponsor my one way flight and hotels for 10 days. I'll be booking round trip though using my credit card before applying for VISA to show as itenary. I'm also believing since my flight and hotels are cut from the expenses that'll help me keep the Proof of funds requirements down.
I'm planning to provide a detailed letter stating how much I think I'll be spending in Canada on food, travel, sight seeing, shopping and thus justifying that I'm carrying twice the amount required as per my expense sheet.
I'm also planning to get a NOC from my employer stating I'm on leave for x amount of days and they don't have any problem with that and totally trust me to join back on Y date to continue on project. Will include the timeline, I'm working on it.
Attach leave approval letter with HR stamp.

Questions:
1. Should I keep my trip duration to 15 days or lessen it to 7 depending upon the purpose of visit stated?
2. Is it bad idea to disclose that I'll be meeting my friend during my stay in Canada ?
3. I've few friends in Canada who can issue me a invitation, is it good to have one ?
4. My travel should be limited to one province or city or I can extend it ? as time is max 15 days but preferably under 10
5. I don't have property on my name, will that affect my reason to return ?
6. Can I use stocks, mutual funds 'n other investments as POF or it needs to be liquid only ?
7. If no, what should be the minimum amount I should carry and can fd be used ?
8. Will it matter and change the requirement for POF if my tickets and hotels are booked earlier ?
9. Can I stay at my friend place for one day ? Stupid question but can I disclose it that I'll be staying one day there ?

Conflicting answers:
Over the course of reddit and quora, I've gotten different answers on topics including
1. Whether I should disclose that I'm meeting a friend ( girl )
2. Mutual funds can be used or not
3. Minimum amount for POF
4. Credit limit can be used or not
5. Booking flight tickets in advance or not
6. Getting a invitation or not as it may hamper chances.
7. Travel duration.

Thanks for reading, I'll be very thankful to you for this.


Lastly, I've noticed the most comments from @Naturgrl in whatever limited posts I've seen. I would love to have their response on this as well.

Thanks a lot, Community.

 

[Ghooriha]

Hi,
We are not IRCC and in the end, an officer would review your case; So these are all just suggestions.

First of all, usually, the Canadian visitor visa is valid until the end of your passport. As the processing time from India is not long, I suggest applying as early as possible and getting feedback from the officer. If they need additional documents, they will ask for them, and in the worst case, if you got rejected, you still have time to gather more documents, address the officer's concerns, and re-apply.

To answer your questions:
1. I don't think that matters. Be honest with your plan If you want to stay for 7 days, stick to your plan honestly.
2. I don't think it's a bad idea to mention that.
3. If you are going to visit your friends, and you have strong connections with them (talk regularly or something), I think having an invitation helps. But it's not a necessary document.
4. You can visit multiple cities while you are in Canada. You can also mention that in your itinerary plan. Be honest
5. You have a permanent job with a good income and some savings. Not a lot of people have a property under their name. I think it shows stronger ties and financial situation, but of course, it's not necessary.
6. For getting a UK and Australian visa, I've shown stocks as a POF; my reasoning is it should be ok but not sure.
8. Do not book any flight or accommodation in advance. You never know what would happen. Your visa can get rejected; a pandemic could happen or even a war; we've all seen those things in the last year.
Having a flight or hotel is not necessary to obtain a visa.
9. Yes you can stay there. I think if you are staying with him/her, it's good to have an invitation from him/her. Maybe skipping mentioning that and staying in a hotel for that night would make it easier for the officer to evaluate your case.

Good luck with your case

 

[geraltofrivia]

Hi,
We are not IRCC and in the end, an officer would review your case; So these are all just suggestions.

First of all, usually, the Canadian visitor visa is valid until the end of your passport. As the processing time from India is not long, I suggest applying as early as possible and getting feedback from the officer. If they need additional documents, they will ask for them, and in the worst case, if you got rejected, you still have time to gather more documents, address the officer's concerns, and re-apply.

To answer your questions:
1. I don't think that matters. Be honest with your plan If you want to stay for 7 days, stick to your plan honestly.
2. I don't think it's a bad idea to mention that.
3. If you are going to visit your friends, and you have strong connections with them (talk regularly or something), I think having an invitation helps. But it's not a necessary document.
4. You can visit multiple cities while you are in Canada. You can also mention that in your itinerary plan. Be honest
5. You have a permanent job with a good income and some savings. Not a lot of people have a property under their name. I think it shows stronger ties and financial situation, but of course, it's not necessary.
6. For getting a UK and Australian visa, I've shown stocks as a POF; my reasoning is it should be ok but not sure.
8. Do not book any flight or accommodation in advance. You never know what would happen. Your visa can get rejected; a pandemic could happen or even a war; we've all seen those things in the last year.
Having a flight or hotel is not necessary to obtain a visa.
9. Yes you can stay there. I think if you are staying with him/her, it's good to have an invitation from him/her. Maybe skipping mentioning that and staying in a hotel for that night would make it easier for the officer to evaluate your case.

Good luck with your case

Hi,
Thanks a lot for your prompt response. I'll apply soon probably next month.

Great, I'll keep my trip short and stick to my original plan 'n disclose my plan to meet friend. If invitation helps, I can easily get that. This all information helped a lot,
I was planning to book tickets so I can prove that I'll be returning back to India and have return ticket. Thanks for the valuable information.

 

[cansha]

Hi community members,
Greetings.

I am an Indian planning to apply for TRV for March soon. I'm been lurking over reddit and Quora for weeks to get adequate information before applying for TRV to increase my chances for Travel Visa. I found this community today and have been reading a lot of posts. After all this data, I'm still confused as there are different answers and reasoning to some questions
( which can be acceptable ) but the answers are exactly opposite. for eg : Proof of funds, duration of stay. After long thought, I thought to create this thread.

I'll start with my dates, background, purpose, reasoning to return back to India, Proof of funds, plan, followed by my questions and ending it with the conflicting answers I have received.

Dates: Initially, I planned a 7 days trip from March 8th to March 14th but I was being told that it's too less for such a hassle so I'm planning to extend it to 15 days from March 8th to 23rd. I'll be utilizing my remaining leaves which will be ending on 31st March anyways. My employer have no problem as long as the trip doesn't extend 15 days as after that they would like to have me work from there or apply for unpaid leave for the rest of the days. ( I'll be having 20 leaves in march out of which 10 will be expiring, rest will be carry forwarded )

Background: I work in CyberSecurity Domain with a top MNC in India while only dealing with US clients as my role is of Solution Designer for Zero-trust network. My previous employer was also a US firm having office in India. ( Zscaler ). I'm receiving a decent paycheck from my employer. My father is working as Lab technologist in a private hospital and leading the department, mom is home-maker. My sister is just starting college this month. Dad earns decent to get going but for major expenses my family will be dependent on me. No one from my family or even in distant family lives in Canada. My grandmother lives with my parents and totally dependent on us. I don't live with my family due to job and live in Delhi.

Purpose of Visit: Honestly speaking, I had a plan with my friend who's in Canada to enjoy the end of Canadian winters ( coming from hot region, I didn't wanted to to end up feeling totally out of climate ) We planned b/w Feb as she will be free in that time period. But, I've thought that I should give her a surprise on her birthday ( March ) and visit Canada without letting her know. She had the itenary ready for our trip ( which I'll be asking her soon as to apply for VISA )
I'll definitely update the itenary here once I'll have that. The itenary will be point to point with day by day details as I like to keep things in check and pre-plan everything to avoid last minute hassle.
TLR; Surprising friend on her birthday while already following over pre-planned tour.

Reason to return: As mentioned above, my family is not totally independent and relies on me for major expenses. I have a decent job here. I'm in middle of some huge projects so extending my stay is also out of question as I'll be leading the designs and my employer would not want the project to be delayed as client is US based and major healthcare one.

Proof of funds: I'll be having a total Net Worth of around 24kCAD (1.5million INR) but the problem is I don't like to keep liquid money ( cash, account balance) and invest the money as soon as I receive the paycheck. Out of this, I've 2.5kCAD (150k INR) in liquid which I'm planning to keep till 4kCAD ( 250k INR) as of now to keep it constant. Rest are in stocks, funds which can be redeemed in T day without any conditions. Apart from that, I've approx 4k CAD in retirement funds ( non-redeemable so I'll refrain to mention ).
In addition to this, I've credit limit of 40.5K CAD ( 2.5million INR ) on my credit cards out of which 2 are American Express and one is charge card with no limit.

Additional Note: I'll be booking the flights and hotels in advance using my credit cards for the stay before applying for the VISA. My Amex rewards points over the year in collaboration with Marriot can totally sponsor my one way flight and hotels for 10 days. I'll be booking round trip though using my credit card before applying for VISA to show as itenary. I'm also believing since my flight and hotels are cut from the expenses that'll help me keep the Proof of funds requirements down.
I'm planning to provide a detailed letter stating how much I think I'll be spending in Canada on food, travel, sight seeing, shopping and thus justifying that I'm carrying twice the amount required as per my expense sheet.
I'm also planning to get a NOC from my employer stating I'm on leave for x amount of days and they don't have any problem with that and totally trust me to join back on Y date to continue on project. Will include the timeline, I'm working on it.
Attach leave approval letter with HR stamp.

Questions:
1. Should I keep my trip duration to 15 days or lessen it to 7 depending upon the purpose of visit stated?
2. Is it bad idea to disclose that I'll be meeting my friend during my stay in Canada ?
3. I've few friends in Canada who can issue me a invitation, is it good to have one ?
4. My travel should be limited to one province or city or I can extend it ? as time is max 15 days but preferably under 10
5. I don't have property on my name, will that affect my reason to return ?
6. Can I use stocks, mutual funds 'n other investments as POF or it needs to be liquid only ?
7. If no, what should be the minimum amount I should carry and can fd be used ?
8. Will it matter and change the requirement for POF if my tickets and hotels are booked earlier ?
9. Can I stay at my friend place for one day ? Stupid question but can I disclose it that I'll be staying one day there ?

Conflicting answers:
Over the course of reddit and quora, I've gotten different answers on topics including
1. Whether I should disclose that I'm meeting a friend ( girl )
2. Mutual funds can be used or not
3. Minimum amount for POF
4. Credit limit can be used or not
5. Booking flight tickets in advance or not
6. Getting a invitation or not as it may hamper chances.
7. Travel duration.

Thanks for reading, I'll be very thankful to you for this.


Lastly, I've noticed the most comments from @Naturgrl in whatever limited posts I've seen. I would love to have their response on this as well.

Thanks a lot, Community.

1. Doesn't matter much
2. Doesn't matter
3. Invitation is not required and it doesn't help your application as much as it is made out to be
4. You can visit as many cities as you like. Just make sure your POF consider the travel cost within Canada. For example if you are flying between Toronto and Vancouver just check flight prices
5. May be but a good job is good enough reason
6. Yes. It doesn't have to be all liquid money but do a simple calculation ... Flight tickets + Hotel costs + transport + food + visitor insurance and make sure your liquid money is well above this amount atleast
7. See above
8. Don't book any tickets
9. You can stay at friends but for the purpose of calculating POF assume you will stay at a hotel for duration of your stay.

 

[geraltofrivia]

1. Doesn't matter much
2. Doesn't matter
3. Invitation is not required and it doesn't help your application as much as it is made out to be
4. You can visit as many cities as you like. Just make sure your POF consider the travel cost within Canada. For example if you are flying between Toronto and Vancouver just check flight prices
5. May be but a good job is good enough reason
6. Yes. It doesn't have to be all liquid money but do a simple calculation ... Flight tickets + Hotel costs + transport + food + visitor insurance and make sure your liquid money is well above this amount atleast
7. See above
8. Don't book any tickets
9. You can stay at friends but for the purpose of calculating POF assume you will stay at a hotel for duration of your stay.

Thanks for your reply.
4. I wanted to confirm as if it'll create suspicion because of short travel time. I'll make sure to check the travel costs b/w the cities/states I'll be visiting.
6,7,8 -> Thanks for the confirmation that non-liquid can be used. I was planning to take twice the liquid of ( food, transport, insurance 'n somewhat stay ) as I was planning to book flight tickets in advance and hotel for 3-4 days as well due to this :
https://www.canada.ca/en/immigration-refugees-citizenship/services/visit-canada/apply-visitor-visa.html I read on reddit and then followed this link where under itenary, it's mentioned to include flight details ( its not mentioned to book but to include flight details ) also its recommended documents.

So, This is the reason I was looking for flight but as you and other user pointed out, I think its not recommended to do so and will not effect situation at all.