what do the dates mentioned on visitor V1 VISA MEAN?

[preetiji]

hello dear members,

the dates on my visitor visa V1 mention : date of issue:26/07/2014 & date of expiry as 24/01/2015, does it mean I can visit canada after 26 july and have to return back before 24 january...or is it that i have to confirm for how many days i can stay there & 24 January is the last day i can enter canada? I am an indian.

 

[Jalex23]

hello dear members,

the dates on my visitor visa V1 mention : date of issue:26/07/2014 & date of expiry as 24/01/2015, does it mean I can visit canada after 26 july and have to return back before 24 january...or is it that i have to confirm for how many days i can stay there & 24 January is the last day i can enter canada? I am an indian.

It means exactly as stated, the date of validity of the visa is from 26072014 to 24012015.

What is a VISA for? It is for ENTERING Canada not for STAYING. Therefore you can ENTER Canada while the Visa is still valid (before expiration date).

 

[preetiji]

Thanks for the informaton...but my question still remains partially unanswered.How do i get to know how long can i stay in canada?Kindly reply...

 

[Jalex23]

Thanks for the informaton...but my question still remains partially unanswered.How do i get to know how long can i stay in canada?Kindly reply...

You didn't ask that...

Anyway.... for this new question the answer is..... ..... ...... ..... you can't know. When You arrive at the point of entry the officer will decide how long you can stay. It can be anywhere from 1 day to 6 months (usually it is 6 months) but there is no way to know in advance.

Any other unasked questions?

 

[preetiji]

Another logical question that comes to my mind is, If i dont know the exact time period i get to stay in canada on my visitor visa,then how do I get my return ticket booked from India in advance? :'(

 

[lellen]

Yeah it does seem kind of weird that you don't know in advance how long the Visa allows you to stay for. My US Visa is valid for 10 years (or 5? I don't remember), but it says ON the Visa that I am only allowed in for three months at a time. Maybe someone else knows better, I've never had a "visitors" Visa to Canada before.

 

[lellen]

You know what, I think you should be allowed to stay in Canada for the entire duration of your Visa if it doesn't state otherwise. That's six months, right? Makes sense.

 

[Jalex23]

Another logical question that comes to my mind is, If i dont know the exact time period i get to stay in canada on my visitor visa,then how do I get my return ticket booked from India in advance? :'(

This varies a lot from case to case. Do you have any reason to believe you will be given a shorter stay than 6 months? If so then plan accordingly.

Having a return ticket will indeed help you to get at least that amount of time, unless there is a reason the officer could think you are not being honest with that ticket. For example if you come and visit a friend for 3 weeks and you show the return ticket in that 3 week gap then that is perfectly fine.

The problem comes with longer stays, for example three months, and you haven't been in Canada before, then questions can get asked. Also if you say 6 months the officer would want to know a lot more before giving the 6 months. And so on...

But short answer is there is not a single country that will guarantee you entry to their country even with a visa, nor that will guarantee you length of stay BEFORE getting to the entry point. It is all on the officer discretion.

You know what, I think you should be allowed to stay in Canada for the entire duration of your Visa if it doesn't state otherwise. That's six months, right? Makes sense.

No. The officer will evaluate him when entering Canada and will give permission accordingly. Most likely, if nothing is fishy, then it will be six months, but nothing guarantees it.

 

[lellen]

Well, assuming that he has no problem at the border or port of entry with the officer, he should be able to stay for the duration of his visa. Don't scare and confuse this guy.

 

[ragluf]

Visa expiry and duration of stay are different.

Visa expiry date is until when the visa is valid to be used to Travel into Canada - enter (single-entry)/re-enter (multiple-entry) the country. At expiry, the visa cannot be used anymore.

Duration of stay is accorded to you at the PoE and identifies until when you are allowed to remain/stay in the country from the date of your entry.

See here:
http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/helpcentre/answer.asp?q=442&t=16
http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/helpcentre/answer.asp?q=209&t=17

As to the question of the OP

Another logical question that comes to my mind is, If i dont know the exact time period i get to stay in canada on my visitor visa,then how do I get my return ticket booked from India in advance?

- There is no specific number of days per visit/per entry indicated on the visitor's visa
- If there are no issues at PoE, the usually duration of stay given is 6months
- Unfortunately, you cannot know in advance the duration of stay (as Jalex23 has already stated), so some visitors play it safe by booking a return ticket for a reasonable period less than 6months, that is refundable, rebookable (at extra cost unfortunately) and adjust travel plans accordingly when the duration of stay is known. Others, play it by chance and book a return ticket 6months from the date they plan to enter Canada.

.../atb

 

[Jalex23]

Well, assuming that he has no problem at the border or port of entry with the officer, he should be able to stay for the duration of his visa.

Well then we come back to the same question at the beginning, "how can he know he will have no problem at POE?"....