Maximize Your Canadian Experience: How to Extend Your Stay

Secure your appointment for biometrics collection in a timely manner to avoid any processing delays.

If you fail to book an appointment by the deadline indicated in your biometric instruction letter, you might be eligible for temporary measures to assist you.

In most cases, extending your stay as a visitor requires you to apply online to obtain a visitor record.

Online Application

Applying online facilitates instant access to your application speeding up the processing of your application. No need to resubmit your application if you already applied on paper.

Benefits of Applying Online

No courier fees or delivery delays involved making us receive your application instantly. Application processing may be quicker and easier, and you can ensure that your application is complete before submitting it. Swift submission of additional documents online when required. You get instant updates on the status of your application in your online account. To apply online, you must have access to:

a scanner or camera to produce electronic copies of your documents, and a valid credit or debit card. Step 2: Instruction Guide Even when you apply online, reading the instruction guide before filling out your application is necessary. The guide will provide you with explanations on how to fill out each field on the form.

If your passport's expiry date has passed and you plan to extend your stay in Canada as a temporary resident, apply for a visitor visa, or work permit, follow these steps:

Extend the printed expiry date shown in your passport by adding 5 years and entering it into the expiry date field of the application form. Add a letter of explanation to your application stating: "I am a Venezuelan national with a Venezuelan passport that has been extended for five (5) years." Note: If your passport still remains expired, adding five (5) years to the printed expiry date is useless. It is considered expired, and you are not permitted to submit an application with that passport.

Before you can upload your forms, you must answer specific questions. We will utilize your answers to establish a personalized document checklist for you. To apply for a visitor record, answer the following through our online tool:

For the first question "What would you like to do in Canada?," choose "Visit." When asked, "What is your current country/territory of residence?," select "Canada." Step 4: Creating an online account or signing in An account is required to apply online. You can utilize your account to:

pay your fees submit your application check your application status. Creating an account or signing in In the circumstances outlined below, you may submit a paper application:

If you are experiencing difficulties with online application due to your disability, alternative methods are available. Please refer to the resource on applying online with accommodations.

For online transactions, we accept credit cards and prepaid cards issued by Visa®, MasterCard®, American Express®, JCB®, and UnionPay®. However, debit cards are not accepted. In the event you are using a prepaid credit card, it is recommended to keep the card for at least 18 months from the date of purchase to facilitate refunds. For more information regarding prepaid cards, check out this resource.

We welcome all Visa Debit cards, including those issued under a different cardholder name. To process your payment, the card must be registered through the Canadian bank's INTERAC® Online banking service. Additionally, we accept all Debit MasterCard® and Visa® Debit cards. If you have a card bearing both the Visa Debit and INTERAC® Online logos, choose Visa Debit as your payment option.

If you encounter any issues or errors throughout this process, please do not hesitate to contact us. Note that we are unable to respond to direct inquiries made via our online feedback form.

Last updated: April 19, 2023.