Before traveling to Canada, travel documents, including passports, must be valid for at least six months after the planned arrival date. Transportation companies, such as airlines, will check for the proper travel documents when entering Canada and may delay or deny passenger boarding if required documents are not submitted. As of March 2010, immigration regulations prohibit Somali passports; Czech Republic passports that are not machine readable, Republic of South Africa temporary passports and Venezuelan provisional passports. The list is subject to change, and the Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC) website regularly updates it.
Depending on the traveler's citizenship, a Temporary Resident Visa may be required to visit Canada. The CIC website lists countries requiring visas to enter the country. Those who need visas should obtain a Temporary Resident Visa application package, which can be downloaded. The completed the application form, passports, photos, proof of funds, return ticket and other supporting papers such as letters of invitation from friends or relatives in Canada, certificate of employment in country of origin, identification cards and proposed itinerary must be submitted together.
Canada requires a nonrefundable processing fee when applying for a travel visa to visit the country. As of March 2010, the fee per person is $75 for a single entry visa and $150 for a multiple-entry visa. Families traveling as a group may pay $400 for single or multiple entry visas. For more information, about how to pay the fees, travelers should consult their local Canadian embassy office. Canada usually deposits payments in a designated banks with a CIC account. Postal money orders payable to CIC also are accepted with the application forms. Receipt of the payment must be included in the visa application package and mailed to the embassy for evaluation.
Some visitors must undergo medical examinations before entering Canada. In these cases, a Canadian immigration officer will send instructions as well as an additional form and list of certified clinics to visit for the medical test. Upon receipt of the medical request form, visa applicants must undergo the examination within 30 days or the document will be invalid. A request for medical exam can add more than three months to the normal processing time of visa applications.
