According to wholevehicles.com, citizens of Russia to visit Canada require a visa, which must be applied for at the Canada Visa Application Center in Moscow, St. Petersburg or Vladivostok. Note that Canada has long and not without reason been considered one of the most disloyal countries to tourists – the probability of obtaining a visa is up to 50%, and in the case of a positive response, processing is delayed for months. It is easy to guess that the list of documents is extensive and intricate, and in the process of making a decision, additional papers are often requested. However, the embassy sweetens the pill with its willingness to issue multiple visas “once”. However, we recommend that you take out travel insurance.
Tourist visa to Canada: general information
| Do they give multivisa? | given for several years |
| Term of receipt | from 10 working days; but in fact – about a month |
| Validity limit | 6 months from the end of the trip |
- The cost of a regular visa: 100C$
- Express visa: —
- Visa fees: 37.95C$
Visa types
- Temporary resident visa. Suitable for tourism, guest visits, study, business trips, transit (possible within 48 hours). The document gives the right to stay in the country for 6 months. You can’t get a job with him, but you can take a short-term training. It happens once and multiple times.
- Study/Work Permit – Requested for official employment in Canada, study at a local university or school. A visa is issued only if there is an invitation from the employer or educational institution.
Applying for a visa yourself
Without the help of intermediaries, a visa can be obtained through the official website of the Government of Canada, which requires a confident knowledge of the English language, concentration and utmost attention.
After registering on the portal, you need to enter your personal account and go through a questionnaire that determines the type of permission and the list of required papers. Then download and fill out the questionnaires, scan the previously prepared documents (they must be translated into English or French, and also certified by the signature of a translator or bureau) and upload all this to the site, each file to its own folder. Then pay the consular fee and biometrics.
After the letter of invitation for fingerprinting arrives, you must appear at the Canada Visa Application Center, and then wait for the final response on the application. Often a consular officer asks for additional documents. Having received a letter of approval, the applicant visits the EC again to hand over his passport for visa stamping. You can then pick it up yourself or order delivery by courier for a fee.
Another option is to completely entrust the visa processing to the visa center. To do this, you need to bring there a full package of documents, the original passport and 2 photographs. Visa and service fees are paid locally. After passing the biometrics and submitting documents, the applicant is assigned a unique number to track readiness through the site.
Canada visa documents
Required documents for obtaining a tourist visa:
- Questionnaire
forms IMM5257 and IMM5707;
- Copies of the international passport
Copies of all non-blank pages of a valid / expired passport (valid for at least 6 months after return);
- Photo
digital photo (see requirements below);
- Travel history
For the last 10 years: all visas and stamps from valid / canceled passports, you can also add scans of tickets / boarding passes if they are preserved;
- Documents demonstrating a strong connection with Russia and the intention to return to their homeland
Certificates of ownership / business, for students and schoolchildren – certificates from the place of study;
- Evidence of financial solvency
Certificate of employment indicating salary, position, length of service, vacation dates; bank statements showing the movement of funds over the past few months; a sponsorship letter with information about the financial solvency of the sponsor with supporting certificates;
- Route
A letter in free form with a detailed description of the purpose of the trip and an approximate route;
- Additional Documents to Increase Your Chances of Getting Approved
Travel insurance with coverage of at least 40,000 USD for the entire period of the trip, hotel reservations and plane tickets (unpaid are also suitable);
- Invitation from a friend/relative
With detailed information about the inviting and invited parties, as well as evidence of family / friendly ties – for example, joint photos;
- business trip
An invitation from a business partner/organization;
All papers must be translated into English or French and certified by the signature of the translator or bureau.
If there is additional information that will help increase the likelihood of a positive decision, then you need to provide them.
biometric data
Data is collected once every 10 years. The procedure takes place at the Canada Visa Application Centers, even if the entry permit is requested online. Children under 14, persons over 79, and U.S. visa holders who need to transit through Canada are exempt from biometrics.
Visa processing for children
If a minor travels to Canada unaccompanied by parents / guardians (or the application is submitted at different times with them), he provides a package of documents for a visa on a general basis and pays the full cost of the visa and service fees. If the applicant is under 16 years old, then when applying online, the parent / guardian registers under his own name, but fills out the questionnaire sheet for the child and uploads his documents.
The visa officer must be sure that the minor will return to his homeland, therefore evidence of the financial solvency of his official representatives is important. Additionally, in the case of traveling without their accompaniment / accompanied by one of them, a notarized consent to travel with a translation into English or French is required.
Photo Requirements
When submitting documents online, a digital photo from 60 to 240 Kb in size with a resolution of at least 240×320 pixels is uploaded to the site. The face image occupies 70-80% of the image and is located in the center. The maximum photo age is 6 months, the background is white or light, the dimensions are 35×45 mm. The distance from the crown to the chin is 31-36 mm. The picture is taken full face with the upper part of the shoulders. You can be photographed in a wig, a headdress (if required by religion) and tinted (but not sunglasses) glasses, but on condition that facial features are clearly visible.
Fees
Consular fee – 100 CAD (5000 RUB). The service fee of the visa application center for processing the application is 37.95 CAD (1897 RUB). Biometrics – 85 CAD (4250 RUB), this also includes the service fee of the EC, if a visa is made through it. Timely and safe delivery of a passport to the Embassy of Canada for visa stamping – 34.09 CAD (1704 RUB). This service is paid for by applicants who applied for a visa online. All payments are made in rubles. The prices on the page are for February 2022.
Valid term of a visa
A temporary resident visa is issued for 5 or 10 years (or until the expiration date of the passport) with a permitted stay of 180 days and the right of multiple entry and exit. However, they can also give a one-time permit – everything is at the discretion of the visa officer.
If you have an American / British visa (valid or canceled), the chance of obtaining a Canadian one is significantly increased.
Dates of issuance
Citizens of the Russian Federation expect a decision on average 22 days according to information from the office. Government of Canada website. This does not include the delivery of a passport from the visa application center to the visa and immigration department of the embassy, as well as the time spent by the applicant for the submission of biometric data. Everything is strictly individual: someone waits for 5 months, especially when requesting additional documents, and someone is given a couple of weeks. They rarely call for an interview, especially if the purpose of the trip is tourism.
