Can I Stay in Canada While Waiting for a Visitor Visa, or Must I Leave?

Whether you can remain in Canada while waiting for an immigration decision depends on your current legal status and the type of application you have submitted. Overall, it is not through applying for a visitor visa (Temporary Resident Visa-TRV) in itself that you are allowed to stay in Canada.

If You Are Outside Canada

If you have applied for a Canadian visitor visa from outside Canada, submitting the application alone does not allow you to enter or remain in Canada while waiting for a decision. You must already hold a valid visitor visa, or be visa-exempt (and, if travelling by air, hold a valid eTA) in order to travel to Canada, and final admission is always determined by Canadian border officers. You must wait until the visa is issued and placed in your passport before travelling to Canada.

For air travel, airlines are responsible for ensuring that passengers who require a visa or an eTA hold the appropriate valid travel document before boarding a flight to Canada. Passengers who are required to hold a visitor visa or an eTA must have the appropriate valid travel document before boarding a flight to Canada. Canadian border officers decide on final entry.

If You Are Already in Canada

If you are already in Canada, you may stay only if you hold a valid temporary resident status

Provided you entered Canada as a legal visitor, as a student, or as a worker, you can legally remain in Canada until the date indicated on your entry stamp, visitor record, study permit, or work permit.
In case you apply to extend your temporary status as a resident before its expiry, you can continue to stay in Canada on maintained status (previously referred to as implied status). Maintained status helps you to remain in Canada legally as your application to have your extension processed by Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC).

Maintained status applies only to extension or change-of-status applications submitted from within Canada; applying for a visitor visa (TRV) alone does not create or extend legal status. It does not apply to first-time visitor visa (TRV) applications, as visas are travel documents, not status documents.

Visitor Visa vs. Visitor Status

These two concepts are to be distinguished:

The visitor visa (TRV) is a travel permit issued to a foreign national so that the visitor can seek admission in Canada.
The status of a visitor dictates the duration of time you can stay in Canada.

Applying for a visitor visa (TRV) does not extend your stay in Canada, as a visitor visa is a travel document and not a status document. Your length of stay is determined by your visitor record, study permit, or work permit. You need to already be in a valid status or have applied to have it extended before it expires.

What Happens If Your Status Expires?

In case your status becomes expired, and you have not sought to have it extended, then you are regarded as being out of status and must either depart Canada or seek to be restored to status within 90 days. Restoration is not a certainty and can be denied.

Leaving Canada While Waiting

Maintained status applies only while you physically remain in Canada. If you leave Canada while your application is being processed, you may lose the ability to continue under your previous conditions and may not be permitted to re-enter unless you hold a valid visa or are visa-exempt. Maintained status applies only while you are physically in Canada. If you leave Canada, you must meet all entry requirements to return, and re-entry is not guaranteed, even if your application is still in process.

Final Advice

You may remain in Canada pending the decision on immigration only when you are of a valid or maintained status. Submitting a visitor visa application alone does not grant the right to remain in Canada; you must hold valid temporary resident status or maintain status to stay legally.

Always keep an eye on your status expiry date and apply extensions before the date. To obtain case-specific advice, refer to official IRCC advice or a licensed Canadian immigration professional.

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