Canada visa questions, answered by applicants
Visitor visas, study and work permits, refusals, PR and family sponsorship. Real experience from people going through it, alongside news from official IRCC sources.
Questions
What happens to my restoration application if I leave Canada?
It gets refused, and you do not get the fee back. IRCC's instructions on restoration of temporary resident status, last updated 1 May 2026, list remaining in Canada until a decisio…
Can I leave Canada while my PR application is being processed, and is there a 30 day limit?
There is no thirty-day limit in the guide itself. If you are applying under the Provincial Nominee Class, the IRCC application guide for that class, last updated 14 September 2026,…
Can I use IELTS Academic for Express Entry, or do I need General Training?
No. Express Entry requires the General Training option of IELTS. Academic is a different test, and it will not count towards your profile. IRCC's language testing page for Express…
Are Master students geting more visas these days?
Are Master students geting more visas these days?
What are the chances of visa from Pakistan
What are the chances of visa from Pakikstan
My refusal says the officer is not satisfied I will leave Canada. Is that an accusation?
Situation: an applicant inside Canada was refused and the letter says "I am not satisfied that you will leave Canada at the end of your stay" and that she has "accomplished the ori…
Can I take a short course in Canada on a visitor visa without a study permit?
Situation: someone wants to take a course of a few months in Canada and has heard that not every student needs a study permit. When is that true, and what is the catch?
Going home for a wedding: my study permit is valid, so can I come back to Canada without checking anything else?
Situation: an international student in Canada is booking a trip home for the winter. Her study permit is valid until next year, so she assumes coming back is no problem. Is there a…
Work permit applied from outside Canada, medical passed after 20 weeks. How long until a decision?
Situation: an applicant outside Canada applied for a work permit under a provincial entrepreneur stream in late May. Medical was requested in June, a further chest X-ray was reques…
IRCC tracker shows "combinedArtRequiredDocuments.header" for two months. Is IRCC asking me for documents?
Situation: a visitor visa applicant from Algeria gave biometrics in mid-August and has heard nothing since. The IRCC application status tracker shows the text "combinedArtRequiredD…
My college programme is called a master's. How do I know it counts for the post-graduation work permit?
Situation: an applicant has an offer from an Ontario polytechnic for a two-year programme with "Master" in its name, starting in January. He has read that some programmes at polyte…
Do family transfers and remittances count as proof of funds, or does the money have to be salary?
Situation: a study permit applicant has been told that bank statements must cover six months and show where the money came from, not just the balance. Most of the money in his fami…
Can my maternal uncle sponsor my study permit, and what does his support letter need to say?
Situation: an applicant from Nepal is preparing the financial side of a study permit application. His mother is a single parent with a salary, there is rental income from a house,…
Visitor visa refused because the officer could not tell where my money came from. Should I add more funds and reapply?
Situation: a mother applied for a visitor visa with her baby to join her husband, who works in a Canadian hospital. The refusal notes say there were several large deposits, the sou…
Study permit with husband and two kids from Pakistan: can he work, and how much money do we need to show?
Situation: a woman in her final semester of a BS in medical laboratory technology in Pakistan wants to study in Canada and bring her husband and two children. She is leaning toward…