Sponsorship VISA - Want to extend \ One other question

[lands]

Hello All,

Does anyone have any experience getting an extension to your VISA ?

When you are issued your sponsorship VISA(When it's stamped on your PP) it comes with an expiry date, which means you need to be in Canada before that date. Has anyone tried getting an extension to this date ? Under what circumstances will the local embassy consider such request ? Is there a formal process to this ?


Once you enter Canada do you have to stay back until you receive your PR card or can you leave Canada before you receive it ? I understand that you will not be able to enter Canada the second time around without it. So what's the process ? My understanding is that the PR card will be mailed to a Canadian address. So as long as you make arrangements to have a PR card when you arrive the second time around is there a limit as to how many days you need to stay after arriving for the first time ?

 

[matthewc]

You won't be able to get the visa extended. You must land in Canada before the expiry date, or you have to apply again from the beginning - a completely new application.

You can leave Canada immediately after "landing" and becoming a PR. There is no minimum stay required.

If you're from a country where you would usually need a visa to visit Canada, you must have the PR card (or a Travel Document) to travel back to Canada. If you're from a visa-exempt country, a copy of the COPR document, or even just your passport will suffice, it will just mean a delay when you arrive as they'll send you to immigration secondary to confirm you status. Of course, it's always best if you just have the PR card.

Either way you need to maintain your residency obligation of 2 years out of 5 in Canada, so you'd have to return to Canada in time for that, but that gives you a huge amount of flexibility.