Visitors visa over 6 months stay - leave and re-enter

[Scarpetta]

Hi everyone.
My husband and I are in the process of outland spousal application for me. I currently hold a visitors visa. Question: if I stay for 6 months, leave the country and re-enter, how long would I have to stay out of the country - is it just a matter of exiting and entering (basically, me going to Buffalo and back), or do I need to stay out of Canada for some time? And if so - how long would that have to be - a day, a month, 6 months? Couldn't find any information on IRCC's website.
Thank you!

 

[canuck78]

Hi everyone.
My husband and I are in the process of outland spousal application for me. I currently hold a visitors visa. Question: if I stay for 6 months, leave the country and re-enter, how long would I have to stay out of the country - is it just a matter of exiting and entering (basically, me going to Buffalo and back), or do I need to stay out of Canada for some time? And if so - how long would that have to be - a day, a month, 6 months? Couldn't find any information on IRCC's website.
Thank you!

Don’t leave Canada or you risk not being readmitted. Apply to extend your visitor status and indicate that you have submitted and inland sponsorship application. If you have applied for an OWP and received AOR then you have implied status and don’t have to extend your visitor status.

 

[Scarpetta]

Don’t leave Canada or you risk not being readmitted. Apply to extend your visitor status and indicate that you have submitted and inland sponsorship application. If you have applied for an OWP and received AOR then you have implied status and don’t have to extend your visitor status.

Hi. Thank you for your answer, I am aware of the risk of not being able to re-enter the country, but I am trying to understand this specific rule: how soon I can re-enter after 6 months of stay, and how long can I stay again after that. For example, the UK and the Schengen visas both have a rule that one can stay for 90 days over each 180 days (any 3 months out of any 6). So what I am wondering is if the Canadian 6 months are, for example, over 12 months period (which means I would not be able to re-enter until another 6 months would have passed), or for each individual stay (like the visas in Thailand, for example, where you just need to cross the border of the country to exit - and then you can re-enter immediately and it's already considered the start of the next-however-many-months period in the country).
I am now outside Canada and I still will be for a few months, I am just trying to clearly understand our options once I am in Canada and (most likely) still waiting for the paperwork to arrive.

 

[scylla]

Hi. Thank you for your answer, I am aware of the risk of not being able to re-enter the country, but I am trying to understand this specific rule: how soon I can re-enter after 6 months of stay, and how long can I stay again after that. For example, the UK and the Schengen visas both have a rule that one can stay for 90 days over each 180 days (any 3 months out of any 6). So what I am wondering is if the Canadian 6 months are, for example, over 12 months period (which means I would not be able to re-enter until another 6 months would have passed), or for each individual stay (like the visas in Thailand, for example, where you just need to cross the border of the country to exit - and then you can re-enter immediately and it's already considered the start of the next-however-many-months period in the country).
I am now outside Canada and I still will be for a few months, I am just trying to clearly understand our options once I am in Canada and (most likely) still waiting for the paperwork to arrive.

Canada has no specific rule regarding re-entry. The decision is up to the CBSA officer you encounter at the port of entry regarding if and how long you are allowed in as a visitor. The only guidance we can provide is that you generally want to be spending more time outside of Canada than inside of Canada in any given 12 month period as a visitor. This is guidance only. Again, Canada has no specific rule.

 

[scylla]

Hi everyone.
My husband and I are in the process of outland spousal application for me. I currently hold a visitors visa. Question: if I stay for 6 months, leave the country and re-enter, how long would I have to stay out of the country - is it just a matter of exiting and entering (basically, me going to Buffalo and back), or do I need to stay out of Canada for some time? And if so - how long would that have to be - a day, a month, 6 months? Couldn't find any information on IRCC's website.
Thank you!

Don't flagpole if you want to stay longer. This is a bad plan.

Simply apply to extend your status in Canada as a visitor from within Canada (without leaving).

 

[Scarpetta]

Don't flagpole if you want to stay longer. This is a bad plan.

Simply apply to extend your status in Canada as a visitor from within Canada (without leaving).

Thank you for your advice.
No intention to flagpole it, that's not at all what I am saying.
I get that it is best to get to Canada, sit tight, apply for an extension of the visitor's status from inside Canada if the 6 months are up, and just wait for the paperwork to be completed.
I am just trying to understand what the visitors visa rules are about the 6 months - hence the question.