How to Extend Your Visitor Visa in Canada
To extend your stay in Canada as a visitor, apply online for a visitor record before your authorized stay ends; IRCC recommends applying at least 30 days ahead. The fee is $100 CAD per person. If you apply on time, you keep maintained status and can stay legally while IRCC decides.
$100
IRCC’s visitor record fee, per person
$246.25
IRCC’s restoration fee, if your status has already run out
IRCC charges a visitor no other fee for restoration.
What is a visitor record?
A Visitor Record is a document issued by IRCC that sets a new date by which you must leave Canada, effectively extending your authorized period as a visitor. IRCC publishes no standard length: the visitor record carries the new expiry date an officer sets.
It is not the same as a Temporary Resident Visa (TRV) or an Electronic Travel Authorization (eTA): a TRV or eTA lets you board a plane to or enter Canada, while a Visitor Record only governs how long you can stay once you are inside the country. If you travel outside Canada or the United States, IRCC says you need a valid entry document, such as a visitor visa or an eTA, to come back, even if your Visitor Record is still valid.
A Visitor Record does not let you work or study in Canada. To work you must apply for a work permit, and to study a program longer than six months you generally need a study permit.
When does your current stay end?
Most visitors are allowed to stay for up to 6 months, but a border services officer decides your actual authorized stay at the port of entry and can grant more or less. Your authorized stay is generally 6 months from the date of entry unless one of the following applies:
- A border services officer writes a specific date in your passport or gives you a document: that date is your authorized stay limit (it can be shorter or longer than 6 months)
- No date was stamped and your passport or your biometrics expire before 6 months: IRCC says your stay ends on whichever comes first: 6 months from entry, your passport’s expiry, or your biometrics’ expiry (IRPR s.183(4)(c.1) lists the biometrics date; s.183(4) does not list passport expiry, and IRPR s.52(1) asks for a passport valid for your stay)
- Your TRV’s expiry is not one of these dates: IRPR s.183(4) does not list it, and IRCC says the date on your visa is not an expiry date for your stay in Canada
If you arrived through a primary inspection kiosk and want certainty about your departure date, you can ask a border services officer for a stamp.
How do you apply for a visitor record?
Confirm your current expiry date
Know the exact date your authorized stay ends: the stamp in your passport, the date on a document, or 6 months from entry if no date was given. You apply from inside Canada.
Log in to your IRCC secure account
Applications are submitted online. Create an account if you do not have one, then start an application to extend your stay as a visitor.
Complete the application form
The main form is IMM 5708 (Application to Change Conditions, Extend My Stay or Remain in Canada as a Visitor or Temporary Resident Permit Holder). IRCC Guide 5551 explains how to fill it out.
Gather supporting documents
A valid passport covering your intended stay, financial evidence that you can support yourself, proof of your reason for extending, and ties to your home country showing your stay is temporary.
Pay the application fee
Pay the fee per person for a visitor record. Verify the current fee on the IRCC fee list before submitting.
$100 CAD
Submit before your status expires
IRCC recommends applying at least 30 days before your authorized period ends. If you submit before your authorized stay ends, you get maintained status (formerly called implied status) and can stay while IRCC processes the application.
Can you stay in Canada while IRCC decides?
Yes, if you applied on time. If you submit your Visitor Record application before your authorized stay expires, you get what IRCC now calls maintained status. This means:
- You may remain in Canada under the same terms and conditions as your current visitor status while IRCC processes your application
- Maintained status continues until the day a decision is made on your application (IRPR s.183(5))
- If your application is approved, IRCC issues a Visitor Record with a new expiry date
- If your application is refused, your maintained status ends and you are expected to leave Canada promptly
The rule
If you submit your Visitor Record application before your authorized stay expires, you get what IRCC now calls maintained status (previously known as implied status).
What if your status has already run out?
If you remain in Canada after your authorized stay ends without an approved extension or maintained status, you have lost your status. There is no single automatic fixed-length ban just for overstaying, but it can have serious consequences.
- 90 days to restore your status
- You generally have up to 90 days from the day you lost it to apply to restore it from inside Canada. You pay the restoration fee of $246.25 CAD and show you still meet the conditions. After 90 days you can no longer restore and are expected to leave.
- Removal from Canada
- Staying without status can lead to a removal order from CBSA, which can carry its own consequences for returning to Canada, depending on the type of order and circumstances.
- Effect on future applications
- IRCC says it is illegal to remain in Canada beyond the validity of your status, and a foreign national who contravenes the Act is inadmissible for non-compliance (IRPA s.41(a)). It is separate from misrepresentation under IRPA s.40, which carries a 5-year inadmissibility.
- No right to work
- Visitors are not authorized to work in Canada, with or without status. Working without a permit while out of status compounds the violation.
Can you work while waiting for a visitor record?
No. Maintained status from a Visitor Record application keeps your visitor conditions, and visitors are not authorized to work in Canada. Working without a work permit is a violation of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act, whether or not you have a pending extension application.
IRPR s.199 lists who may apply for a work permit after entering Canada, such as holders of a work permit or a study permit, holders of a temporary resident permit valid for six months or more, and their family members; an ordinary visitor is not on that list. An officer decides whether you qualify.
Which free tool checks your own case?
- Fee CalculatorCurrent government fees, itemized
- Document ChecklistTypical documents by application type
- Processing TimesIRCC wait times by program
Free, with no account. What you enter in a tool stays in your browser.
What do people ask?
How long can you extend your visitor visa in Canada?
Until the new expiry date an officer sets. IRCC publishes no standard length: the visitor record includes a new expiry date, which is the new deadline to leave Canada. IRCC's guide asks for full details of why you want to stay longer and how you will support yourself, and an officer decides. The section above explains how your current date is set.
How many times can you extend your visitor visa in Canada?
There is no fixed limit, but each application is assessed on its merits. Repeated extensions raise the question of whether you are still a genuine temporary visitor, so every new application needs a clear, documented reason and evidence of ties to your home country. The How Long Can You Stay in Canada as a Visitor guide explains how officers view long and repeated stays.
How much does it cost to extend a visitor visa in Canada?
The visitor record fee is $100 CAD per person. If you already lost your status and need to restore it, you pay the restoration fee of $246.25 CAD instead; IRCC's fee list says no visa fee is needed on top of it. Fees can change, so confirm the current amount on the IRCC fee list before you pay. The Fee Calculator on this site adds up the fees for everyone in your family who is applying.
What is the visitor visa extension processing time inside Canada?
It changes often, so check IRCC's current estimate for extending your stay as a visitor before you plan. Applying before your status expires gives you maintained status, so you can stay legally even if processing takes longer than expected. IRCC recommends applying at least 30 days before your authorized stay ends. The Processing Times page tracks IRCC's published estimates.
How can I extend my parents' visitor visa in Canada?
Your parents apply themselves, online from inside Canada, before their authorized stay ends. Each parent uses the same visitor record application and pays $100 CAD. Include proof they can support themselves, the reason for the longer stay, and ties to their home country. For long stays in future, IRCC says the Super Visa lets parents and grandparents visit for 5 years at a time; the Super Visa guide explains it.
What documents do I need to extend my visitor visa in Canada?
The main form is IMM 5708, explained in IRCC Guide 5551. You also need a passport valid for your intended stay, proof you can support yourself, proof of your reason for staying, such as a medical letter, and evidence of ties to your home country. You submit it all online through your IRCC secure account. The Document Checklist tool builds the list for your situation.
What happens if my status already expired? Can I still stay?
You have lost status, but you generally have up to 90 days from that day to apply to restore it from inside Canada. You pay the restoration fee only, $246.25 CAD, and show you still meet the conditions. After 90 days, restoration is no longer available and you are expected to leave. The Restore Visitor Status guide walks through the application.
Can I leave Canada to visit the US while my visitor record application is pending?
A pending application is not a re-entry document. Your stay ends on the day you leave Canada without prior authorization to re-enter (IRPR s.183(4)(a)), and to come back you need a valid entry document, such as a visitor visa or an eTA; a border services officer decides. The Maintained Status guide explains what you can and cannot do while you wait.
Part of:Visiting Canada
- Proof of Funds for a Canada Visitor Visa: What Counts?
- Canada Visitor Visa Invitation Letter: What to Include
- Visiting Canada from the UK: eTA & Entry Rules (2026)
The textbook on this subject
Volume 1: Entering Canada $79
Six IRPA inadmissibility grounds (s.36 and s.38 to s.42), explained with the official text cited.
Follow on Facebook to hear when the library opens (opens in a new tab)Official sources
This page is based on law and policy published by the Government of Canada.