If you have recently renewed your passport or extended your stay in Canada, there is a critical detail you might have overlooked: your Entry Visa (the foil sticker in your passport). While many newcomers focus on keeping their Work or Study Permits up to date, the visa sticker is the essential key to your ability to travel and return to Canada securely.

It is helpful to think of your Work or Study Permit as your "Stay Permit." This is the large document that gives you legal status to live, work, or attend school while you are physically inside Canada. However, this document alone does not allow you to board a plane or re-enter the country if you leave.

That is where the Entry Visa (Temporary Resident Visa) comes in. This is the official sticker placed inside your passport. Its specific purpose is to act as a travel document. If you plan to travel home to visit family or take a vacation, you must have a valid, unexpired visa sticker in your current passport to be allowed back into Canada.

There are two very common situations where you need to take action to stay travel-ready. First, if you have recently received a new passport from your consulate, your valid visa is likely still in your old, cancelled passport. You should apply to have a new visa issued for your current passport to avoid being denied boarding at the airport.

Second, if you have extended your Work or Study Permit, your visa sticker did not update automatically. Even if your permit is valid for several more years, if the sticker in your passport has expired, you cannot re-enter Canada until a new visa application is processed.

Navigating the IRCC application process for a new visa can be complicated, especially when coordinating it with a new passport or a permit extension. At CUIAS Immigrant Services, our settlement counselors provide professional assistance with these applications free of charge. We will guide you through the entire process.  We strongly recommend starting this process as soon as you receive a new passport, rather than waiting until you have your travel planned.

Please Note: While CUIAS provides our professional consulting and application assistance for free, applicants are still responsible for paying the standard IRCC government processing fees (currently $100 for a Visitor Visa/TRV) directly to the Government of Canada.

To ensure your travel documents are in order, contact us today to book your free appointment:

Phone: 416-767-4595

Email: contact@cuias.org

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