How to extend your stay in Canada as a visitor with a visitor record
Learn how to extend your stay in Canada as a visitor in 2026, including when to apply for a visitor record, the $100 fee, required documents, proof of funds, maintained status, online application steps and what happens after IRCC makes a decision.
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To stay in Canada longer as a visitor, apply for a visitor record before your current temporary resident status expires. IRCC recommends applying at least 30 days before expiry. Most people must apply online from inside Canada and pay a CAD $100 fee per person. You need to explain why you want to stay longer, prove your identity and current status, and show how you will support yourself and pay to leave Canada. If IRCC receives your extension application before your status expires, you can legally remain in Canada under maintained status until a decision is made.
What you need
- Be physically in Canada and want to remain longer as a visitor, or change from eligible temporary resident status to visitor status.
- Apply before your current temporary resident status expires.
- IRCC recommends applying at least 30 days before the expiry date.
- Provide full details explaining why you want to stay in Canada longer.
- Provide proof of identity.
- Provide proof of your current temporary resident status in Canada.
- Provide evidence showing how you will support yourself or be supported during the extended stay.
- Provide evidence showing how you will pay for transportation to leave Canada, such as financial evidence and travel plans.
- Provide copies of relevant passport pages, including the page showing your most recent Canadian entry stamp when applicable.
- Your passport must remain valid for the period of the extension you request because temporary resident status cannot be extended beyond passport validity.
- Complete the required online application information and personalized document checklist.
- Pay the CAD $100 visitor extension fee per applicant.
- Provide biometrics if IRCC requires them.
Eligibility
You can apply for a visitor record if you are in Canada and want to extend your stay as a visitor, if you are authorized to work in Canada without a work permit and want to remain as a visitor, if you are authorized to study without a study permit and want to remain as a visitor, or if you want to change your temporary resident category from a study permit holder or work permit holder to a visitor.
You must apply before your current status expires to benefit from maintained status. Most visitors are initially authorized to remain in Canada for up to 6 months, but your actual expiry date may be different. Check the date stamped in your passport, your visitor record, study permit or work permit. If there is no entry stamp or other document specifying a date, visitor status normally expires 6 months after entry or when the passport expires, whichever comes first.
How to do it
- Check when your current status expires. Look at the date stamped in your passport or the expiry date on your visitor record, study permit or work permit. If you received no stamp or separate document when entering as a visitor, your authorized stay is normally up to 6 months from the date of entry or until your passport expires, whichever comes first.
- Apply before the expiry date. You must submit the visitor record application before your current status expires. IRCC recommends applying at least 30 days in advance.
- Make sure your passport will remain valid. IRCC cannot extend temporary resident status beyond the validity of your passport.
- Prepare your explanation and supporting evidence. Explain why you want to stay longer and provide proof of identity, proof of current status in Canada, evidence that you can support yourself and evidence of how you will pay for transportation to leave Canada.
- Prepare passport and status documents. Include the passport pages and immigration documents requested in your personalized checklist, including evidence of your most recent entry into Canada when required.
- Apply online. Use the IRCC online application system. When answering the eligibility questions, select Visit as what you want to do in Canada and Canada as your current country or territory of residence.
- Upload the requested documents. IRCC creates a personalized document checklist based on your answers. Upload all required forms and supporting evidence.
- Pay the fee. Pay CAD $100 per person for an extension of visitor status.
- Submit before your status expires. Once a complete extension application is submitted before expiry, you can legally remain in Canada under maintained status until IRCC makes a decision.
- Complete biometrics if requested. If IRCC requires fingerprints and a photograph, book the biometrics appointment promptly to avoid delays.
- Wait for the decision. Check the application status through your IRCC account. If approved, IRCC sends a visitor record showing the new date by which you must leave Canada.
How to extend your stay in Canada as a visitor
If you want to remain in Canada after your current visitor status expires, you must apply for a visitor record. A visitor record is an immigration status document that authorizes you to remain in Canada longer and gives you a new expiry date.
A visitor record is not a visitor visa and does not by itself let you leave Canada and return.
When should you apply for a visitor record?
You must apply before your current temporary resident status expires. IRCC recommends submitting the application at least 30 days before the expiry date.
Applying earlier can reduce the risk of your status expiring before IRCC receives the application and gives you time to correct document or payment problems.
How do you find your visitor status expiry date?
Your authorized stay is not determined by the expiry date printed on your visitor visa. The relevant date is the date until which you were authorized to remain in Canada.
If a border services officer stamped your passport and wrote an expiry date, that is normally the date your status expires. If you were issued a visitor record, study permit or work permit, use the expiry date on that document.
If you entered as a visitor and received no stamp or separate status document, your status normally expires 6 months after the date you entered Canada or when your passport expires, whichever comes first.
Who can apply to extend visitor status?
A visitor record is available to people in Canada who want to extend their stay as visitors. It can also be used by certain people authorized to work without a work permit or study without a study permit who want to remain longer.
A study permit holder or work permit holder who no longer wants or qualifies to continue in that category may also apply to change temporary resident status to visitor, provided the applicable requirements are met.
What documents do you need to extend your stay?
IRCC creates a personalized document checklist for online applicants. The supporting evidence depends on your circumstances, but the official application guide identifies several core requirements.
Reason for staying longer
You must provide full details explaining why you want to remain in Canada beyond your current authorized stay. Your explanation should be consistent with a temporary visit and with the period of extension you request.
Proof of identity and current immigration status
You must provide proof of identity and proof of your current status in Canada. Depending on your circumstances, this can include passport information, your entry stamp, a visitor record or another current temporary resident document.
IRCC's guide requires copies of passport pages clearly showing the stamp made by Canadian authorities on your most recent entry when applicable.
Proof that you can support yourself
You must show how you will support yourself or how another person will support you during the extended stay. IRCC gives examples including a bank statement showing the account holder's name and account number or a guarantor's letter.
You must also show how you plan to pay for transportation to leave Canada. IRCC may consider your intended departure date, means of transportation and other travel details.
How long must your passport be valid?
Your temporary resident status cannot be extended beyond the expiry date of your passport. IRCC therefore recommends making sure your passport remains valid for at least the full period of the extension you request.
How much does a visitor extension cost in Canada?
The federal fee to extend your stay as a visitor is CAD $100 per person.
Every family member who wants to stay longer must have their own application and pay the applicable fee, even if family members submit applications at the same time.
Biometrics fees may also apply if IRCC requires you to provide fingerprints and a photograph.
Can you extend visitor status online?
Yes. Most people must apply online. You need a scanner or camera to create electronic copies of documents and an accepted payment card.
The IRCC online system asks eligibility questions and creates a personalized document checklist. For a visitor record application, IRCC instructs applicants to select Visit when asked what they would like to do in Canada and Canada as their current country or territory of residence.
Can you apply on paper?
Paper applications are limited to specific situations. IRCC allows a paper application when you cannot apply online because of a disability or because there is a problem with the online application.
What form is used to extend visitor status?
The official application form is IMM 5708, Application to Change Conditions, Extend my Stay or Remain in Canada as a Visitor or Temporary Resident Permit Holder. Online applicants complete the required information electronically through the IRCC process and receive a personalized document checklist.
What is maintained status?
If IRCC receives your application to extend your stay before your authorized status expires, you can legally remain in Canada until IRCC makes a decision. This is called maintained status.
Maintained status allows you to remain legally in Canada under the conditions that apply to your temporary status while the extension request is being decided. It does not create a new visa or guarantee that the extension will be approved.
Temporary resident permit applicants do not benefit from maintained status under the visitor record rules.
What happens if your visitor status expires while IRCC is processing the application?
If you submitted the extension application before your status expired, you have maintained status and can legally stay in Canada until IRCC decides the application.
If IRCC approves the application, the new visitor record shows the new expiry date for your authorized stay.
What happens if you apply after visitor status expires?
An ordinary visitor extension is not the correct process after you have lost temporary resident status. In some cases, you may apply to restore visitor status within 90 days after losing it.
To request restoration as a visitor, you must apply within the 90-day period, explain the circumstances that caused you to lose status, continue to meet the requirements for your stay and pay the restoration fee.
The visitor restoration fee is CAD $246.25. Approval is not guaranteed.
If you are not eligible for restoration, you are expected to leave Canada.
Can you keep working after changing from worker to visitor?
If you hold a work permit and apply to change your status to visitor before that work permit expires, you may remain in Canada while the visitor application is processed. However, once the work authorization expires, you must stop working unless you have another legal authorization that permits you to work.
Can you keep studying after changing from student to visitor?
Changing status to visitor does not itself authorize studies that require a study permit. You must continue to comply with the conditions that apply to your immigration status and stop activities for which you no longer hold the required authorization.
How long does a visitor record application take?
IRCC does not publish one guaranteed processing period. Processing times vary according to the number of applications, whether the application is complete, how easily IRCC can verify your information and how quickly you respond to requests.
Use IRCC's official processing-times tool for the current estimate for visitor extensions from inside Canada.
After an application is approved, IRCC states that you should receive the visitor record by mail within 6 weeks after receiving the decision letter. If it does not arrive within that period, IRCC instructs you to contact the department.
Will you need biometrics?
IRCC may require fingerprints and a photograph depending on your circumstances and whether valid biometrics are already available. If IRCC instructs you to provide biometrics, book the collection appointment as soon as possible because delays in giving biometrics can delay processing.
What happens if the visitor record is approved?
If IRCC approves the extension, you receive a visitor record showing your new status expiry date. That date becomes the new deadline by which you must leave Canada unless you obtain another authorization before then.
A visitor record is a separate document and is not placed in your passport.
Does a visitor record let you leave and re-enter Canada?
No. A visitor record proves your temporary resident status in Canada and shows how long you may remain, but it does not guarantee re-entry after you leave.
If you travel outside Canada, you must meet Canada's entry requirements again when returning. Visa-required travellers generally need a valid temporary resident visa, while travellers who require an electronic travel authorization must have a valid eTA when applicable.
The final decision on whether you may enter Canada is made by a border services officer at the port of entry.
Can you apply for more than one visitor extension?
Yes. IRCC states that you may apply more than once. Each extension requires a new application and payment of the applicable fee, and each time you must demonstrate that your stay in Canada remains temporary.
Before submitting your application
Check your exact status expiry date, make sure your passport will remain valid, prepare a clear explanation for the requested extension and gather evidence showing that you can support yourself and leave Canada at the end of your authorized stay.
Submit the application before your current status expires. Applying at least 30 days in advance is IRCC's recommendation and gives you additional time to address application issues before your authorized stay ends.
Frequently asked questions
How do I extend my stay in Canada as a visitor?
Apply for a visitor record through IRCC before your current visitor status expires. Most applicants must apply online, upload the required identity, status and financial documents and pay the CAD $100 extension fee.
How much does it cost to extend visitor status in Canada?
The federal fee to extend your stay as a visitor is CAD $100 per person.
When should I apply for a visitor extension?
You must apply before your current status expires. IRCC recommends applying at least 30 days before the expiry date.
How do I know when my visitor status expires?
Check the expiry date written in your passport or on your visitor record. If you received no stamp or separate document, visitor status normally lasts up to 6 months from your entry date or until your passport expires, whichever comes first.
Is the expiry date on my visitor visa the date I must leave Canada?
No. The expiry date on a visitor visa is not necessarily the expiry date of your authorized stay in Canada. Your status expiry is determined by your entry authorization, passport stamp, visitor record or applicable permit.
Can I apply for a visitor record online?
Yes. Most people must apply online through IRCC. Paper applications are generally limited to people who cannot apply online because of a disability or a problem with the online system.
What documents do I need to extend my stay as a visitor?
You need to explain why you want to stay longer and provide proof of identity, proof of current status in Canada and evidence showing how you will support yourself and pay for transportation to leave Canada. Your personalized IRCC document checklist may request additional documents.
Do I need proof of funds to extend my stay?
You must provide evidence showing how you will support yourself or be supported in Canada and how you will pay for transportation to leave. IRCC gives bank statements and guarantor letters as examples of supporting evidence.
Can my visitor status be extended beyond my passport expiry date?
No. IRCC states that temporary resident status cannot be extended beyond the validity of your passport.
What is maintained status for visitors in Canada?
If you apply to extend your authorized stay before it expires, you can legally remain in Canada until IRCC makes a decision. This is called maintained status.
Can I stay in Canada while my visitor extension is being processed?
Yes, if you submitted the extension application before your current status expired. In that situation you have maintained status until IRCC makes a decision.
What if my visitor status already expired?
You may be eligible to apply to restore your visitor status if it has been less than 90 days since you lost status. You must meet the restoration requirements and pay the restoration fee. Approval is not guaranteed.
How much is restoration of visitor status in 2026?
The current federal fee to restore visitor status is CAD $246.25.
How long does a visitor record application take?
Processing times vary and are not guaranteed. Check IRCC's official processing-times tool for the current estimate. If approved, IRCC states that the visitor record should arrive by mail within 6 weeks after the decision letter.
Is a visitor record the same as a visitor visa?
No. A visitor record extends or documents your authorized stay inside Canada. A visitor visa is a travel document used to seek entry to Canada.
Can I travel outside Canada with a visitor record and come back?
A visitor record does not guarantee re-entry. You must still meet Canada's entry requirements and have any required visitor visa or electronic travel authorization when returning.
Can I extend my visitor status more than once?
Yes. IRCC allows more than one extension application, but every application requires a new fee and you must continue to show that your stay in Canada is temporary.
Does every family member need a separate visitor extension?
Yes. Each family member who wants to remain longer must submit their own application and pay the applicable fee, even when the family applies at the same time.