Can you buy a visa to Canada? Immigration in 2023

I am a co-owner of a Canadian immigration company, but I often feel like I am some kind of salesperson, because I constantly get questions about the cost of a visa to Canada, as if it is for sale. People expect to come to my visa shop, pay money, and I'll print out the visas on a colour printer, which I then paste into their passports. But that's not how it works.

First of all, there is a price list for visas, and it is officially published on the Canadian government website. You can go to the page and choose the type of visa you need: it can be, for example, a tourist, work, or study visa. There are also prices for permanent residency in Canada, citizenship, and so on. This price is for processing your application. A work visa to Canada costs only $155 CAD, a tourist visa is $100, and a study visa is $150.

All the prices mentioned are just fee to the Canadian government. The visa officer will review your documents, and they still need to be prepared correctly, and if something is wrong, you will be refused the visa and the money you paid will not be refunded. Of course, the officer has to base the refusal on clauses of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act.

Grounds for obtaining a visa

There must be a reason to get a visa to Canada. For example, before you get a work visa, you must find a job and sign a contract with a Canadian employer. It is in this sequence: first, find a job and then apply for a work visa.

If you want to get a study visa, you must first enter an educational institution. For a tourist visa, it's a little easier, but you'll have to at least prepare a plan of the places you want to visit. Of course, you will have to prove that you have enough money to travel.

You cannot pay a bribe to get a visa approved. Officials in Canada work honestly, and on a domestic level, no one gives bribes. This, by the way, is one of the reasons why our family decided to move to Canada at one time. I was not morally able and did not want to give bribes, but in Ukraine, it was hard to solve many problems without it. I remember how I bought a land plot near Kyiv and was going to build a house there, but because of corruption, it did not work out. In Canada, I do everything without bribes. In case of any disagreement, you can apply to court.

Documents for application

For applications for visas, Canadian citizenship, or permanent residency, you have to prepare a large package of documents. All sorts of questionnaires about family composition, travel history, reasons for visiting Canada, bank statements, and so on. You may need help from professionals to make sure you have all the documentation you need, without making mistakes or forgetting anything.

Our immigration company's services for visa applications start at $1,000 CAD. I will not lie and say that it is necessary to apply to professionals. You can sort everything out on your own, the official Canadian website has a list of required documents. But you can wait for the decision on a visa for not just weeks, but sometimes for several years, so it would be very frustrating if you made a mistake in the documents and get rejected because of it.

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There are many scammers on the Internet who guarantee a visa for money. Remember, it's a scam. You can get a rejection even if an immigration consultant prepares your documents.

The hardest part is getting an immigrant visa. Applications for this type of visa can take years to process. Our family waited more than 5 years. Now the process has accelerated, but the competition has increased, so the requirements for applicants have increased, too. Very often immigration requires two things: English and finding a job in Canada. I don't talk about money, because if you have a lot, really a lot, you can get to Canada within 6 months at any age, without higher education and even with basic level of English.

I want to get back to English. Without it, you are unlikely to get a passing score for immigration. The exception is to find a job in Canada, but without the language, it will be difficult, and you are unlikely to pass the interview with Canadian employers.

Alex Pavlenko, founder of Immigrant.Today