Temporary Resident Services

It follows from what you intend to do. Visiting means a visitor visa or eTA; a parent or grandparent visiting long term means a Super Visa; working means a work permit; studying for more than six months means a study permit.

The categories are not interchangeable, and entering as a visitor with the intention of switching later is not a reliable plan, since eligibility to apply from inside Canada is limited. Choosing the right category at the outset avoids the much harder problem of correcting it afterwards.

You can have applications in progress, but you hold one status at a time, and applications in different categories can work against each other.

An officer assessing a visitor application weighs whether you will leave at the end of your stay. A simultaneous application signalling an intention to remain can complicate that, though dual intent, holding both a temporary purpose and a genuine permanent residence goal, is recognized in Canadian law and is not by itself a reason for refusal. What matters is that your temporary intentions are genuine and evidenced.

It means you may hold a genuine intention to visit, work or study temporarily while also pursuing permanent residence, and Canadian law expressly permits this.

The officer still has to be satisfied you will comply with the terms of the temporary status, including leaving if the permanent application is refused or not yet decided. Concealing a permanent residence application is far more damaging than disclosing it, because non-disclosure raises misrepresentation, which is a much more serious problem than dual intent ever was.

Well before your planned travel, and earlier than published processing times suggest, since those are averages rather than commitments.

Processing varies significantly by visa office, application type and time of year, and biometrics and medical examinations add time before processing even begins. Booking non-refundable travel before a decision is a common and expensive mistake. Check the current processing time for your specific country and category rather than a general figure.

You are out of status, must stop any work or study, and can face enforcement action.

Restoration may be available within 90 days of losing status, but it is discretionary and does not authorize work or study while pending. Beyond that window the options narrow considerably. Time spent out of status has to be disclosed in later applications and weighs against you, so the priority is to act within the 90 days rather than wait.

Often yes, and for many people it is the intended route. Skilled work experience gained in Canada supports the Canadian Experience Class and improves an Express Entry ranking, and several provincial streams target workers and graduates already in the province.

What makes it work is maintaining valid status without gaps, because qualifying work experience generally must be performed under authorization. Planning the permanent step while your temporary status is still comfortably valid produces far more options than starting once it is close to expiry.