How to Apply for a Canada Tourist Visa from India
Everything an Indian passport holder needs for a 2026 visitor visa application — the real fees, how the process actually runs, and the mistakes that get people refused.
Introduction
Canada is one of the most popular destinations for Indian travellers — whether for a holiday, to visit family, or for a wedding or conference. Before you pack, you need a Temporary Resident Visa (TRV), commonly called a visitor visa or tourist visa.
Indian passport holders cannot enter Canada without one. The good news: the process is entirely online and quite manageable if your documents are in order. This guide walks through it in plain language.
Who can apply
Almost any Indian citizen can apply, provided you can satisfy the visa officer on a few points:
- A valid Indian passport, ideally with at least six months of validity remaining.
- Good health. A medical exam may be required for longer stays or certain occupations.
- No criminal record and no immigration violations in Canada or elsewhere.
- Enough money to cover the trip and your return.
- Strong ties to India — a job, business, family or property that gives you a clear reason to come home.
- Convincing evidence that you will leave Canada at the end of your visit.
That last point carries the most weight. A visitor visa is for temporary travel, so the officer must believe your visit is genuine and temporary.
Types of Canada visitor visa
Single-entry visa
Allows one entry. Once you leave Canada, the visa is spent. Issued in limited situations, such as a specific one-time event.
Multiple-entry visa
What most applicants receive by default. You may travel to Canada as often as you like while the visa is valid, with each visit usually up to six months.
Super Visa (parents and grandparents)
If your child or grandchild is a Canadian citizen or permanent resident, you can apply for a Super Visa instead. It is valid for up to 10 years and permits a stay of up to five years per visit. It requires private medical insurance with at least CAD 100,000 in emergency coverage for one year, a medical exam, and proof that your host meets a minimum income level. Since 31 March 2026, hosts may use income from either of the last two tax years, which has widened eligibility considerably.
Check the eTA route first. Indian citizens generally need a full visa — but if you have held a Canadian visa in the last 10 years, or currently hold a valid US non-immigrant visa, you may qualify for an Electronic Travel Authorization when flying to Canada. It costs CAD 7 instead of CAD 185. Worth two minutes of checking.
What the paperwork involves
A Canada visitor application is not one form and a passport. It is a file — identity and travel history, financial evidence, proof of employment or business, trip details, and, if you are visiting family, documents from your host in Canada as well.
The list itself is the easy part. What decides the outcome is how those documents read together. An officer is not ticking items off; they are forming a judgement about whether your stated purpose, your finances and your reasons to come home are consistent with one another. Most refusals we see are not missing-document refusals. They are applications where every item was present and the story they told did not hold.
Two things catch people out more than any others. Financial evidence is read as a narrative, not a balance — a healthy closing figure with an unexplained deposit shortly before applying reads worse than a smaller, steadier account. And every detail must agree across every document: names, dates, addresses, employer, dates of leave. Small contradictions are what turn a straightforward file into a refusal.
We publish a complete, current Canada document checklist — every form and supporting document, organised in the order you should assemble them, with the specifics of what each one has to show. It is a ₹500 download, and included when we file on your behalf.
How the process runs
The sequence is broadly the same for everyone: confirm whether you need a visitor visa or an eTA, complete the online application on the official IRCC portal, upload your supporting documents, pay the fee, give biometrics at a visa application centre, then wait for a decision and submit your passport for stamping if you are approved.
One point in that sequence is worth knowing, because it quietly costs people weeks: processing does not begin when you pay — it begins when IRCC receives your biometrics. An application submitted early, with a biometrics appointment booked a month out, has not started moving. Applicants lose that month without realising it.
The forms are long and unforgiving of inconsistency, and the portal will happily accept an application that is complete but weak. It will not tell you your file looks thin. That is the part worth getting right before you pay the fee, not after.
Fees and processing time
| Item | CAD | Approx. INR |
|---|---|---|
| Visitor visa (single or multiple entry) | 100 | ₹6,300 |
| Biometrics, per person | 85 | ₹5,400 |
| Biometrics, family of 2 or more | 170 | ₹10,800 |
| Family application, up to 5 people | 500 | ₹31,500 |
| Typical total, one adult | 185 | ₹11,700 |
VFS service charges are extra and paid separately at the centre. Rupee figures move with the exchange rate.
Processing time: IRCC's published estimate for applications from India has run at roughly 26–45 days through 2026, though this fluctuates and can exceed 60 days in peak season. Check the official IRCC processing time tool before booking anything, and apply at least two to three months before you travel.
Common reasons for rejection
- Weak ties to India — the officer is not convinced you will return
- Insufficient funds, or large deposits appearing suddenly with no explanation
- Incomplete or inconsistent documents — dates and details that disagree across forms
- Unclear travel purpose or an unrealistic itinerary
- Thin travel history with no strong reason for this particular trip
- Undisclosed previous refusals or past visa violations
- Suspected misrepresentation — even a small false statement can bring a five-year ban
Tips to improve your chances
- Explain your money trail. Don't deposit a large sum just before applying; if you must, document where it came from.
- Show a real reason to return — approved leave, an ongoing job or business, children in school, property in India.
- Keep the itinerary realistic. A ten-day trip covering eight cities reads as invented.
- Disclose past refusals and briefly explain what has changed since.
- Write a clear cover letter. It connects the pieces for the officer.
- Don't over-submit. Relevant, well-organised documents beat a two-hundred-page pile.
- Apply early. Rushed applications tend to be incomplete ones.
- Make everything match — names, dates, addresses and employment details, identical across every form.
How long the visa is valid
A Canada visitor visa is normally issued for up to 10 years, or until your passport expires — whichever comes first. If your passport expires in four years, so does the visa.
Validity is not the same as length of stay. On each visit the border officer decides how long you may remain, usually up to six months. Since a policy change on 5 January 2026, officers have been directed to grant longer authorised stays — often up to a year — where the traveller shows sufficient funds and a clear plan to leave. Always check the date stamped in your passport or written on your visitor record.
To stay longer you must apply to extend your status from inside Canada, before your current stay expires.
In closing
Applying for a Canada tourist visa from India is not complicated, but it rewards preparation. Most refusals come down to the same handful of things: unclear finances, weak ties to India, or documents that don't line up. Give yourself time, be honest, and assemble your paperwork carefully.
Start by checking your eligibility on the official IRCC website, and begin gathering your papers two to three months before you plan to travel. If you would like the full document checklist, ours is a ₹500 download — or we can simply file the application for you.
If you'd rather not do this alone
Our desk files Canada visitor visas end to end — document review, form filling, biometrics booking and submission. We'll tell you honestly if your profile looks thin before you spend the fee. If you only want the paperwork sorted, the Canada document checklist is a ₹500 download.
This guide is for general information and is not immigration advice. Visa rules, fees and processing times change without notice. Always confirm current details on the official Government of Canada website (canada.ca) before applying. No agent can guarantee a visa approval — the decision rests solely with the visa officer.