Canada Business Visa - Everything You Need To Know - (Indian Passport Holders)

Canada Business visa is a type of visa that allows an individual to establish his/her business in Canada. However, acquiring a Canadian visa may seem far fetched, but by following the below guide you may acquire a business visa for Canada from India without many efforts. 

• The Canadian business visa is a visitor visa that allows an Indian National to enter the country for a short duration for only business purpose. 
• Initially, the business visa was granted for a validity of 6 months. 
• But, the booming percentage of visitors and investors to Canada has extended the Canada business visa validity for up to 3, 5 or 10 years. 
• The business purpose includes business meetings, conferences and seminars. 
• An individual visiting the country for a business purpose is not allowed to sign any potential deal that may last for more than the duration of his/her Canada visa. 
• The applicant may also not be able to work with any firm being operated in Canada.
• However, the duration for which you will be granted the visa will mostly be decided by the immigration officers associated with Canada. 
• You are not allowed to get accompanied by your dependents on the Business visa for Canada. 
• However, the Canada Business visa also allows you to explore as many attractions in Canada as possible. 
• Apart from holding only business purpose, you can also meet your friends, family members or relatives based in Canada along. 
• However, the other business immigration Canadian Visa types are as follows: Federal Business Immigration visa, Quebec Immigration visa and Provincial Nominee program.  

In order to acquire the business visa for Canada, an applicant will have to first collect all the documents outlined by the Government of Canada and listed in this guide. However, the procedure for Canada business visa was processed completely offline, until the introduction of the online procedure by the Government of Canada, recently. The below guidelines can guide you to complete the entire procedure. 

• Apart from the offline process, the Canada business visa application form has to be filled online. 
• Once the application form is filled, an applicant may have to attach all the necessary documents to the application form and submit it to the embassy.  
• After the application form is submitted to the embassy, it further takes at least 30 days for the embassy to cross-check or authenticate the given information in the application form. 
• The embassy verifies all the business related documents mentioned and attached in or to the application form. An applicant is supposed to fill the bank related information carefully. 
• You are also recommended to include the invitation letter from any of the firm, established in Canada, inviting you for the business purpose. 
• Soon after your application form is approved, you are asked by the embassy officials to make a visit to the embassy/consulate or any of its authorized visa application center for the biometric. 
• After successfully undergoing the biometric purpose, an applicant might receive the visa within a span of at least 30 days since the submission of the application form. 
• Since this is one of the sensitive procedures, it’s recommended to apply for Canada visa through an expert. Consisting of a team of experts, BTW can assist you in this entire procedure to make it a hassle-free one.
• It is essential to ensure that your visa does not get rejected, by submitting a good application with authentic documents and information. Visa refusal can affect your future travel.

The Canadian visa has waived off the compulsion of carrying a visa for few nations having extremely good conditions with the country. Indian nationals are eligible to carry any type of Canada visa. 

Eligibility for the Canada business visa depends on the wide aspects such as Nationality, Business models and also the capital to invest and support yourself in Canada. The Canada business visa requirements are stated as, 

1. The applicant must be comfortable in either of the languages, English or French.
2. The applicant should ensure that he will not work while on a business visa.
3. One must also make provisions to stay out of Quebec. The below following applications have to be filled by the applicant.
   • Form IMM 5257 i.e Application for Temporary Resident.
   • Form IMM 5707 i.e Family Information Form.
4. Apart from meeting the above eligibility criteria, applicants for business visa for Canada from India must also qualify to have the necessary documents.

The presentation of the documents plays an important role in deciding the time required for Canada business visa process. The applicants are recommended to present the documents on time. As any further delay in the process might lead to the delay in building a business visa of Canada. The documents required for Canada business visa are as follows -

• Original Passports with 6 months validity from date of arrival in Canada 
• 3 Color photograph
• Covering letter mentioning the details of the applicant and travel
• Invitation letter from the company/ Exhibition/ Conference confirmation
• Proof of accomodation
• Travel Itinerary.
• Confirmed flight tickets
• Proof of employment
• Proof of finance

The photo specification for Canada Business visa are as follows -

• Recently taken photograph.
• Dimensions - 35mm X 45mm.
• Background of the photo must be white. 
• No blurred images are allowed.
• No designs are acceptable in the background of the image. 
• Photographs must be presented without any edits. 
• The face must be captured with the head centrally positioned, and directed towards the center of the camera, It must not be too far or too close either. 
• The top of your shoulder must be visible in the picture. 
• The facial reaction must be neutral. 
• Avoid keeping the mouth opened. 
• If you wear eye-glasses then the eye glasses must make your eyes visible. 
• No sunglasses are allowed.
• Headscarves are allowed only for religious purposes.

• The total processing time to obtain a business permit depends upon the time required for the verification by the embassy after submission of the documents.
• It also depends on factors such as the workload of the embassy, the duration of the permit, the number of entries, fast track processing, etc. 
• proper documentation may avoid any delay in the procedure. The estimated time for the arrival of your visa can be at least 35 working days. 
• Starting the process 2 months prior to departure to Canada will result in no delay for the embassy to grant you a tourist visa. 

The cost for the Canada business visa depends on several factors such as the duration of the permit, the number of entries, any fast track visa processing fees, as well as additional service charges.

1. Soon after the documents are submitted, one might await the embassy verification of the documents. However, as the verification is over, you will be called for a biometric round. 
2. The bank balance filled in the application form has to be maintained until you obtain the visa. Mostly, not doing any transaction from the mentioned bank account is recommended.

1. To track the status of the process of your tourist visa, you might have to carry the below documents or its information.
   • Passport number.
   • Application ID. 
2. To track the status of your visa process, the applicant must visit the website of the Canada Embassy in India. After you have found the embassy website, you can track the visa application by submitting your application number. 

By submitting your name, birth date and Application number

1. There is also another option available to track the Canada Business visa from India through a few portals by submitting your name (as mentioned in the application form), birth date and passport number along with the application number. 
2. A tracking ID will be received by you after the submission of your application. This tracking ID can help you to track your application through the embassy site. 

Tracking with the help of passport

• If you have processed your application through a consultancy or a Visa providing services then you might track the application status by submitting the passport number to the concerned service provider.

When you have this visa, you will have to take care of obeying the laws outlined by the Government of Canada. After holding the business visa, one may be able to attend business conferences, meetings, and seminars. However, apart from the terms and conditions of the visa, you will also have to take care of the factors:

Before and while travelling

• Once you are all set to travel to Canada, you have to make sure that you possess all the business related mandatory documents. Apart from the business-related documents, the Indian nationals must possess the original and photocopy of the passport. 
• The duration of your stay in Canada is certainly decided by the immigration officers on the basis of your passport. And hence, the applicant must keep track of the expiry date of the visa. He must exit the country before the visa expires. 
• No damage to the visa will be tolerated by the officials of Canada. Any damage to the passport may result in rejection of entry to Canada, and further, the applicant will be sent back to his/her home country. 
• You are allowed to carry your cell phones and other gadgets. You must inform the authorities about the list of electronic gadgets you are willing to carry. 

After entering Canada

• One must carry photocopies of the passport along with you to every place you visit in Canada. The photocopies are recommended to secure the passport from losing. 
• You may have to present the photocopy of passport and visa if the Police or immigration officials ask you to.