Important visa tips

Before you depart, you may have to get a visa for your destination.  Here are a few tips to keep in mind when getting a visa.

Often your passport needs to be valid for six months after departure from the country visited. 

If you have a profession, religious background or family name which may be politically sensitive in the country you wish to visit, please contact us.  Examples include, but are not limited to, journalists or clerics travelling to countries with repressive regimes, people of the Jewish faith or from a Jewish family travelling to certain Middle Eastern countries

Travellers to some Middle East countries, including Iran, Syria and Libya, will be denied entry if there is evidence of them having travelled to Israel.  This can be an Israeli entry stamp or an entry stamp in to Jordan or Egypt from Israel.  If your passport has any evidence of such a trip, you must get a new passport prior to applying for a visa for these countries.

Ensure you have enough empty pages in your passport for the visa and entry/exit stamps from other countries you may be visiting

Visa are normally valid for 3 months from the date of issuance, although for some countries it is 6 months.  Therefore, do not apply too early, as your visa needs to be valid for your entire stay in the country in question

Ensure all information on the forms is filled out correctly to avoid delays and extra charges for refusal of your visa; • follow all instructions on the visa form exactly and ensure all supporting paper work (passport, photos, money order etc. are included; please double check the cost of the visa with the embassy as it may have changed

Check with the embassy or their web site: ensure you have the most current forms

ALWAYS use a courier to send your application.  DO NOT use services by Canada Post / Priority Courier (these are not reliable), unless specifically instructed to do so by the embassy

Enclose a return courier waybill, so the embassy can send you the passport without charge. 

Some countries will require additional paper work like letters of invite, hotel lists or bank statements

Some countries have multiple representations in Canada and depending on where you live you must apply at a particular embassy or consulate.

It is easy to get your visa, but if you need us to assist you, there is a CA$75-100 per visa handling fee on top of the cost of the visa.  We recommend you use this service in the case of visa for Russia, Central Asian republics, Iran and Libya.