Ukrainians cannot enter Canada without a visa. The visa application must be submitted in advance, preferably 3-4 weeks before the planned trip. Before you engage in this procedure, you need to familiarize yourself with two possible ways to apply for a visa to Canada.
The first is through the Visa Center of Canada. Before you come to the visa center you should:
- collect all the necessary documents and make photocopies,
- translate all documents into English or French,
- fill out 3 application forms,
- create a private account on the Canadian government's website,
- pay a consular fee from your personal account online with either a debit or credit card,
- sign up and schedule a visit to the Visa Center to provide your biometric data
After your documents have been accepted you need to wait from 3 to 14 days. A visa to Canada for Ukrainians is usually issued for 10 years or until the expiration of the passport.
As of July 31, 2018, citizens of Ukraine needed to be fingerprinted, except for children under 14 years and people over the age of 79. Biometric data is stored in the Canadian Embassy database for 10 years. If a visa to Canada has been issued for less than 10 years or a visa has been denied, you have the right to reapply without a personal presence before the expiration date of your biometric data.
The second method is to submit documents online through the official website of the Government of Canada. To do this, you need to:
- scan all documents and translations to digital format,
- register your personal information on the Canadian Government's website,
- fill in all the necessary forms,
- download scanned documents to your personal account,
- pay the consular fee from your personal account with a debit or credit card.
When the documents are successfully loaded, and the payment is received you will receive a letter in the mail and to your personal account about the need to provide your biometric data in the Visa Center of Canada.
The online application is considered within 3 to 14 days. You will be able to keep track of the decision by the Visa Center to issue or refuse your visa application in your personal account.
We also recommend that you ask what list of documents you need to collect before planning a trip to Canada. Read the instructions carefully regarding filling out the application forms.
The process of applying for a visa to Canada requires careful study of the requirements of the embassy and honesty in the collection of a package of documents and when filling out questionnaires. To do this you’ll need at least an intermediate knowledge English, otherwise the process will be difficult and lengthy and serious mistakes could be made resulting in a denial of your application. Our Company, AVISA, has more than 6 years of experience with this embassy and can help you to understand all the nuances and difficult parts of the application process.
