Visitor record: how to extend your stay in Canada
A visitor record is how a visitor, a worker whose permit is ending, or a student who has finished stays in Canada legally past their current date. It costs $100, IRCC currently publishes 416 days to process it, and the whole thing turns on one rule: apply before your status expires and you can stay while you wait. This guide covers who qualifies, the documents, the timing, and the traps around travel and work.
Key takeaways
A visitor record extends a temporary resident's stay in Canada as a visitor. Apply online before your status expires, $100, published processing 416 days, and you hold maintained status while waiting. It does not permit work or study over six months and does not allow re-entry after travel. Restoration within 90 days if you missed the date.
- Apply at least 30 days before your status expires; that is what puts you on maintained status.
- $100 fee; 416 days published time; the wait is legal if you applied in time.
- A visitor record is not a visa: leave Canada and it does not bring you back.
- No work, and no study beyond six months, on visitor status.
- Missed the date: restoration within 90 days, $239.75 plus the $100.
What a visitor record is, and is not
Every temporary resident in Canada has an authorised period of stay. For most visitors it is six months from entry unless the officer wrote a different date; for workers and students it is the permit's expiry. A visitor record is the document IRCC issues from inside Canada to extend that period as a visitor. It has a new expiry date, it is a paper document rather than a stamp, and it exists for three groups of people:
- Visitors who want to stay longer than the period they were given: a parent helping with a new baby, a tourist extending a season, a partner waiting for a sponsorship decision.
- Workers and students whose permit is ending and who want to remain in Canada as visitors, for example after a PGWP expires while a PR file is processed, without any right to work.
- Super visa holders nearing the end of an authorised stay who want to remain beyond it.
What it is not: a visa or an eTA. It authorises presence, not entry. If you leave Canada, the visitor record does not let you back in; your visa or eTA does, and the officer at the border sets a fresh period. It also does not authorise work, and does not authorise study of more than six months.
Who can apply for a visitor record?
| You are | Can you apply? | Notes |
|---|---|---|
| A visitor with valid status (stamp, date or six months from entry) | Yes | Apply before the date; show purpose, funds and ties to home |
| A visitor whose status expired less than 90 days ago | Yes, as a restoration | Extra $239.75 fee; explain the lapse; no travel while pending |
| A visitor whose status expired more than 90 days ago | No | Leave Canada and apply from abroad for a new visa |
| A worker or student whose permit is ending | Yes | Applying converts you to visitor status on expiry; no work or study while waiting or after |
| A super visa holder | Yes | Extensions are common; show insurance and the host's continued support |
| Someone with a pending PR application (sponsorship, Express Entry) | Yes | Often the right way to stay legal during the wait; a spousal open work permit or BOWP is better if you qualify |
| Someone under a removal order | No | Outside the scope of a visitor record |
How to apply for a visitor record, step by step
- 01
Find your expiry date
The date in your passport stamp, on your visitor record or permit, or six months from entry if nothing was written. Diarise 30 days before it; that is your deadline.
- 02
Decide what you actually want
If the goal is to work, you need a work permit and, for most people, an application from outside Canada. If a partner is sponsoring you, a spousal open work permit is the better application. If you simply want to stay as a visitor, the visitor record is right.
- 03
Gather the documents
Passport (all pages), current status document, a letter explaining why you need more time and when you will leave, proof of funds for the stay (bank statements), proof of ties to home (job, property, family), and, if someone is hosting you, their letter and status. Super visa holders add insurance.
- 04
Apply online
Through your IRCC secure account: form IMM 5708 is the paper equivalent. Pay the $100 fee (and $85 biometrics if you have never given them). Keep the acknowledgement; it is your proof of maintained status.
- 05
Stay, and do not work or leave
Your previous conditions continue until the decision. Visitors cannot work; a former worker cannot keep working after applying for a visitor record. Leaving Canada ends maintained status.
- 06
Receive the decision
An approved visitor record is mailed with the new expiry date. A refusal ends your status on the date of the letter; you then have 90 days for restoration or must leave.
The 416 days: why the processing time matters less than it looks
IRCC's published time for a visitor record on its August 2026 update is 416 days, and it has sat above a year through 2025 and 2026 as in-Canada extensions have backed up. Two facts make that survivable. First, if you applied before your status expired, section 183 of the regulations keeps you on maintained status, legally present under your previous conditions, until the decision, however long it takes. Second, IRCC decides many visitor records far faster than the published average, which is dragged upward by complicated files. What the number does mean is that you should treat the application as a commitment to stay in Canada without travelling for an open-ended period, and that the choice of application matters: a person who really needs to work should not park themselves on a visitor record for a year. Our processing times page mirrors the live figure.
The travel trap
Visitor record and a pending PR application
The most common reason we see for a visitor record is a partner in Canada waiting on spousal sponsorship. A visitor record keeps status during the wait, but a spousal open work permit, filed with an inland application, keeps status and allows work, so it is usually the better application for anyone eligible. Similarly, a worker with an acknowledged PR application should look at the bridging open work permit before settling for visitor status. Where neither fits, the visitor record is the right way to stay legal, and the days count as temporary-resident days toward citizenship at half value.
Restoration: if the date has passed
Status that has expired cannot be extended, only restored. You have 90 days from expiry to apply, paying the $100 for the visitor record and a $239.75 restoration fee, with an explanation of how the lapse happened and evidence you otherwise complied with your conditions. While it is pending you cannot work or study and you should not leave; if it is refused, or the 90 days pass, you must leave Canada. Restoration is discretionary and officers weigh the reason for the overstay, so an honest, documented explanation matters more than the fee.
Common mistakes with visitor records
- Counting six months from the stamp date when the officer wrote an earlier date in the passport.
- Applying the week of expiry, which still works legally but leaves no room if the application is returned as incomplete.
- A letter that says “I want to stay longer” with no purpose, funds or end date. Officers refuse open-ended requests.
- Working while on a visitor record, including for a former employer; it is unauthorised work and follows you into every later application.
- Applying for a visitor record when a work permit was the goal, then discovering you cannot apply for the permit from inside Canada.
- Leaving Canada during processing and losing the application.
- Submitting a second application because the first is slow; it does not speed anything and can confuse the file.
Compliance note. Wild Mountain Immigration is a licensed RCIC practice (CICC R706497). Fees and processing times are IRCC's as of August 2026 and change; confirm them on canada.ca before you apply. Nothing here guarantees an extension.
Frequently asked questions
What is a visitor record?
A visitor record is a document IRCC issues to a temporary resident already in Canada that extends their authorised stay as a visitor and sets a new expiry date. It is not a visa: it does not let you re-enter Canada if you leave, and it does not authorise work or study. It is the way to stay longer than the period you were given at the border, or to change from worker or student status to visitor status without leaving.
How long can I extend my stay in Canada?
There is no fixed maximum, but each visitor record is usually granted for up to six months at a time, and an officer can give more where the purpose justifies it, for example a parent on a super visa or a spouse waiting for a sponsorship decision. Each extension is assessed on its own: the purpose of the continued stay, your means, your ties to home and your history of respecting conditions.
How much does a visitor record cost?
The fee is $100 per person. Biometrics are $85 if you have not given them in the last ten years; most visitors will already have them on file from the visa or eTA stage. There is no separate restoration fee unless you apply after your status has expired.
How long does a visitor record take?
IRCC's published processing time for a visitor record from inside Canada is 416 days on its August 2026 update, and it has been over a year for most of 2025 and 2026. That sounds alarming, but it matters less than it seems: if you applied before your status expired you stay on maintained status, legally in Canada, until IRCC decides, however long that takes.
When should I apply for a visitor record?
At least 30 days before your current status expires. Status is the date stamped or written in your passport, the date on your visitor record or permit, or, if no date was given, six months from the day you entered. Applying before expiry is what puts you on maintained status; applying after expiry means you are out of status and must ask for restoration within 90 days, with a further fee.
Can I work or study on a visitor record?
No. A visitor record confirms visitor status only. Study of six months or less does not need a permit and is allowed; anything longer needs a study permit. Any work needs a work permit, and since 2024 most visitors cannot apply for a work permit from inside Canada; the application is made from outside.
Can I leave Canada while my visitor record application is being processed?
You can leave, but your application does not travel with you and maintained status ends when you exit. To come back you need a valid visa or eTA and you are assessed as a new entrant at the border, who may give you a shorter stay. If the record is approved while you are away, it is generally not usable on return. Plan not to travel until it is decided.
What if my status has already expired?
Apply for restoration of status within 90 days of the expiry, paying the $100 visitor record fee plus the $239.75 restoration fee, and explain why you overstayed. You cannot work or study while restoration is pending and you should not leave Canada. After 90 days restoration is no longer available and you must leave.
Need to stay longer, and want the right application filed in time?
A licensed RCIC tells you whether a visitor record, a work permit or a sponsorship-linked permit is the one to file, and files it before the date.