Canada transit visa _ thru Vancouver to China...

[Daviation]

I've followed several posts regarding transit visa for Chinese SO's through Canada to/from US.

 

Our situation:

 

- spouse is K1 (AOS submitted and still waiting)

- has Advance Parole (AP) from I-131 in hand

- has EAD in hand (worthless for travel, but nice to have as gov ID)

- we live north of Seattle, WA and wish to consider flying to/from China via Vancouver

 

Questions:

 

1/ Where does one find application for Canada transit visa? I seem to only find commercial sites seeking to make money from being in the middle. Anyone have a direct link to Canada Immigration?

 

2/ Where does the application get submitted and how long does it take to process?

 

3/ If we fly through Vancouver on the way over and on the way back do we need 2 transit visas?

 

4/ Will the transit visa allow driving across the border to fly out of Vancouver, or is it only good for transit through the airport? Same question would apply for return.

 

If anyone has experience with such questions, I'd really appreciate your thoughts. Thanks very much,

 

David

[Randy W]

It is NOT good for entering Canada - only for passage through a Canadian airport remaining in an international area

[Randy W]

http://geo.international.gc.ca/asia/manila...gcanada-en.aspx

[jim_julian]

I'm sure you can get the transit visa and answers at the Canadian consulate in Seattle.

 

BTW, I have lived on Whidbey Island twice ... great place, love that summer salmon fishing until 10PM!

[Daviation]

Thanks for the input so far. I used to live on Whidby Island too - Freeland. And thanks for the links... though I'm still confused by the web sites and the recorded messages at Seattle Consulate.

 

I'm looking specifically for what others have called a Transit Visa. I gather this is somewhat less than a true Tourist Visa as it only allows transit through and airport. Presumeably this comes with the advantage of faster processing times.

 

However, I can only find information about the standard Tourist Visa... nothing on the Transit Visa. And Seattle Consulate now claims they are so busy they will not take phone calls... yippee.

[Randy W]

The link I posted was supposed to include a transit visa application. I'll see if I can't fix it when I get home

[Randy W]

You need a Application Form for Temporary Resident Visa to Canada (IMM 5257), 2 recent photographs, . . . It is free of charge.

[Randy W]

You need a Application Form for Temporary Resident Visa to Canada (IMM 5257), 2 recent photographs, . . . It is free of charge.

 

http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/pdf/kits/forms/IMM5257B.PDF

 

Send it to your local embassy/consulate

[DocMartin817]

My wife's parents just visited us for the last month and we had them fly to Vancouver and then down to Portland. The process of getting a temporary Canadian visa was super simple -- just fill out the form that is available online and enclose two pics. It was all done for free and Liwen's parents received it from the Canadian embassy in Beijing by mail to Wuhan. It was good for both coming and going. It took about two weeks to process.

The plane tickets for a flight to Beijing were significantly lower by flying Air Canada.

[Daviation]

For those of you who have obtained Canada Visas (either tourist or transit), can you please advise how you filled in block 8 (Immigration status of applicant in country where applying?

 

The options are:

 

Citizen

Permanent Resident

Temporary Resident

Worker

Student

Other

 

For our applicable status, see my opening post on this thread.

 

Is the box for "Worker" applicable since we have EAD card?

 

Or do I check "Other" and try to explain? Problem is there is not enough room for that stage of limbo in which many of our SO's reside. There is room for about 3 words. How do you say the following:

 

"No Green Card... K1 visa expired, but I'm in US legally... I-485 submitted, EAD Work Card in hand, Advance Parole from I-131 approved and in hand... waiting for AOS interview scheduled sometime in the future"

 

That won't all fit on the form...

 

How does one simply explain this status? And what amount of explanation is necessary for Canada to recognize this status and issue a Canada Visa?

 

And advice?

 

Thanks very much.

[dnoblett]

For those of you who have obtained Canada Visas (either tourist or transit), can you please advise how you filled in block 8 (Immigration status of applicant in country where applying?

 

The options are:

 

Citizen

Permanent Resident

Temporary Resident

Worker

Student

Other

 

For our applicable status, see my opening post on this thread.

 

Is the box for "Worker" applicable since we have EAD card?

 

Or do I check "Other" and try to explain? Problem is there is not enough room for that stage of limbo in which many of our SO's reside. There is room for about 3 words. How do you say the following:

 

"No Green Card... K1 visa expired, but I'm in US legally... I-485 submitted, EAD Work Card in hand, Advance Parole from I-131 approved and in hand... waiting for AOS interview scheduled sometime in the future"

 

That won't all fit on the form...

 

How does one simply explain this status? And what amount of explanation is necessary for Canada to recognize this status and issue a Canada Visa?

 

And advice?

 

Thanks very much.

"Worker" would be someone on a work visa typically H1B. I would suspect "Temporary Resident" at least until becoming a Permanent resident with the approval of green card.

 

Incidentally a Permanent Resident of the USA (Green-Card holder) does not need to get a Visa to visit or transit Canada.

[Randy W]

"Worker" would be someone on a work visa typically H1B. I would suspect "Temporary Resident" at least until becoming a Permanent resident with the approval of green card.

 

Incidentally a Permanent Resident of the USA (Green-Card holder) does not need to get a Visa to visit or transit Canada.

 

Nobody here (in this topic) is a resident of Canada - and no verbosity is called for. I believe this has been answered before. My guess is "Other", "airport transit"

[Daviation]

Neither of us are Canana residents either. What the box 8 says is "... status... in country where applying"

 

Since we are applying at the Canadian consulate in Seattle, I believe this question is intended to mean - What is applicant's status in US? Otherwise, if the appicant already had status in Canada, then there would be no reason to apply for Canada visa.

 

So... is "Temporary Resident" the appropriate terminology for the limbo status after applying for AOS but before actually receiving green card.

 

Note - we want to apply for the full tourist visa (not just airport transfer) as we want to drive to Canada and fly out of Vancouver. So, I'm not sure the "Other - transit" option would work.

 

Thanks again.

[Randy W]

Then she would need to apply for a visitor's visa as a Chinese citizen. You may need to change your travel plans.

Edited September 19, 2008 by Randy W (see edit history)

[dnoblett]

Then she would need to apply for a visitor's visa as a Chinese citizen. You may need to change your travel plans.

Yep, a full tourist visa will be required to enter Canada.

 

http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/visit/visas.asp