Canada visitor visa checklist for Indians (TRV, 2026)

IRCC’s two lists: required and recommended

IRCC’s visitor visa page, last modified on 28 August 2026, separates what you must send from what it recommends. The required items make the application complete. The recommended items carry the evidence an officer uses to judge whether you will go home after the visit, so treat them as part of the file, not as extras.

Forms, and who completes each

Online applicants get a personalised checklist in the IRCC portal, built from their answers, and that list is the authority for your file. The forms below are the ones IRCC’s pages name. The rule on IMM 5257 comes from IRCC’s paper application guide 5256, modified on 31 March 2026.

Bank statements: six months, with balances

IRCC’s wording is precise: “At least 6 months of account details, including balances, helps us understand your financial situation.” Download statements that show a running balance against each transaction for the whole six months, rather than a one-line balance certificate from the branch.

There is no fixed amount. IRCC’s funds guidance asks for “an amount large enough to cover all reasonable expenses” and accepts “bank statement(s)… that show accumulated savings”. Savings that grow steadily over six months say more than a large balance that appeared last month.

If your host in Canada is paying, add their Notice of Assessment from the Canada Revenue Agency, which IRCC lists among the evidence of a host’s support.

The employer letter, and its three-month limit

IRCC recommends a letter “on official letterhead and dated no earlier than 3 months before applying”. A letter written for last year’s leave will not meet that, so ask HR for a fresh one shortly before you submit, and replace it if your application is delayed.

IRCC’s instructions to officers include the question “Has the applicant’s employer approved a request for leave?”, so make the letter answer it: your role, how long you have worked there, your salary and the leave dates approved for the trip. Self-employed applicants have no employer to ask; business registration, filed tax returns and business bank statements can do the same job.

Visiting family: the invitation letter

For a family visit, the invitation from your relative in Canada is one of the purpose documents. IRCC lists what it should contain. Match its dates to your leave letter and itinerary, and if the host is paying, say so in the letter and include their proof of income.

• About you: full name, date of birth, address, phone number, your relationship to the host, the purpose and length of the visit, where you will stay and how you will pay, and when you plan to leave Canada.
• About the host: their name, date of birth, address, job title and status in Canada with a copy of the status document, and details of their family.

Biometrics, photos, translations and children

• Biometrics are given at a VFS Global centre in India. “You only need to give your biometrics once every 10 years.” Children under 14 and applicants over 79 are exempt.
• If you give biometrics, no paper photos are needed. Where a photo is required, IRCC’s specification is at least 35 × 45 mm, head 31 to 36 mm from chin to crown, plain white or light background, taken within the last six months.
• Translations “must not be done by the applicants themselves nor by members of the applicant’s family”, and need a translator’s affidavit unless the translator is certified in Canada.
• A child travelling alone, or with an adult who is not a parent, “should have a letter of authorization… signed by both parents or legal guardians”. Name the accompanying adult and the travel dates in it.

After approval, and where bookings fit

Approved online applicants receive a passport request in their IRCC account. IRCC is clear that “You can’t travel until the visa is placed in that passport”, and it asks you to submit the same passport you used in the application, so do not renew it mid-application without checking IRCC’s instructions first.

Visas can be issued “for up to 10 years or until the expiry date of either your passport or biometrics”, but long validity is decided case by case. When the counterfoil arrives, note its expiry date and whether it allows more than one entry.

The itinerary is the only place a booking appears, and it is a recommended document. A held flight reservation and a confirmed hotel booking give the officer “flight details” and “proof of accommodation” without buying anything before the decision. Order them for the day you submit, and keep the dates in line with the invitation and leave letter.

If you are staying with relatives, their invitation covers accommodation and only the flight details are needed. With the desk, a flight reservation is ₹708 incl. GST for the first traveller, ordered and paid by UPI in the order window on this site. If you also need a hotel booking, it is ₹590 incl. GST per hotel, prepared in the same window, arranged with the desk on WhatsApp and paid by the payment link the desk sends once the hotel is confirmed.

Questions people ask