Canada is not only well known for their globalized international education that attracts international students, or easy pathways for immigration programs; but they are also widely open for business people who can invest and wants to develop business in Canada. Mostly these businessmen might need to visit first Canada and meet with potential business partners to strengthen plans and start with an agreement.

The Business Visitor visa is a temporary resident visa (TRV), which only allows the holder to stay in Canada for a short period of time for business activities, such as participating in conferences or workshops, site visits, attending trainings, or looking for potential investment or business partners. This business visitor who comes to Canada may take part in international business activities, but are not allowed to enter the Canadian labor market.

To be eligible as a business visitor to Canada, you must show that:

• You plan to stay for less than 6 months
• You don’t plan to enter the Canadian labor market
• Your main place of business and source of income and profits is outside Canada
• You have documents that support your application
• You meet Canada’s basic entry requirements, which includes
  • A passport
  • Proof that you have enough funds for your stay in Canada and your return home
  • If you need an electronic travel authorization (eTA), you must travel using the same passport you used in your application
  • A letter of support from your parent company and a letter of invitation from Canadian host business or a Letter of Recognition from the Canada Border Services Agency
  • Other documents such as warranty or service agreements or contracts, if relevant to your visit
  • 24 hour contact details of your business host in Canada

If you do not fulfill the conditions stated above, you may have a hard time to convince the Canadian Embassy to grant you the Business Visitor visa and might get denied on your application.

Business Visitor visa have to follow the normal visa application procedure for TRV, and must indicate that the purpose of travel to Canada is for international business activities. The cost to apply for Canadian Business Visitor Visa is $100 CAD with an additional biometric fee of $85 CAD. The processing time of a Business Visitor visa mostly takes six weeks or less, however, it will also depend on the visa office.

Once your visa got approved, then you will have to pay around $45 CAD for the passport processing.