Applying for a new temporary resident visa/visitor visa from inside of Canada

Create or login to the IRCC Secure Account through GCKey (recommended) or sign-in partner.

Do not apply through the "IRCC Portal". If you forgot your GCKey password and/or username, follow the steps to recover your username first then password. Or, you can sign up for a new IRCC secure account by creating a new GCKey. You may link your applications to your new account, if needed.

On your IRCC Secure Account home page, scroll down to the bottom and look for “Apply to Come to Canada”. On the next page you will start the process to generate your ‘Personal checklist’. Scroll down to the bottom and choose the option for “visitor visa, study and/or work permit”. Answer all the questions accurately in the eligibility tool. Your document checklist and application form (IMM 5257) will be generated at the end of the questionnaire. Consider the following when you are answering these questions:

• For the first question “What would you like to do in Canada?”, select
  • “Study” if you have a valid study permit or
  • “Work” if you have a valid work permit
• For the question “What is your current/territory of residence?”, select “Canada”
• If you have a valid study permit, the Provincial Attestation Letter (PAL) is not required when applying for a new TRV from inside of Canada. Follow these instructions for the questions related to the PAL:
  • For the question “Do you meet an exception from submitting a provincial/territorial attestation letter?" select 'YES'.
  • For the question “Which exception do you qualify for?”, select 'I am an applicant who meets another exception listed on the IRCC website'.
• Answer the subsequent questions according to your individual situation.
• You will arrive at a page where you will be given the option to extend your current study permit or apply for a ‘Temporary Resident Visa (TRV)’—make sure you select ‘Temporary Resident Visa (TRV)’ by pressing the ‘Continue’ button in that box.
• For the question “Which of the following best describes your situation?”, select ‘I have a study permit’.
• Answer the remainder of the questions according to your individual situation.

The application form listed in your document checklist will be called Application for Visitor Visa (Temporary Resident Visa) Made Outside of Canada (IMM 5257). This is the form you need to fill out, even when you apply from inside Canada. Follow the instructions on the webpage to download the PDF. You must open the document on your device, not on a web browser. Ensure to review Guide 5256 carefully, then consider the following to help you understand questions in the IMM5257 form:

• UCI: can be found on your study permit and TRV.
• PERSONAL DETAILS:
  • Question 7: “From” date should be the date you received the first study permit, “To” date should be the date of your current study permit expiration date. 
• COMING INTO CANADA:
  • Question 1 "Place": should be the airport that you first landed in Canada.
  • Question 4 "Study Permit document number": should be the Black bolded number starting with one letter at top right of your study permit.
• DETAILS OF VISIT TO CANADA:
  • Question 1 "Purpose of my visit": Select ‘Returning student’.
  • Question 2: “From” date must be greater to or equal than today’s date, and the “To” date should be the expiry date on your current study permit.
  • Question 3 "Funds available for my stay (CAD)": This should match the amount of funds that you are showing for the ‘proof of financial support’ section of your document checklist. Please see Step 4—Gather supporting documents
  • Question 4 "Name, address, and relationship to any person(s) or institution(s) I will visit": You can put the University of Manitoba’s information in this section.
• EDUCATION: Indicate ‘Yes’ for this section. Include information about your current studies if you are a returning student, or information about your completed program if you have recently graduated.
• EMPLOYMENT:
  • Question 1: current activity/occupation is “Student”.
  • If you need more space for your previous activity/occupations, include details in a letter of explanation and submit it with your application, under “Client Information”. 
• BACKGROUND INFORMATION:
  • Answer questions 2 a), b) and c) honestly.
    • 2 a) example: If you have studied or worked without a valid study permit or work permit, you need to list details and an explanation.
    • 2 b) example: If you were ever refused any visa, or admission to Canada or any other country, you need to report it with a brief explanation.
    • 2 c) example: Choose “yes”, provide brief information or your previous IRCC applications such as study permit (extension) application(s).
  • If you answer yes to any or all of questions 2 a), 2 b) and 2 c), then you MUST complete question 2 d) by adding the details in the box below.
  • Add truthful and complete details for each question you answered yes to.
• SIGNATURE: follow the instructions on how to sign your online application.

• Proof of next term's enrollment: provide an enrollment verification for the current term and the next term (if available).
  • Extended Education Intensive Package students should contact your program coordinator for a Letter of Enrolment. 
  • English Language Centre (ELC) students should contact ELC office for available documentation that confirms enrollment.
• Recent Education Transcript: request an official transcript from the Registrar’s Office. If you attended ICM, include an official ICM transcript, as well as an official UM transcript.
• Canadian study or work permit: Please scan a copy of your current study permit and upload it in this section.
• Proof of Financial Support: As an international student who is applying for a new TRV as a study permit holder, you are required to show the same proof of financial sufficiency as study permit applications. Please see IRCC’s proof of financial support page for information and examples of documentation.
  • You should be prepared to show funds to support yourself for at least one full year tuition fees plus one year living expenses. Minimum funds needed to support yourself for study permit extension can be found on IRCC updated financial requirement.
  • We recommend that you provide as much proof of financial support as possible.
• Passport: Scan the bio page of your passport along with your current TRV (even if it’s expired), your current study permit, and any other pages in your passport that has a visa or stamp. Merge all these pages into one PDF document.
• Digital Photo: You can find the photo ID specifications online.
• Letter of Explanation (if needed): This is an optional document which can be uploaded in the ‘Client Information’ section of the document checklist. This document would be written by the applicant and would provide additional information or details that they would want to be considered by the IRCC officer reviewing their application.
• Medical Exam (if needed)
• Biometrics (if needed): Biometrics for visas, study permits and work permits are valid for 10 years. You can find out if your biometrics are still valid online. Follow the steps below if you must give biometrics:
  • Pay the additional fee with your application
  • Get an instruction letter from IRCC
  • Book an appointment 
  • Give your biometrics

• We recommend that students take screenshots of the confirmation page after they submit their application.
• You will receive confirmation of submission as a message in your IRCC secure account within 24 hours of submitting your application.

After you submit your application

IRCC will send you a message to your secure account once they’ve processed your application and are at the stage where they require you to mail your passport to affix your new TRV inside your passport. Do not mail your passport until IRCC has sent you a passport request message. Complete the instructions on how to mail your passport to IRCC if you’ve applied online for your TRV.

We recommend that students use the Canada Post Xpresspost service to mail their passport, as this service is faster than the regular mail and each envelope has a tracking number attached to it. For students living outside Ontario and Quebec, purchase two Canada Post Xpresspost prepaid national envelopes at any Canada Post location. Put one envelope with your address inside the other one (that’s addressed to IRCC) so that the IRCC can return your passport securely.

Envelope sizes:

• To send IRCC your passport:
  • 1 letter-size envelope (318x 241 mm)
• For IRCC to mail you back your passport:
  • 1 standard-sized envelope (206 x 159 mm)

Take note of both envelopes' tracking numbers.