Hey everyone,
I’m a British citizen who is currently staying in Canada on an extended vacation.
As I am not working, I am, by default, allowed to stay for six months. The trouble is, I’m not sure if the rules state six months “out of a certain period of time”, for example, if I am only allowed to stay for six months out of a one/two year period, and that two-weeks I spent in Canada last year would count towards this, of if my current stay this year can be a full six months.
As I was unsure of this before I left the UK earlier this year, I simply set my stay for five and a half months (purchasing the return ticket etc) so that even if the two weeks I spent in Canada in 2003 were counted, it still wouldn’t take me over the six months. When I landed in Canada, the authorities didn’t set a leaving time with me or even ask to see my return ticket.
However (and now we get to the point), I would really like to extend my stay by around three weeks to allow me to attend an awards celebration with a friend (it’s really important to her, as it’s the result of seven years hard work). That additional three weeks would mean I would have stayed in Canada for just under six months this year (I got to Canada in early August and the celebration is in late Jan), but coupled with the two weeks I stayed last year, it would take me over the six months. Does last year matter?
Changing my flight is easy enough, but I want to do things right and I’m not sure if I need to ask permission from any Canadian authorities, and I am really having trouble finding any details on the six month visit rules on the Canadian Immigration websites.
Does anyone know anything about Canadian rules on such visits?
Since it is only a couple of weeks we’re talking about, should I just change my flight and leave a little later, or should I be contacting anyone to ask permission or talk it through? I don’t want to be banned from returning to Canada in the future, you see!
Many thanks for any advice!
