How to Fill Out and Submit Form IMM 5257: Canada Visitor Visa Steps

Form IMM 5257 is the application a foreign national fills out to request a Canadian visitor visa, officially called a Temporary Resident Visa. You download the interactive PDF from Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC), complete every field to match your passport, click Validate to generate a barcode page, then upload the form with your supporting documents through an IRCC secure account and pay the $100 CAD processing fee.¹

Who Actually Needs to File IMM 5257

Not every traveler to Canada uses this form. Citizens of visa-required countries must obtain a Temporary Resident Visa before traveling by air, land, or sea. Citizens of visa-exempt countries flying to Canada typically need only an Electronic Travel Authorization, which is a separate and cheaper process. IRCC publishes the country-by-country list.²

U.S. citizens and U.S. permanent residents do not need a visitor visa or an eTA, though green card holders must carry a valid passport from their country of nationality along with their green card.² Business visitors attending meetings, conferences, or trade shows without entering the Canadian labor market file IMM 5257 rather than a work permit application.³

Gather Your Documents Before You Open the Form

Collecting supporting documents first saves time and prevents an incomplete submission. IRCC expects the following:

A clear color scan of your passport’s biographical page and any pages with stamps, visas, or markings. IRCC does not accept passports issued by Somalia, non-machine-readable Czech Republic passports, temporary South African passports, or provisional Venezuelan passports.
Copies of previous passports and visas used within the last ten years to show travel history.
At least six months of bank statements showing balances, your name, and the bank’s contact information.
An employer letter on company letterhead, dated within three months of your application, confirming your job title, start date, salary, and job description, with your manager’s phone and email.
A travel itinerary: flight details, hotel bookings, or event registration that shows your plans and intent to leave.
A letter of invitation if someone in Canada is hosting you. It is not required, but it helps. Include the host’s full legal name, immigration status, address, relationship to you, trip dates, and who is paying.

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Two other forms travel with IMM 5257. Form IMM 5645 (Family Information) is required for every applicant aged 18 or older. IMM 5257 Schedule 1 is a supplementary background and security form.⁴ If a representative is helping you, they complete IMM 5476 (Use of a Representative).

Filling Out the Form

Download IMM 5257 from the IRCC website. The PDF has embedded logic and interactive fields, so you need Adobe Acrobat Reader version 10 or higher. It will not work properly in a browser’s built-in PDF viewer or on most mobile devices.⁵

Your personal details must match your passport exactly. Name, date of birth, passport number, country of issue. A small inconsistency between the form and your passport can trigger delays or a refusal.

Residency and Travel History

The form asks whether you have lived in any country other than your home country or current country of residence for more than six months during the past five years. If you have, list each country, your status there, and the dates. This covers places where you actually resided, not countries you briefly visited.¹

Employment History

Provide employment history for the past ten years, or the ten years before retirement if you are retired. List each position with employer name, job title, dates, and location. Explain gaps. “Unemployed” and “homemaker” are valid entries. Visa officers use this section to assess whether you have professional ties pulling you back to your home country.¹

Validate the Form

After filling every field, click the Validate button at the top or bottom of the document. The software checks for missing or incorrectly formatted entries. If everything passes, it generates a page of barcodes that IRCC scans directly into their records. If fields are incomplete, the form flags them so you can fix the errors. Do not skip this step. A form without barcodes will not be accepted.⁵

Completing Schedule 1

Schedule 1 (IMM 5257 SCH1) is a separate PDF covering background information. It asks about military or militia service, including dates and locations where you were stationed. It asks whether you have witnessed or participated in mistreatment of prisoners or civilians. It asks about membership in any organization that has engaged in or advocated violence for political or religious objectives. It asks about any government positions you have held, from civil servant to judge to police officer.⁶

Answer every question honestly. Leaving a section blank or giving vague responses draws scrutiny. If a question does not apply, mark it accordingly. Misrepresenting any fact, intentional or not, can result in a refusal and a five-year ban from Canada.⁷

Photo Requirements

Photos must be taken against a plain white or light-colored background. The frame size must be at least 35 mm × 45 mm. Digital photos cannot be altered in any way, meaning no retouching and no filters. If you are applying online, upload the photo as part of your application package.⁸

Submitting Online

Most applicants must apply online. Create an IRCC secure account using either a GCKey username and password or a Canadian Interac Sign-In Partner (your Canadian bank login). If you do not have a Canadian bank account, use GCKey. You set up a username, password, and security questions, then link the GCKey to a new IRCC profile.⁹

Once logged in, the portal walks you through uploading your validated IMM 5257 with the barcode page, Schedule 1, IMM 5645, your passport scan, photos, and supporting documents. After uploading, pay the processing fee by credit card in the portal.

Paper Applications Are the Exception

Paper applications are available only if you cannot apply online, including for reasons of disability or because you are traveling on a refugee or stateless-person travel document.¹⁰ If you qualify, print the validated form (with a sharp, legible barcode page), attach supporting documents, and submit the package to the Visa Application Centre serving your region. If there is no VAC in your country, you can use one in another country.¹¹

Fees

The visitor visa processing fee is $100 CAD per person. The same fee applies whether IRCC issues a single-entry or multiple-entry visa. Families of five or more applying at the same time and place, with children qualifying as dependants, are capped at $500 CAD total.¹²

The processing fee is non-refundable, even if your application is refused. Budget separately for biometrics ($85 CAD per person) and any medical examination if IRCC requests one. Panel physician fees typically range from $250 to $500.

Biometrics

After you submit, IRCC sends a biometric instruction letter telling you to provide fingerprints and a digital photograph at a designated collection point. The fee is $85 CAD per person, capped at $170 CAD for families applying together.¹³ Book your appointment as soon as the letter arrives. You have 30 days from that date, and delays here stall the whole application.¹⁴

Not everyone needs biometrics. Exemptions include children aged 13 and under, applicants aged 80 and over at the time of submission, holders of diplomatic or official visas, and U.S. visa holders transiting through Canada.¹⁵

After You Submit

IRCC processes most visitor visa applications in a few weeks, but timelines swing widely by country and application volume. Published processing times represent how long 80 percent of temporary residence applications took over the preceding 8 to 16 weeks. They are estimates, not guarantees.¹⁶ Check the current estimate for your country on the IRCC processing times page under “Temporary residence.”

The visa officer may request additional information, a medical examination from an IRCC-approved panel physician, or a personal interview. These requests appear in your online account. If your application is approved, IRCC asks you to send your physical passport to a VAC so the visa foil can be placed inside. Only send your passport after you receive the request letter.¹¹

Common Reasons IMM 5257 Applications Are Refused

The most frequent reason IRCC refuses a visitor visa is that the officer was not satisfied you would leave Canada when your authorized stay ended. This is where your supporting documents do the work: strong ties to your home country (a steady job, property, family, ongoing education) and a clear return itinerary. An application can also be refused if you are found inadmissible on health, security, or criminal grounds.¹⁷

Other pitfalls: insufficient proof of funds, employment letters that are vague or undated, blurry or incomplete passport copies, and forms that were not validated and are missing the barcode page. An incomplete application does not get the benefit of the doubt. It gets returned or refused.

One boundary worth flagging. If you are visiting a child or grandchild in Canada, the super visa uses the same IMM 5257 form but allows stays of up to five years at a time. Eligibility is stricter, including a host income threshold and private medical insurance with at least $100,000 in coverage. You indicate on the form which visa you are applying for.¹⁸

1
Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada. Application for Visitor Visa (Temporary Resident Visa) (IMM 5257)
2
Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada. What You Need to Enter Canada
3
Justice Laws Website. Immigration and Refugee Protection Act – Section 11
4
Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada. How to Apply for a Visitor Visa
5
Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada. I Can’t Open My Application Form in PDF Format. What Can I Do?
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Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada. Schedule 1 – Application for Temporary Residence (IMM 5257 SCH1)
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Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada. Consequences of Immigration and Citizenship Fraud
8
Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada. Temporary Resident Visa Application Photograph Specifications
9
Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada. Register for an IRCC Secure Account
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Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada. Guide 5256 – Applying for a Visitor Visa (Temporary Resident Visa) – Paper Application
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Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada. Find a Visa Application Centre
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Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada. Citizenship and Immigration Application Fees
13
Canada.ca. Biometrics
14
Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada. Where to Give Your Fingerprints and Photo
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Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada. Find Out if You Need to Give Biometrics
16
Government of Canada. Check Current IRCC Processing Times
17
Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada. My Application for a Visitor Visa Was Refused. Should I Apply Again?
18
Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada. Super Visa for Parents and Grandparents – Who Can Apply