Applying for a UK visa in Canada

CANADA

Applying for a UK visa in Canada

This page explains how you can apply for a visa to come to the UK if you are currently in Canada.

If you currently have temporary permission to stay in Canada (for example, as a student or a visitor), you can only apply for some types of UK visa - see 'More information' below.

When to apply

You can apply for a visa up to 3 months before your date of travel to the UK. We strongly advise you not to confirm your travel arrangements until you have received your visa. To find out how long we usually take to process your type of visa, see the Visa processing times page.

Before you apply

Before you apply, you must:

• prepare the supporting documents that you will need;
• be ready to enrol your fingerprints and photograph (known as biometric information) at one of our visa application centres in Toronto, Ottawa, Vancouver or Edmonton or at one of our mobile biometric clinics in St John's or Halifax;
• be able to pay the visa application fee - the Visa application fees and guides page lists the application fees for different types of visa.

If you do not know which supporting documents to provide, the Visa application fees and guides page will help you to find guidance for your visa category.

If you are applying under the points-based system, you should provide all the documents specified in the guidance for your visa category. For each document, you should also provide any information or explanation that may help us to make our decision.

If you are applying for any other type of visa, you should provide documents that:

• support the statements that you make in your visa application; and
• show that the information in your application is true.

We will only consider documents submitted with your application. You cannot submit documents after you have completed your application at the visa application centre, unless our staff ask you for them.

For every document that you provide, you must include the original documentand a photocopy. This includes a copy of your passport bio-data page (the page containing your photograph). Please ensure that the photocopies are of good quality and can be read easily. If you do not provide a photocopy of each document, we might not return your original documents to you.

If you are submitting a permanent resident card (also known as green card) with your application do not submit the original card. Please provide a high quality, notarised colour photocopy of both sides of your permanent resident card with your application.

If you do not have a document, or your documents are not written in English or Welsh, or you are not paying for your trip, you can find out what to do under 'More information' below.

If you have temporary permission to stay (for example, as a visitor) in the country where you are currently present, you cannot apply for most types of UK visa in that country. You can only apply for:

• a visitor visa
• a Tier 5 (Temporary worker - creative and sporting) visa
• an EEA family permit

Your application may be referred back to your country of residence, which may cause delays.

To apply for any other types of UK visa, you must apply under the procedure for your country of residence. You can find this procedure by selecting your country of residence in our country finder.

How to apply

Non-settlement applications

To apply for a non-settlement visa, you must:

• complete and submit an online visa application form;
• pay your visa application fee online as part of your online application;
• book an appointment online with our commercial partner WorldBridge to visit one of our visa application centres or mobile biometric clinics - appointments at a visa application centre are free of charge, but there is a charge for appointments at our mobile biometric clinics in Halifax or St John's; and
• send your application to the UK Border Agency processing centre in New York.

Settlement 

applications

To apply for a settlement visa, you must:

• complete and submit an online visa application form;
• pay your visa application fee online as part of your online application;
• book an appointment online with our commercial partner WorldBridge to visit one of our visa application centres or mobile biometric clinics - appointments at a visa application centre are free of charge, but there is a charge for appointments at our mobile biometric clinics in Halifax or St John's;
• send your visa application to: UK Visas and Immigration, International Operations and Visa, 6 Millsands, Sheffield, S3 8NH, United Kingdom; and
• provide an international pre-paid shipping label or waybill and the appropriate packaging.

Online application form

You can find the 

online application

 form under 'Do it online' on the right side of this page.

You will need to print out and sign your completed online application form. If you do not have access to a printer when you apply, you will be able to log in later and print out the form.

When you have completed your online application, you will receive an email message containing your application number (also known as a 'GWF reference'). Please make a note of this number.

Submitting your application form

When you submit your application form, we will send you an email confirming that we have received it. This email will list the documents that you must bring to the visa application centre. If you do not receive this email within 24 hours, please check that:

• you have given us your correct email address, and
• the message is not in the spam or junk folders in your mailbox.

We can resend the email if you contact us and provide your GWF number. Your online form will be valid:

• until your appointment date, if you have booked an appointment through Visa4UK and you have a visa appointment reference (VAR) number; or
• for 90 days from the date when you submit it, in other circumstances.

We cannot accept your form after this 90-day period, as the data will have been deleted. You will need to complete a new application if you bring an expired application form to a visa application centre.

If you realise that you made a mistake on your online form, you cannot change it after you have submitted the form. Please make any changes in writing on your printed application form.

If you review your submitted application form online or on paper, you may find that you cannot see some of your answers. Be assured that we have received the answers you have sent to us, even though they sometimes may not be visible to you. But please feel free to write comments by hand on the printed application form if you want to do so.

Paying your visa application fee

You must pay your fee online in American dollars (USD). We only accept Visa or Mastercard debit and credit cards.

Booking an appointment at the visa application centre

To complete the application process, you must book and attend an appointment at:

• one of our visa application centres in Edmonton, Ottawa, Vancouver and Toronto; or
• a mobile biometric clinic in Halifax or St Johns's.