# Canada Visitor Visa from India: Fee, Biometrics, Timeline

> Government fee CAD $100, biometrics CAD $85 (~₹68/CAD, 1 Aug 2026), plus a separate VFS charge. Eligibility, steps and honest timing for applicants in India.

- Published: 2026-08-01 · Updated: 2026-08-10
- Author: VisaGyan (VisaGyan)
- Canonical: https://visagyan.in/canada-visitor-visa-from-india
- Official sources:
  - https://www.canada.ca/en/immigration-refugees-citizenship/services/visit-canada/visitor-visa.html
  - https://www.canada.ca/en/immigration-refugees-citizenship/services/visit-canada/about-visitor-visa.html
  - https://www.canada.ca/en/immigration-refugees-citizenship/services/visit-canada/eligibility.html
  - https://www.canada.ca/en/immigration-refugees-citizenship/services/visit-canada/apply-visitor-visa.html
  - https://www.canada.ca/en/immigration-refugees-citizenship/services/biometrics.html
  - https://www.canada.ca/en/immigration-refugees-citizenship/services/biometrics/when-to-give.html
  - https://ircc.canada.ca/english/information/fees/fees.asp
  - https://ircc.canada.ca/english/information/fees/refund.asp
  - https://www.canada.ca/en/immigration-refugees-citizenship/services/application/check-processing-times.html
  - https://www.canada.ca/en/immigration-refugees-citizenship/services/visit-canada/parent-grandparent-super-visa.html
  - https://www.canada.ca/en/immigration-refugees-citizenship/services/visit-canada/parent-grandparent-super-visa/eligibility.html
  - https://visa.vfsglobal.com/ind/en/can/

---

**Indian citizens need a visitor visa — a temporary resident visa (TRV) — to travel to Canada; India is not on the short list of nationalities eligible for the cheaper Electronic Travel Authorization (eTA) instead. Three separate payments are involved, and treating them as one number is the most common budgeting mistake made about this process: the IRCC government fee is CAD $100 per person (about ₹6,806 at ₹68.06/CAD, 1 August 2026), a further CAD $85 (about ₹5,785) goes to IRCC for biometrics unless you're exempt, and VFS Global — Canada's outsourced visa centre operator in India — charges its own service fee on top of both, set and published on its own site, not by IRCC. IRCC does not publish a fixed processing-time figure for India specifically; its "check processing times" tool is interactive and only returns a result once you select your country in a live browser session. This page separates every fee, walks the application from document checklist to biometrics appointment, and states plainly where IRCC's own published numbers stop.**

Search "canada visitor visa from india" and four of the first five organic results are the Canadian government itself, the Consulate General of India in Toronto, or VFS Global — the mechanics of this process are already documented in detail by the organisations that actually run it. What's missing from the aggregator sites filling the rest of the results page is not information but separation: government fee, biometrics fee and VFS service fee routinely get blended into a single "visa cost" figure, and IRCC's own processing-time page hands you a tool rather than a number.

This page sits below our [Canada visa refusal and GCMS notes guide](/canada-visa-refusal-gcms-notes-india) in this site's structure, not above it. If you're here because an application was already refused, that page — not this one — has the mechanism for finding out why and what changes before you reapply. This page is for the applicant applying for a Canada visitor visa from India for the first time — a Canada TRV from India, in IRCC's own term for the document — and wants the current requirements, the fees split correctly, and honest timing.

<Callout>
**A visitor visa is a sticker in your passport, not a guarantee.** IRCC states plainly that meeting every listed requirement does not obligate an officer to approve you — the officer must also be personally convinced you will leave Canada by the end of your authorized stay. Everything below is necessary. None of it is sufficient on its own.
</Callout>

## Who actually needs this visa, and who doesn't

Most travellers need a visitor visa to enter Canada, and Indian citizens fall into that group without exception. IRCC's own "Who needs a visitor visa" page states it directly: "Most travellers need a visitor visa to travel to Canada." A separate, cheaper entry document — the Electronic Travel Authorization (eTA) — exists only for citizens of a short, closely guarded list of visa-exempt countries. As of 26 May 2026, IRCC extended eTA eligibility to citizens of Indonesia and Malaysia (subject to conditions) for air travel; India was not part of that expansion and remains outside the eTA-eligible list entirely, per canada.ca's updated page. Every Indian applicant, travelling by air, land or sea, needs the full TRV process this page describes — there is no periodic eTA check worth doing, because India has never been on IRCC's visa-exempt list. IRCC's own page adds one case applicants often miss: you may need a visitor visa even if Canada is only a stopover, not a destination — transiting through a Canadian airport on the way to a third country can require one too, depending on your onward routing.

The visa itself is a physical document IRCC affixes into your passport — officially a temporary resident visa (TRV), commonly called a visitor visa. The single vs multiple entry TRV choice belongs to the visa officer, not to you; you don't select the type on your application. The officer decides based on your stated purpose and travel history, and validity is capped at 10 years or your passport's expiry, whichever comes first (detailed further down). This is also where what applicants informally call "dual intent" — wanting to visit now while hoping to immigrate to Canada later — gets weighed, even though IRCC's own pages don't use that term: the actual test is the temporary-intent standard covered next.

## What IRCC is testing for before it issues one

IRCC's "Who can apply" page lists the bar plainly: a valid travel document, good health, and no criminal or immigration-related convictions — and its document checklist adds a specific floor on top: your passport should be valid for at least 6 months from your travel date, renewed before you apply if it isn't. The part that decides most outcomes is separate from that checklist — convincing "an immigration officer that you have ties... that will take you back to your home country" and that "you will leave Canada at the end of your visit." You also need "enough money for your stay," a phrase IRCC leaves deliberately unquantified: "the amount of money you will need depends on how long you will stay and if you will stay in a hotel, or with friends or relatives."

That is a real gap, not an oversight this page can fill with an invented number. No published IRCC bank-balance threshold exists for a Canada visitor visa — the same position as for a UK visitor visa, and unlike several Schengen states, which do publish reference amounts. Our [full destination-by-destination bank-balance comparison](/bank-balance-required-for-schengen-visa-inr) covers what is and isn't published across Schengen, the UK and Canada, each sourced to the relevant government's own page. Applicants searching "proof of funds Canada" are usually looking for a threshold that doesn't exist; what IRCC actually weighs is funds alongside employment, property, family ties and the coherence of your stated purpose, not a bank balance in isolation. A letter of invitation — Canada's own term on its document checklist — from someone in Canada, plus proof of your relationship to them (a marriage certificate, a birth certificate, or the Statutory Declaration of Common-Law Union, IMM 5409) specifically strengthens a family-visit application.

## Three fees, three separate receipts

Three payments make up the real cost of applying, and conflating them into one figure is where most cost estimates online go wrong.

The government processing fee — paid to IRCC, not to any intermediary — is CAD $100 per person for a single- or multiple-entry TRV (about ₹6,806 at ₹68.06/CAD on 1 August 2026). IRCC caps this fee at CAD $500 for a family of five or more applying together at the same time and place, provided the children qualify as dependants. This is the same base fee used for a Super Visa application, per IRCC's own fee schedule.

Biometrics are a second, separate government fee: CAD $85 per person, capped at CAD $170 for a family applying together (about ₹5,785 and ₹11,570). Combined, an individual applicant's two government fees total CAD $185 — about ₹12,590 — before any service charge is added. IRCC states that once it has started processing your application, "you won't get all your fees back," so neither government fee functions as a refundable deposit against approval.

A third charge sits outside both government fees. VFS Global operates every Canada Visa Application Centre (VAC) in India as IRCC's outsourced service provider, and it sets its own service fee for passport handling and related services, independent of the CAD $185 above. VFS's own site states that booking a biometrics appointment itself carries no charge, but the company revises its service-fee schedule on its own timetable — it announced a service-charge update effective 1 May 2026 without the new figure appearing on the archived page checked for this article. Treat any specific VFS fee figure you see elsewhere as something to confirm directly at [visa.vfsglobal.com/ind/en/can](https://visa.vfsglobal.com/ind/en/can/) on the day you apply, not something this page will guess at.

Two further IRCC fees matter only if your plans change after you apply. Extending your stay as a visitor from inside Canada costs CAD $100 per person, the same as the original application. Restoring your status after it lapses — if you stayed past your authorized date without applying to extend first — costs CAD $246.25 (about ₹16,759) and needs no separate visa fee on top. Neither applies at the application stage covered by the rest of this page; both are listed here because IRCC's own fee schedule groups them alongside the TRV fee, and applicants searching for "Canada visitor visa fees india" often land on this exact page of the schedule looking for the wrong line item.

| Fee | Charged by | Amount | ₹, at ₹68.06/CAD, 1 Aug 2026 |
| --- | --- | --- | --- |
| TRV application, per person | IRCC (government) | CAD $100 | ≈ ₹6,806 |
| TRV application, family of 5+ | IRCC (government) | CAD $500 max | ≈ ₹34,028 |
| Biometrics, per person | IRCC (government) | CAD $85 | ≈ ₹5,785 |
| Biometrics, family | IRCC (government) | CAD $170 max | ≈ ₹11,570 |
| VFS service charge | VFS Global (outsourced VAC operator) | Not published on the page checked; varies | Confirm at visa.vfsglobal.com/ind/en/can |

## Applying for a Canada visitor visa from India, step by step

1. **Confirm you need a TRV, not an eTA.** True for essentially every Indian applicant, by any mode of travel, per the eligibility rules above.
2. **Sign in to the IRCC Portal with a GCKey account** (or a Sign-In Partner login through your bank) and apply online. IRCC generates a personalised document checklist once you answer questions about your purpose of visit — tourism, business, a family visit, attending a FIFA World Cup 2026™ match, and several other categories each carry their own document list.
3. **Upload every document your checklist lists.** A digital colour copy of your passport's biodata page and any prior visa stamps are required for everyone; a letter of invitation and proof of relationship apply specifically to a family-visit application.
4. **Pay the CAD $100 government fee** (or the CAD $500 family maximum) through the portal.
5. **Give biometrics at a VFS Global Visa Application Centre**, by appointment, unless you're exempt — and pay the separate CAD $85 biometrics fee plus VFS's own service charge at that stage.
6. **Track your IRCC application status through the same portal account** while you wait. IRCC requests your passport for visa stamping only once your application is approved, not before.

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## Biometrics Canada VAC India: what actually happens

Applicants searching "biometrics Canada VAC India" are usually trying to answer two separate questions: whether they're exempt, and what it costs beyond the government fee. Most applicants give fingerprints and a photo once as part of the TRV process, and IRCC states this is required "once every 10 years" for temporary residence applicants. That figure is not incidental: IRCC also states it "can't issue a visa or permit for more than 10 years from the date you gave your biometrics" — which is the actual reason a TRV's own maximum validity caps out at 10 years, not a separate coincidence. If you gave biometrics for a Canadian application within the last 10 years, you may not need to give them again; your portal checklist confirms this per application.

IRCC's exemption list removes several categories from the biometrics requirement entirely: children under 14, applicants over 79, anyone applying for an eTA rather than a TRV, heads of state and heads of government, diplomatic or official visa holders, US visa holders transiting through Canada, and applicants whose biometrics were already captured for a still-pending permanent residence application. Everyone else books an appointment at a VFS Global VAC in India through visa.vfsglobal.com/ind/en/can — search "VFS Global Canada India" and that is the only authorised channel this appointment runs through, never a third party claiming the same access. VFS states the appointment booking itself carries no charge, though passport-submission and handling services around it do, per the fee note above.

## How long a Canada visitor visa from India actually takes

There is no single published IRCC processing time for India. IRCC publishes an interactive "check processing times" tool instead of a fixed number, and it genuinely requires selecting a country inside a live browser session — no static page states "X weeks for India" as of the date this article was checked (1 August 2026). IRCC's own explanation for why is a list of variables, not a formula. It depends on whether the application is complete, "how easily we can verify your information," how many applications are already ahead of yours in its queue, and "how long you take to respond to any requests or concerns." IRCC also states explicitly that its shown time "doesn't include the time you need to give biometrics" — the clock the tool displays and the clock you'll actually experience during your own application are not the same clock.

One dated data point exists in the community record, offered here as one real outcome to weigh against that tool, not as a substitute for it. One applicant, r/CanadaVisitorVisa, 4 May 2026, documented a family-visit TRV application submitted 1 April 2026, biometrics given 8 April 2026 — seven days later — and a decision issued 26 April 2026: 25 days from submission to decision (a refusal, in that particular case, which is a separate topic our [refusal guide](/canada-visa-refusal-gcms-notes-india) addresses directly). That is one applicant's one timeline, not an average and not a guarantee in either direction. IRCC's own tool, checked on the day you actually apply, is the only source that reflects current queue volume for your specific application category.

## Visa validity, and how long you can stay

A visa officer sets your TRV's validity at issuance, and IRCC caps it "generally... for up to a maximum of 10 years, or until the expiry of either your passport or biometrics, whichever comes first." A passport with 4 years of validity left, or biometrics given 3 years ago, each cut a 10-year cap down to whichever expires soonest. Validity — how long the visa lets you travel to Canada — and stay length — how long you can remain per visit — are two different numbers. Most visitors can stay up to 6 months per entry, and a border services officer decides your actual permitted stay at the port of entry, stamping a specific leave-by date into your passport, or issuing a separate visitor record document if they allow more or less than 6 months.

## The Super Visa for parents and grandparents

A Super Visa is a distinct category of multiple-entry TRV built for parents and grandparents of a Canadian citizen, permanent resident, or registered Indian, and it solves a different problem than the standard visitor visa. Instead of a 6-month stay, a Super Visa holder can remain in Canada for up to 5 years at a time, on a document valid for up to 10 years, without needing to extend status or re-enter at the 6-month mark that limits a standard TRV. The government fee is the same CAD $100 as a standard TRV, per IRCC's fee schedule, but eligibility adds two requirements a tourist TRV does not carry: proof of private health insurance valid for a minimum of 1 year from your date of entry, from a Canadian insurer or a foreign insurer the minister has approved, and a completed immigration medical exam. Dependants cannot be added to a Super Visa application — each eligible parent or grandparent applies on their own separate file.

## If it gets refused

A refusal letter states a checkbox reason, not the officer's full reasoning — the specific detail behind the standard-paragraph conclusion sits in a separate file, your GCMS notes, that IRCC releases only on request. Our [Canada visa refusal and GCMS notes guide](/canada-visa-refusal-gcms-notes-india) covers the actual mechanism for requesting that file from India (a CAD $5 government fee, filed through someone eligible on your behalf, not something to pay a premium reseller for), what the notes will and won't tell you, and how IRCC's own reapplication guidance reads. If you're weighing whether a paid representative is worth it at any stage of this process — the original application, a reapplication, or the GCMS request itself — our [guide to hiring a visa agent in India](/should-i-hire-a-visa-agent-india) sets out what a licensed consultant can and can't do that you can't already do yourself for the government fee alone.

*VisaGyan is not affiliated with Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC), the High Commission of Canada, or VFS Global; this page does not offer legal advice and books nothing.*

*Fees, eligibility and biometrics rules verified on 1 August 2026 directly against canada.ca's visitor-visa, eligibility, apply-visitor-visa, biometrics and Super Visa pages, and against ircc.canada.ca's fee schedule; the CAD-INR rate is dated 1 August 2026 (open.er-api.com). IRCC's country-specific processing-time tool is interactive and returned no static figure for India from this environment on the date checked.*

*Sources cited only — expert review pending. For individualized advice, consult a licensed professional. Fees and processing timelines change without notice; verify the current figures on canada.ca and visa.vfsglobal.com/ind/en/can before you pay or submit anything.*