Background
African applicant , first-time Canadian visa. I applied primarily for — a 5-day Niagara Falls birthday trip in July 2026. I travel every year for my birthday — Dubai 2024, Zanzibar 2025, Canada was next.
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Travel History at Time of Application
🇬🇧 UK — visited (tourism)
🇸🇦 Saudi Arabia — visited
🇦🇪 Dubai — visited (birthday 2024)
🇹🇿 Zanzibar — visited (birthday 2025)
🇺🇸 Two F-1 student visas in passport — never travelled to USA, one expired, one expiring May 2026
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Finances: approximately CAD 3,400, monthly salary deposits evidenced across 6 months
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Documents Submitted
- Employment letter
- 4 months payslips
- 6 months bank statements
- Land title
- Rental income receipts
- F-1 admission letters and deferral approvals for both universities
- 5-day Canada itinerary (Niagara Falls)
- Cover letter explaining purpose, onward travel plans and ties to home country
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Timeline
23 March 2026 — Application submitted online- IRCC new portal
24 March 2026 — Biometrics completed
24 April 2026 — Passport Request Letter received (IMM 5740)
27 April 2026 — Passport submitted to VAC
01 May 2026 — Application status changed to Closed
02 May 2026 — Portal updated — APPROVED ✅
03 May 2026- Passport Picked from VAC
Total time: 40 days against My country’s published processing time of 84 days at the time of Submission
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Outcome
✅ Approved
✅ Multiple Entry
✅ Valid until September 2034 — passport expiry
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Personal tips
- A strong, specific itinerary tied to a genuine purpose works in your favour
- Explain everything in your cover letter — onward travel, why you're visiting, ties to home country
- Existing visas in your passport (even expiring ones) add credibility
- Employment and financial documents must clearly show stability
- The Passport Request Letter in Most cases means approval — don't panic when you see it
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Good luck everyone! Happy to answer questions. 🇨🇦🎂