What is the difference between guest visa, business visa and tourist visa ? Which one to choose when applying ?

We often hear about such things as "guest visa" or "business visa" when talking about visiting Canada. This can make an impression that there are several different types of visas available. Not everyone knows that in fact there is only one, called temporary resident visa, or TRV for short.

The reason why terms like "guest visa" and "tourist visa" exist is fairly simple: there are slightly different requirements an applicant needs to meet depending on the purpose of his visit. In general, the options are as follows.

1. "Guest" visa.

People usually use this term to denote the situation, where a visa is issued (or is applied for) to a person who intends to come to Canada with a private visit. One must wish to visit friend or relative, to celebrate Christmas holidays or to celebrate some anniversary with particular people.

In such case the ground to issue the TRV is the fact of having a friend or relative in Canada, who will be the visitor's host during the stay. All relevant details should be mentioned in the application, including name, address and relationship of friends and/or relatives in Canada.

2. "Business" visa.

This term is used to accentuate the fact that the reason for applying for a temporary visa is of a business nature. For example a foreign specialist, like an engineer or consultant, is invited to the professional conference. Another example is the annual meeting of the business partners, to which some participants are invited from their overseas locations.

When applying for a business visa an applicant must provide evidence of his business relationships with the inviting party. It may include some business correspondence, letter of invitation and so on.

3. "Tourist" visa.

Even when an applicant does not have any ties to Canada, he still have an oprion to apply for the temporary resident visa as a tourist. For such trip an applicant should provide the information about his planned voyage: itinerary, hotel reservations, booked flights, places to visit etc.

Regardless of grounds, there are some general requirements to be met. First of all, an applicant must provide enough evidence to convince the visa office that he will leave Canada before the temporary visa expires. This is always the most important concern when a decision is made as if to issue the visa or not.

Besides, from the application is should be clearly seen that the trip to Canada is financially supported. This can be done in various ways, for example an inviting host may provide information showing his financial stability and explicitly state in the invitation letter that he will cover all incurred expenses.