first thing you will need to do is, make sure you qualify to get a visa. So it depends if you are applying for a visitors visa you can go directly to the embassy in your country and apply for one. If you are just an ordinary citizen you may not be able to get one, unless you hold an american or british passport along with a few other countries it will be easier or if it is apparent that you will return to your country then you will get one, you know what I mean like working for the government, business trip, your really rich. WeW! there are lots of rule for coming to Canada, thank goodness or we would be over populated too! we have lots of little shit holes, fruit stands and some big ole dirty markets or course there would be some clean ones too. Oops! off topic here. LOL!
If you just go and apply for a visa and you don't qualify then they will refuse you a visa and you'll end up wasting your money. Also you may have to wait 2 years before applying for another or they may not let you apply ever again. The lather my depend on what the purpose of your trip to canada is and if you are truthful on your application. But if all is well in most countries it take about 3 to 6 weeks to get issued one. If you are applying for any other type of visa there is a much lengthier process to go through and also depends which country you apply from. If your from China, Vietnam, India and some other asian countries the wait is not that long. My husband is from The Gambia our sponsorship took almost 1 year thats including the time it took to process it here in canada.

Any way that site mentioned above will give you lost of info. The waiting times listed on the site though are not accurate some visa don't take as long to process as others.

Good luck

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