Canada Intending Organ Donors Visa
If you want to travel to Canada to donate an organ to a Canadian citizen or permanent resident, you might have to obtain the Canada Intending Organ Donors Visa. Find out more about the requirements and the application process.
For professional assistance with your visa application, call us today on +1 844 290 6312. We are here to help via the phone, in person, or online.
Page Contents
- What Is the Intending Organ Donors Visa?
- What Are the Eligibility Requirements for the Temporary Resident Visa?
- What Are the Eligibility Requirements for the Intending Organ Donors Visa?
- How Can I Prove Medical Compatibility?
- How Can I Prove That There Will be no Sale of Organs?
- What Is the Application Process for the Intending Organ Donors Visa?
- What Are the Costs and the Waiting Times?
- How Long Is the Intending Organ Donors Visa Valid for?
- How Can IAS Help?
- Frequently Asked Questions
What is the Intending Organ Donors Visa?
The Canadian Intending Organ Donors Visa is intended for foreign nationals who want to come to Canada to donate an organ to a Canadian citizen or permanent resident who needs an organ transplant.
This visa is a type of Temporary Resident Visa (TRV) and its holders can spend up to 6 months in Canada. The exact validity of the visa varies, however, depending on the individual situation of each applicant.
The visa is issued for the sole purpose of donating an organ to a person who needs it. After recovering from the surgery, foreign citizens need to return to their home country. And, during their stay in Canada, holders of the Intending Organ Donors Visa cannot access social security or public benefits.
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What Are the Eligibility Requirements for the Temporary Resident Visa?
Those who want to obtain the Intending Organ Donors Visa to Canada must meet two sets of eligibility requirements: general requirements for the Temporary Resident Visa and specific requirements for the Canada Organ Donors Visa.
To be eligible for the Temporary Resident Visa, the applicant must:
- Be at least 18 years old
- Have a valid passport
- Not have a criminal record
- Be able to pay the visa application fee
- Have enough financial resources to cover their expenses during their stay in Canada
- Be able to prove that they intend to stay in Canada temporarily
- Be able to prove that they do not plan to seek employment in Canada
- Have private medical insurance
- Have ties in their home country that will make them return there after their visit to Canada
- Not pose a threat to public health and public safety.
Generally, foreign citizens who want to come to Canada to donate an organ need to demonstrate that they plan to remain in the country only temporarily. In exceptional circumstances such as when the post-surgery care in the visa holder’s home country would be inadequate, they might be able to stay in Canada longer.
What Are the Eligibility Requirements for the Intending Organ Donors Visa?
In addition to general eligibility requirements for the Temporary Resident Visa, applicants need to meet the following requirements specific to the Intending Organ Donors Visa:
- Be able to provide proof of medical compatibility between them and the organ recipient
- Be able to prove that the medical costs associated with the surgery are covered by the organ recipient’s health insurance
- Have a letter from a transplant specialist in Canada that confirms that a transplant has been scheduled
- Have private medical insurance that covers all other health issues
- Be able to prove that there is no sale, transaction, or unlawful exchange involved in organ donation.
If you are not sure whether you are eligible for the Intending Organ Donors Visa to Canada, get in touch with our lawyers.
They will assess your circumstances and help you determine whether you can apply for your chosen visa.
How Can I Prove Medical Compatibility?
To be able to obtain the Intending Organ Donors Visa, the applicant needs to prove that there is medical compatibility between them and the organ recipient in Canada. To demonstrate that, the applicant has to get a letter from a Canadian transplant specialist affiliated with a recognised transplant centre. The letter needs to contain the following information:
- Confirmation that there is a Canadian citizen or permanent resident who is in need of the organ that is being donated
- Proof that the visa applicant has undergone medical tests that prove their medical compatibility with the recipient
- Confirmation that the transplant centre will carry out the procedure
- Evidence that the medical assessment, surgery, and hospital stay costs related to organ donation are covered by the provincial or territorial health insurance of the organ recipient.
The purpose of the letter is to confirm that the human organ donation process that is supposed to take place is legitimate. If your letter does not contain all of this information, you might be refused the visa.
How Can I Prove That There Will Be No Sale of Organs?
To prevent exploitation and organ trafficking, foreign citizens who want to obtain the Canada Intending Organ Donor Visa have to convince immigration officers that there will be no sale, transaction, or unlawful exchange involved in the organ donation process.
This means that they need to demonstrate that they will not receive any financial or non-financial benefits in exchange for their organ.
To determine whether the planned organ donation is legitimate, immigration officers will assess the following information:
- Whether the donor and the recipient are related
- What is the financial situation of both the donor and the recipient
- Whether the donor realises the health impacts of the surgery
- How the visa applicant was identified as a potential organ donor
- Whether any illegal organ donations have been happening in the area
- Whether there is a reason to think that the donor will receive some benefits as a result of the organ donation
- How committed the foreign citizen is to organ donation.
Each case is different so an immigration official will use their own discretion to determine whether or not the foreign citizen should receive the Intending Organ Donors Visa. Some factors, such as when the life of the recipient is on the line, might affect the decision.
What is the Application Process for the Intending Organ Donors Visa?
The first step of the application process for the Intending Organ Donors Visa is to determine one’s eligibility for it. Once an applicant establishes that they meet all the criteria, they can fill in an online application form in which they need to indicate that the purpose of their visit to Canada is to donate an organ. It is also possible to apply on paper through the nearest visa application centre but this process tends to take more time.
To prove their eligibility for the Intending Organ Donors Visa, applicants also have to submit a number of supporting documents. These include:
- Their valid passport
- Proof of their finances in the form of bank statements
- Two passport size photographs
- Proof of having ties in their home country
- Information about the immigration status of the organ recipient in Canada
- Letter from a Canadian transplant specialist.
All documents issued in a language other than English or French must be translated by a certified translator. The exact documents an applicant needs to provide can vary depending on their individual circumstances. If you hire one of our lawyers, they will explain to you in detail what evidence you need to provide.
After an applicant sends all the documents over, immigration officials will review them and determine whether they are eligible for the Intending Organ Donors Visa.
What Are the Costs and the Waiting Times?
Those who want to obtain the Intending Organ Donors Visa need to pay the visa application fee of CAN$100 (around £66). Sometimes, applicants have to pay an additional fee of CAN$85 (around £56) if they need to provide biometric information.
Applicants usually have to provide biometrics if it is their first time applying for a visa to visit Canada. If a biometrics appointment is required, they receive a notification inviting them to schedule an appointment at a local visa application centre.
As for the waiting time, it varies depending on factors such as the nationality of the applicant and the workload of immigration officials. Some applicants wait a few weeks and others several months to hear the decision. Most applications are processed within 6 weeks, however.
If the applicant forgets to include some of the required documents or they need to provide additional information, the waiting time can be longer.
It is advisable that foreign citizens initiate the visa application process immediately after they decide to donate an organ to a Canadian citizen or permanent resident.
How Long Is the Intending Organ Donors Visa Valid for?
The Intending Organ Donors Visa is a Temporary Resident Visa, which means that its holders can come to Canada for a limited time, typically for up to 6 months.
Holders of the Intending Organ Donors Visa are allowed to travel to Canada to donate an organ to a Canadian citizen or permanent resident who needs it. After the surgery they can stay in Canada to heal in a hospital but once their recovery is finished, they need to return to their home country.
So, the organ donation procedure and the recovery should take place within the space of 6 months. If the holder of the Intending Organ Donors Visa needs to stay in the country longer, they can do so if they can prove that their rehabilitation is not complete.
Those who are in Canada on the Intending Organ Donors Visa are not allowed to work, apply for Canadian citizenship, or receive state benefits.
How Can IAS Help?
The process of applying for the Canada Intending Organ Donors Visa can be complex as applicants need to provide extensive evidence confirming that the organ donation will be legitimate.
If you plan to travel to Canada to donate an organ to a Canadian citizen or permanent resident, we can guide you through the whole process.
At Total Law, we have a team of highly qualified immigration lawyers who can determine your eligibility for the Intending Organ Donors Visa, help you gather all the necessary documents, and assist you with submitting the visa application form.
Thanks to the professional assistance of our lawyers, you can be sure that your application has been completed to the highest standard and that your case is as strong as possible.
For more information about how we can help, call us today on +1 844 290 6312.
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Last modified on March 31st, 2023 at 11:35 am
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Frequently Asked Questions
There is no financial compensation for donating an organ in Canada. In fact, it is illegal to buy or sell organs.
As part of the application process for the Intending Organ Donors Visa, foreign citizens need to prove that they will not receive any financial or other benefits for donating an organ.
The hospital stay of the donor should be paid for by the organ recipient or an organisation that facilitates organ donation in Canada. However, the foreign donor is required to have private health insurance that covers any other health issues not related to organ donation.
A foreign national might be deemed inadmissible to Canada due to the following reasons:
- Criminal reasons – when someone has been convicted for serious offences that are still on their criminal record
- Security reasons – when someone has been found involved in terrorism, espionage, or international rights violations
- Medical reasons – when someone may endanger public health or cause excessive demand for health and social services.
If someone has been deemed to be inadmissible to Canada but they want to come to donate an organ to someone who is in need of a medical procedure, they might be eligible for a Temporary Resident Permit (TRP). It is a type of permit that allows otherwise inadmissible individuals to enter the country and stay there for a specific period of time. To be able to get the Temporary Resident Permit, the inadmissible individual has to have a valid reason to travel to Canada.
In an event where the life of a Canadian citizen or permanent resident is dependent on organ donation, a visa officer might decide to issue the TRP to the foreign donor, allowing them to come to Canada even if they are normally inadmissible.
For a foreign citizen to be able to come to Canada to donate an organ, the medical costs of the surgery and hospital stay need to be covered by the recipient’s provincial/territorial health insurance or, alternatively, be paid through specific provincial/territorial health funding.
As part of the application process for the Intending Organ Donors Visa, the donor needs to submit a letter from a Canadian transplant specialist that confirms this coverage.
Additionally, the visa applicant needs to demonstrate that they have made satisfactory financial arrangements to cover costs not related to organ donation. Examples of such costs include transportation to and from Canada, accommodation, or living expenses.
To prove that they have enough finances to pay for these things, the applicant needs to submit recent bank statements and proof confirming that they have private medical insurance.
The Intending Organ Donor Visa is issued to foreign citizens who wish to come to Canada to donate an organ to a Canadian citizen or permanent resident. Holders of this visa have the right to remain in Canada until they recover from the surgery but need to leave the country once the rehabilitation process is finished. This should take no longer than 6 months. Unfortunately, you cannot stay in Canada indefinitely after the organ donation.