Canada's 6-Month Visitor Limit

Most visitors can stay in Canada for up to 6 months per entry, whether they arrived on a visitor visa or an eTA. Here is what decides your actual date, and what the 6 months does and does not reset.

Last verified: August 2026

In short: most visitors are allowed to stay in Canada for up to 6 months per entry. The border services officer can grant less (or more) and will write the date in your passport if so. If your passport has no stamp or handwritten date, your stay ends 6 months after the day you entered or when your passport expires, whichever comes first. To stay longer you apply to extend your stay as a visitor before your status expires.

Limit: Up to 6 months (about 180 days)
Window: Per entry, from the day you arrive
Applies to: Visitor visa (TRV) & eTA entries
Officer discretion: Can shorten or lengthen the stay
Longer stays: Apply for a visitor record before status expires

The rule

Canada's visitor limit is a per-entry allowance, not a rolling window. Each time you are admitted, you receive a period of authorized stay. Three things decide what that period actually is:

The default is 6 months. If the officer admits you without stamping your passport or writing a date, your authorized stay runs 6 months from the day of entry (or to your passport's expiry, if that is sooner).
The officer's date wins. The border services officer examines each arrival and can authorize less than 6 months, or occasionally more. A date stamped or written in your passport, or on a visitor record, replaces the default.
Visa and eTA govern boarding and entry, not stay length. Whether you needed a visitor visa or an eTA depends on your nationality, and neither document sets how long you may remain. The visa in your passport can be valid for years; the authorized stay is granted per entry.

How to count your stay

Find your authorized end date: the stamp or written date if there is one, otherwise 6 months from the day you entered.
Count from the day of entry. Arrival day counts as a day in Canada.
Leave by the end date, or apply to extend your stay before it passes.

Example. You enter Canada on 10 March with an eTA and receive no stamp.

Your authorized stay runs to 9 September, 6 months from entry. If the officer had stamped 10 June instead, 10 June would be your date, and the 6-month default would not apply.

Leaving and coming back

There is no published rolling window like Schengen's 90/180, and no formula that says how long you must wait between visits. But a fresh entry is a fresh examination, not an entitlement: repeated long stays with short absences can lead an officer to question whether you are genuinely visiting, and the stay granted on re-entry is theirs to decide. Track your pattern of days rather than assuming each border run resets a clean slate.

Beyond the day count

To stay past your authorized date, apply online for a visitor record before your current status expires; if you apply in time you keep legal status while the application is processed. Overstaying without applying can affect future entries. Spending many days in Canada can also have tax consequences separate from immigration rules: 183 or more days in a calendar year can make you a deemed tax resident. That is a different rule with its own article: see Canada's 183-day tax residency rule.

Official source: "Most visitors can stay for up to 6 months in Canada," and the stamp, visitor record, and 6-months-default mechanics, per Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (Extend your stay in Canada as a visitor).

AtlasDays tracks Canada's visitor limit automatically

The Canada Visitor Visa / eTA preset counts your days per entry against the 6-month allowance, privately on your iPhone, and warns you before your authorized stay runs out.

Get AtlasDays on the App Store

FAQ

How long can you stay in Canada as a visitor?

Most visitors may stay up to 6 months per entry. The border services officer can grant a shorter or longer period; a stamped or written date in your passport replaces the 6-month default.

What if your passport was not stamped on entry?

Your authorized stay ends 6 months after the day you entered Canada, or on your passport's expiry date, whichever comes first.

How do you stay in Canada longer than 6 months?

Apply online for a visitor record before your current status expires. Applying in time preserves your legal status while the application is processed.