First of all my sister wants to come for an extended visit to see her old brother. Probably wants to stay for around a year. I have a JFRV but I don’t know if any rules apply to her coming and staying for a longer time (probably not).
So I guess she will probably have to go on a visa run every three months. What is the cheapest and best place for her to go to? What sort of information will she need to present them at the office? Is it best for her to get a VISA from the Canadian office before coming? I remember not liking the office in Toronto.
Are there any other avenues she can take in order to stay longer? Any and all information you can give would be great. If you need more info please let me know and thanks in advance.
She should get a 60 day visitor visa by applying in her home country. Otherwise, she will get a landing visa which is shorter.
Hong Kong is often the cheapest place to fly to, but hotels are more expensive. The visa office is fairly obstructive (see other threads on this) and not always recommended for any kind of ‘out-of the ordinary’ requests. They definitely aren’t going to buy the ‘1 year’ family visit’ thing, whether it’s true or not. Bangkok are a bit more accomodating. Flights are still cheap and it’s a cheap place to stay while you do your paperwork.
You can usually get a couple of 60 day visas then they will only give a 30 day visa. They will probably not give a year’s worth of tourist visas as they will assume she is working illegally.
As far as I know, the only way would be for her to get a job or study Chinese. Some others may know of different ways. Hope this is helpful.
I think there is a kind of “joining family” option for a visitor visa. I’d suggest asking your local TECO (or the one your sister would be applying to) what kind of documents she would need, likely including a sponsor…