DIPLOMATIC VISAS TO CANADA

Diplomatic visas may be granted to persons entitled, under international and domestic law, to diplomatic or consular (and similar) privileges and immunities, who intend to travel to Canada for an official purpose or to pass through Canada on the way to an assignment in another state and who come within one of the following categories:

• Heads of state or members of organizations entrusted with head-of-state duties and their accompanying family members;
• Heads of government and their accompanying family members, and cabinet ministers of foreign governments;
• Diplomatic agents traveling to or from their diplomatic missions or on a temporary mission to Canada;
• Career consular officers traveling to or from their consular posts or on a temporary mission to Canada;
• Delegates to the international organizations listed in the Temporary Foreign Worker Guidelines including delegates to conferences convened by the latter, with the exception of clerical staff;
• Senior officials (Secretary General, Assistant Secretaries General, and holders of equivalent positions, such as President of the Council of the International Civil Aviation Organization) of the international organizations listed in the Temporary Foreign Worker Guidelines;
• Senior officers (appointed at the P-4 level and above) of the Secretariat of the I.C.A.O.;
• Persons (spouse, father, mother, children) who are recognized as members of the family forming part of the household of the persons listed from (3) to (7) above;
• Foreign diplomatic couriers; and
• Special cases, on authorization from Headquarters (Diplomatic Corps Services (XDC)).