Why Canada has drastically cut the number of tourist visas it issues to Indians

The precipitous driblet successful approvals

The archetypal fractional of 2024 really saw a flimsy uptick successful the fig of tourer visas issued to Indians by Canada, contempt rising tensions betwixt New Delhi and Ottawa. The Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) issued 365,750 visitant visas to Indians betwixt January and July, much than the 345,631 it had issued during the aforesaid play successful 2023.

But this inclination reversed successful July-August, and visa occurrence rates person plummeted since. Stricter criteria person near adjacent high-profile applicants — specified arsenic well-paid professionals, authorities officials, and families with important assets — facing rejections owed to fiscal reasons.

“A mates moving successful a slope wanted to sojourn their imperishable nonmigratory (PR) lad successful Canada, but they were rejected connected fiscal grounds, contempt having precocious salaries and invaluable spot successful India,” Gurpreet Singh, an adept successful Canadian immigration, told The Indian Express.

He added that the enactment criteria for tourer visas person go progressively unpredictable, with adjacent erstwhile US greenish paper holders facing rejections. Applicants besides look rejections aft waiting for up to 4 months, adding to people’s inconvenience.

“The reasons for rejections are often vague, with beardown profiles abruptly deemed insufficient,” Singh said, citing his ain experience. He had filed applications for 25 tourer visas 4 months ago. The results of lone 10 person travel frankincense far. Of these, lone 1 idiosyncratic received a Canadian tourer visa.

Impact of discontinuing 10-year visa

Experts judge the discontinuation of Canada’s automatic 10-year multiple-entry tourer visa volition further interaction support rates. Previously, this enactment was fashionable among Indian applicants, particularly those with beardown fiscal backgrounds, coagulated question histories, and household ties successful Canada. The process for their issuance was comparatively straightforward.

But now, overmuch has been near up to the discretion of migration officers, making the support proces acold much selective. After the 10-year visas are discontinued, predominant travellers volition person to reapply for a tourer visa each clip they privation to sojourn Canada — with nary warrant of success.

This abrupt diminution successful support rates, on with the discontinuation of the 10-year visa, has constricted introduction options for galore Indian students and professionals who often saw these arsenic alternatives to pupil visas and semipermanent permits.

Behind driblet successful visa occurrence rates

Experts constituent to 4 cardinal factors that person contributed successful the diminution successful visa occurrence rates.

1. 01

   Allegations of borderline misuse

   There has been a reported emergence successful instances erstwhile visitors to Canada, peculiarly from India, usage the state arsenic a transit constituent to illegally participate the United States. Since Canadian tourer visas person agelong been easier to get (compared to visas for the US), and the 2 countries shared thousands of kilometres of unfastened border, Canada has go a stepping chromatic for undocumented immigrants to participate the US.

   According to the US Customs and Border Protection (CBP), implicit 5,000 Indians crossed from Canada into the US connected ft without due documentation successful June 2024 alone. This has led Canada to follow a much cautious attack erstwhile it comes to granting semipermanent tourer visas, peculiarly to applicants from countries specified arsenic India.

2. 02

   Attempt to trim impermanent residents

   Canada’s decisions are besides driven by home concerns regarding immigration. The state has, successful caller years, been tightening its policies to bounds the fig of impermanent residents.

   Concerns ranging from tourer visa entrants overstaying oregon moving illegally person prompted authorities to use stricter scrutiny to caller applicants. This is much truthful arsenic migration becomes a blistery fastener taxable successful Canadian politics, arsenic good arsenic nine arsenic large.

3. 03

   Processing delays and backlogs

   There are besides logistical factors that person guided Canada’s decisions. The sheer measurement of visa applications has been overwhelming to woody with, starring to delays successful visa processing and a increasing backlog.

   This seems to person prompted migration officials to use much stringent criteria for handing retired visas, starring to higher rejection rates contempt the support process itself being slower. The Canadian authorities person decided to err connected the broadside of being strict alternatively of being much lenient portion processing a monolithic fig of tourer visas.

4. 04

   Strained diplomatic relations betwixt India & Canada

   Finally, the strained relations betwixt India and Canada implicit the past twelvemonth oregon truthful person decidedly played a portion successful however visas are being processed.

   Ever since Justin Trudeau, successful the Canadian Parliament past October, made allegations that India was progressive successful the execution of precocious illustration Khalistani sympathiser Hardeep Singh Nijjar, ties betwixt New Delhi and Ottawa person seen respective troughs. While not officially linked to migration policies, experts judge these tensions whitethorn beryllium pushing Canada to workout caution erstwhile it comes to issuing semipermanent visas to Indian applicants.