Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Sean Fraser visited Winnipeg today to announce visa-free travel.
Passport holders from 13 countries will now be able to travel to Canada by air without the need for a temporary resident visa. However, this only applies to travelers from these countries who have held a Canadian visa within the past 10 years or who currently hold a valid nonimmigrant visa for the United States. Eligible travelers include passport holders:
- Filipino
- The Kingdom of Morocco
- Panama
- Antigua and Barbuda
- Saint Kitts and Nevis
- Lucia Street
- Saint Vincent and the Grenadines
- Trinidad and Tobago
- Argentina
- Costa Rica
- Uruguay
- Seychelles
- Thailand
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Fraser Immigration and Citizenship Canada says IRCC is working to make pre-travel screening easier, faster and more affordable. He says the move will remove thousands of applications from the Canadian visa burden, allowing IRCC to process visa applications more efficiently.
A similar pilot program was introduced in Brazil in 2017. The minister says the program has increased the number of visitors from Brazil by 40% and reduced the number of cases in IRCC’s Sao Paulo office by 60%, allowing IRCC staff to work on more complex applications.
Visa-free travel to Canada
There are more than 50 countries that can enter Canada without a visa, although most require Electronic Travel Authorization (eTA) visas if arriving by air.
US citizens do not need an electronic travel authorization (eTA) or visa to enter Canada unless they are moving to Canada for work or study.
Citizens of non-visa-exempt countries must apply for a Temporary Resident Visa (TRV), also known as a visitor visa.
TRV allows a person to visit Canada for six months (although this may vary for some foreign nationals).
Arriving in Canada with a TRV does not give the wearer permission to do work or study in Canada, and they may be required to prove that the purpose of their visit to Canada is only temporary (such as tourism or visiting family) at their point of residence. entrance.
IRCC is currently working on a backlog of TRV applications. The latest backlog data from IRCC shows that 50% of TRV requests are not processed within the 14-day service standard.
Minister Fraser said TRV’s claims have been affected by the recent Canadian Public Service Alliance strike. The 12-day strike lasted from April 19 to May 1, and Fraser told reporters that there were 100,000 unresolved claims during that period that would otherwise have been processed. He also said he expects IRCC to catch up to pre-pandemic treatment standards within the next few weeks or months.
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