The large backlog of visa applications, which includes 2.7 million applicants, is currently being processed by Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC). Additionally, the backlog has caused candidates from all around the world to experience delays while applying for visas.
The government of Canada has taken action to reduce the wait time for issuing visas to applicants. Given that the start of the new academic year is approaching, they have given priority to student visa applications. More than 230,000 Indian students are enrolled in post-secondary schools across Canada.
Cameron MacKay, Canada’s high commissioner to India, has stated that Canada expects to return to regular visa processing timelines by the end of 2022. He stated, “We process roughly 10,000 visas a week for Indian nationals and that is not fast enough.”
In comparison to the number of visa applications the nation received in 2019, there was a massive increase of 55% in 2022. Experts attribute the rapid increase in visa requests that have contributed to the backlog to the Covid-19 pandemic. It has been made apparent that applications for student, tourist, business, and work permits as well as permanent residency in Canada are all topped by Indian nationals.
An individual from the government who is aware of the matter told The Associated Press that Canada will likely stop adhering to the vaccination requirements for tourists by the end of September. Due to their lack of authority to talk in public about the situation, the official spoke on the condition of anonymity.
Similar to the United States, Canada also mandates vaccinations for all visitors. It is now unknown if the United States will execute a comparable action by September 30.
The person stated that the requirement would likely be dropped along with the elimination of random COVID-19 testing at airports, but Prime Minister Justin Trudeau must still grant his final approval. Additionally, it won’t be necessary to fill out the controversial ArriveCan app anymore.
Dr. Andrew Morris, a specialist on infectious diseases, claims that the vaccination obligation should have been eliminated a long time ago. He claims that getting people immunised serves no use because it neither stops the spread of instances nor varieties. No formal statement has been made by the Canadian Ministry of Health.
If the Blue Jays enter the playoffs, unvaccinated professional athletes, including as baseball players in Major League Baseball, will be permitted to play in Toronto. They are currently prohibited from entering Canada over the border.
The ArriveCan app received the highest cheers from fans when new populist Conservative leader Pierre Poilievre was introduced as the party’s leader in Ottawa this month.
According to immigration minister Sean Fraser, Canada is on course to surpass its immigration goal of giving permanent residency to more than 430,000 individuals in 2022. Canada held its sixth draw on September 14 and sent out 3,250 invitations to apply for Express Entry visas. On July 6 of this year, Canada’s all-program drawings for immigration restarted.
According to Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC), the minimum Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS) cutoff score was 510.
Sean Fraser presented a fresh strategy to broaden the existing channels for giving temporary employees and foreign students access to permanent citizens. the temporary employees and international students with extensive work experience in the fields with a labour shortage.
For the IRCC (Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada) to take the required actions to convert temporary visa holders to permanent visa holders, the new strategy offers a 5-pillar approach.
A backlog of “1.3 million immigration applications” was still present, according to a 24 August article from the Canadian daily National Post. The report said that the pandemic had first been to blame for the backlogs, which then got worse after the nation started to address the refugee situation in Ukraine. Students from India who want to study in Canada have been significantly affected by this.
As hundreds of students excitedly await their visas in the hope that they would arrive in time for them to begin their studies, there is a growing sense of uncertainty. Applications for student visas are being processed with minimum three-month delays due to the backlogs.
