Your gateway to Canada

Immigration Newsweek

By Atty. Henry Moyal

There is a good chance that you or a friend have invited a relative sometime in the past to come to visit you in Canada.

There is even a higher chance that the visitor application was not approved according to a recent report.

According to a recent report and based on Canada Immigration data, the refusal rate of visitor visas (or TRV or Temporary Resident Visa) reached 26% in 2017 which was an increase from 18% in 2012.

According to statistics between 2012 and 2017, the number of TRV applications processed each year by IRCC increased from 1.3 million to 2.3 million, the Globe and Mail stated. During this same period, the number of refusals soared to more than 600,000 in 2017. Of this last number, 494,133 were non-student TRV applications, which were refused at a rate of 26 per cent in 2017. In 2012, the refusal rate for non-student TRVs was 18 per cent, the Globe and Mail says.

Data for the first three months of 2018 saw the refusal rate surpass 2017, rising to 30 per cent for non-student visas.

Refusal rates were highest for applicants from Africa and Middle East, with 75 per cent of applications from Somalia, Yemen, Syria and Afghanistan being rejected in the last two years.

However, in our experience nationals from the Philippines were approved in most cases and it really depends on one’s application. The problem with statistical data is that applicants are fearful to apply thinking a visa officer has a predetermined notion to refuse. This is absolutely deceiving because the fact of the matter is that applicants who qualify will be approved.

The following basic requirements must be met in order to be permitted to travel to Canada:

·         have a valid passport;

·         be in good health;

·         have no criminal record;

·         strong ties to home country —such as a job, home, financial assets or family—that will take you back to your home country;

·         letter of invitation from someone in Canada

·         have enough money for your stay.

All decisions are made by visa officers and no one can guarantee or promise a visa will be issued. However, fulfilling the above criteria will certainly keep you in the 74% approval category.

It should also be noted that the above stats do not include student visa applications. A student visa applicant must comply with a different set of criteria and must first be accepted to a Canadian educational institution.

A student applicant must also pay foreign student fees and be able to demonstrate that they have sufficient funds to pay for books, residence and living expenses. According to the published report of July 8, 2018 the refusal rate for student visa applications was higher —  26 % in 2012 to 33 % in 2017.

Attorney Henry Moyal is a certified and licensed immigration lawyer in Toronto, Ontario.
The above article is general advice only and is not intended to act as a legal document.
Send questions to Attorney Moyal by email canada@moyal.com or call 416 733 3193