MANY FILIPINOS NO LONGER REQUIRE VISITOR VISAS TO ENTER CANADA
By Atty. Henry Moyal
In a huge announcement this week, the Honourable Sean Fraser, Minister of IRCC, announced the addition of 13 countries to the electronic travel authorization (eTA) program. The Philippines is one of those countries.
What this means is that travellers from these countries no longer need to apply for a TRV or Visitor Visa to enter Canada by air. They simply need to go online and pay the $7 for an ETA.
The condition however is that the traveler first must have either held a Canadian visa in the last 10 years or the traveler currently holds a valid United States non-immigrant visa .Effective immediately, eligible travellers from these countries can benefit from the program:
Individuals who already have a valid visa can continue to use it to travel to Canada. Those who are not eligible for an eTA, or who are travelling to Canada by means other than air (for example, by car, bus, train and boat—including by cruise ship), will still need a visitor visa or TRV.
In other news this week, IRCC, for the first time in history will now target the express entry draws to occupations in demand. As such, applicants sitting in the express entry pool with lower CRS scores will be drawn even if below the draw number as long as their occupation is one in demand.
For 2023, IRCC has selected the following in demand categories:
To be eligible for an invitation through a category-based round, an applicant must meet all of the requirements in the instructions for that round and IRCC will subsequently rank candidates in the pool who meet the category requirements and invite top-ranking candidates to apply for permanent residence.
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
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