Sean Fraser, the Immigration Minister of Canada, declared visa-free travel to 13 countries. Passport holders from 13 countries can now travel to Canada by air without needing a TRV, i.e., Temporary Resident Visa. However, this applies only to travelers from countries with a Canadian passport in the last ten years or who have held a valid United States non-immigrant visa.  

The eligible travelers include passport holders from: 

  • Philippines 
  • Thailand
  • Morocco
  • Panama
  • Uruguay 
  • Seychelles
  • Costa Rica
  • Antigua & Barbuda
  • St Kitts & Nevis
  • Argentina 
  • Trinidad & Tobago
  • St Vincent & Grenadines 
  • St Lucia 

 

Sean Fraser asserts that IRCC has been working to make the pretravel screening process simpler, rapid, & affordable. He further states that this decision will divert thousands of applications from Canada’s visa caseload, thus enabling IRCC to process visa applications efficaciously. 

An alike pilot program was also introduced in Brazil in the year 2017. The minister states that this program was successful as the number of visitors in Brazil increased by 40%. In addition, this also resulted in reducing the caseload in IRCC’s Sao Paulo Office by 60%, thus freeing IRCC officers to work on more complex applications.

 

Visa-Free Travel To Canada

There are over 50 countries that can enter the country without having a visa. However, most of them require eTA, i.e., Electronic Travel Authorization if they arrive by air.  In addition, United States citizens do not require an eTA or a visa to enter the country unless they are moving to Canada for study/ work. 

Moreover, the nationals of the countries who are not exempted from obtaining a visa must apply for TRV, i.e., a Temporary Residence Visa, also called the Visitor Visa.  A TRV allows an individual to visit the country for at least six months. Arriving in Canada with a TRV does not permit the holder to study or work in Canada. However, they may be asked to demonstrate that their sole purpose of visiting Canada is temporary as they enter. 

Besides offering visa-free travel, IRCC is currently working through the backlog of TRV applications. The latest backlog data reveals that over 50% of TRV applications are not being processed within the service standards, i.e., 14 days. 

In addition, Minister Fraser said that TRV applications were highly affected by the recent strikes. The 12-day strike lasted from April 19 – May 1. Moreover, Sean Fraser stated that there were 100,000 applications which weren’t processed during that period. Finally, he asserted that he expects that IRCC can catch up to the pre-pandemic processing standards in the forthcoming weeks/ months.