Canada introducing visa free travel to 13 countries

Today, Sean Fraser, the minister of immigration, refugees, and citizenship, made a statement

about visa-free travel while in Winnipeg. 13 nations; passport holders will now be able to fly to

Canada without needing a visa for temporary residence. This only applies to visitors from these

nations who have either recently held a Canadian visa or who now have a valid United States

non-immigrant visa. Travelers with the following passports are eligible:

- Philippines

- Morocco

- Panama

- Barbuda and Antigua

- Nevis and St. Kitts

- Vincent and the Grenadines St. Lucia

- Tobago and Trinidad

- Argentina

- Costa Rica

- Uruguay

- Seychelles

- Thailand

Fraser claims that Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) has been attempting to

simplify, expedite, and lower the cost of the pretravel screening procedure. Fraser claims that

Immigration, Refugees, and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) has been attempting to simplify,

expedite, and lower the cost of the pretravel screening procedure. According to him, this choice

will allow IRCC to process visa applications more quickly by diverting thousands of applications

from Canada's docket. In 2017, a comparable pilot initiative was launched in Brazil. According

to the minister, the campaign was successful in increasing Brazilian visitors by 40% and

decreasing the caseload at the IRCC office in Sao Paulo by 60%, freeing up IRCC employees to

work on more complicated applications.

Canada visa-free travel

More than 50 nations can travel to Canada visa-free, albeit most of them need an Electronic

Travel Authorization (eTA) if they fly in. Unless they are moving to Canada for business or

school, United States citizens do not need a visa or an eTA to enter the country. Foreign

nationals must apply for a Temporary Residence Visa (TRV), often known as a guest visa if

they are not exempt from needing one. An individual with a TRV is able to travel to Canada for

six months (however this may be different for other foreign nationals).

The holder of a TRV may be asked to provide proof that their visit to Canada is transitory (such

as travel or family visits) at their port of entry. Arriving in Canada with a TRV does not grant the

holder authorization to work or study there. There is currently a backlog of TRV applications

that IRCC is tackling. According to the IRCC,s most recent backlog data, 50% of TRV

applications are not being handled within the required 14-day period.

According to Minister Fraser, the recent Public Service Alliance of Canada strike had an effect

on TRV applications. Fraser informed reporters that there were 100,000 applications that would

have been handled during the 12-day strike but weren't because it occurred from April 19 to May

1. Additionally, he stated that he anticipates IRCC will be able to catch up to pre-pandemic

processing norms within the next few weeks or months.

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