Temporary Resident Visa refusals on the rise, says new report

Canada refused more than a quarter of all temporary resident visa applications in 2017 — and 30 per cent in the first three months of 2018, the Globe and Mail newspaper is reporting.

The report, published July 8, is based on data obtained by the Globe and Mail from Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) that show both the number of Temporary Resident Visa (TRV) applications for purposes including tourism, school, business, conferences and family visits — and the number of refusals — increasing significantly since 2012.

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 says. 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.

The refusal rate for student visa applications was even higher — climbing from 26 per cent in 2012 to 33 per cent in 2017.

The Globe and Mail said the data reveal that it is becoming more difficult to get a Canadian visa approved — "and the odds against applicants are rising."

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.

The Government of Canada says the following basic requirements must be met in order to be permitted to travel to Canada:

have a valid travel document, like a passport;
be in good health;
have no criminal or immigration-related convictions;
convince an immigration officer that you have ties—such as a job, home, financial assets or family—that will take you back to your home country;
convince an immigration officer that you will leave Canada at the end of your visit;
have enough money for your stay.

Whether visa applications meet these basic requirements or not is at the discretion of the Canadian immigration officer who is treating the request.

To learn more about inadmissibility, visit this dedicated page.

For more information on what you need to visit Canada, use the Visiting Canada Tool.