Report: Canada turning away more foreigners, approving fewer visas

Report: Canada turning away more foreigners, approving fewer visas 

4.9.24

Toronto : Canada is closing its doors to more visitors and temporary residents by approving fewer visas and turning away more people who reach its borders with official documents, according to govt data obtained by Reuters. 

The spike in rejections of foreign travellers comes as PM Justin Trudeau’s Liberal govt, trailing in polls ahead of an election expected next year, tries to lower the numbers of temporary residents — and possibly permanent immigrants. Migrants have been blamed for the shortage and high prices of housing. Canadians have prided themselves on embracing newcomers but polls show a growing number say Canada is admitting too many immigrants. That stance is filtering down to border and immigration officers, observers say. 

In July, Canada refused entry to 5,853 foreign travellers, who were “allowed to leave”, as Canada pu ts it, and who include students, workers and tourists, the most since at least Jan 2019, according to border agency data. Border officers turned away 3,727 foreign travellers per month on average through the first seven months of 2024, an increase of 633 people or 20% from a year earlier. Separately, officers deemed 285 visa-holders inadmissible in July, also the most in any month since at least Jan 2019, the data showed. 

A Canada Border Services Agency spokesperson said changes in findings of inadmissibility can be caused by migration patterns or policy changes and are decided case by case. CBSA did not identify any specific policy changes. At the same time, Canada’s immigration department is approving fewer visas. The ratio of refused visitor visa applications to approved ones was higher in June than at any point since the height of the pandemic. 

In Jan, Feb, May and June 2024, more applications were refused than approved, as per the immigration department data. The number of approved study and work permits also dropped from multi-year highs in 2023 and 2022, respectively. Immigration minister Marc Miller’s spokesperson said that the department was “committed to a fair and nondiscriminatory application of policy and procedures” and attbuted the drop in study-permit approvals to a cap announced in Jan. The decline appears to have begun last year, however. REUTERS