Canada Visitors Visa, Canada 10 Years Visitors Visa, Canada Tourist Visa, Canada 10 years Tourist Visa, Canada Multiple Entry Tourist Visa: After scrapping fast track student visa program, Canada continues to crack down on its own Visa Policy in order to reduce the influx of immigrants. In the latest development, Justin Trdeau government has made a major change in the tourist visa policy. Regular 10-year multi-entry visas have been discontinued in the country. Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) on Thursday announced new guidelines, under which officials will issue short-term visas based on individual assessment instead of extended periods. Indians will be most affected as a large migrant group in Canada.
Canada multiple entry Tourist Visa impact on Indians
As per reports, IRCC has said that it is part of a comprehensive strategy aimed at managing the levels of temporary immigration, addressing housing shortages, and controlling the rising cost of living. This change means that frequent visitors to Canada may now face shorter-term visas. This will affect those who regularly travel for working holidays.
As per Amar Ujala which quoted Canadian Visa Expert, the end of the ten years of tourist visa will have the greatest impact on Punjab. In Canada, 2 lakh 36 thousand tourist visas were issued to Indian people in 2021, but in 2022 there was an increase of 393 percent and the number reached 11 lakh 67 thousand and in 2023 this number crossed 12 lakh, in which more than 60 percent are of Punjab origin. Every year 1.5 lakh children go to Canada from Punjab for studies, they will also be affected.
The new rule has put 10 lakh people in Canada in trouble, who are in Canada on visitor or multiple visa. Around 4.5 lakh of them are of Punjab origin. The report further says that even the Canadian government has not made the picture clear in this matter completely that whether it will affect the super visa or not. Super visa is given to those people whose children have PR or are citizens in Canada. They can stay there for 5 years without leaving Canada.
What was the rule earlier for Canadian visitor visas?
Under the previous system, IRCC used to issue two types of visas - multiple entry and single entry. However, applicants did not have to choose between them. All applicants were automatically considered for multiple entry visas. This allowed people to enter Canada multiple times during the validity period of their visas, up to 10 years or until their passports expired, whichever came first.
Travellers with single-entry visas could enter Canada only once. These visas were usually reserved for special cases, such as official visits by foreign nationals eligible for fee exemptions, participation in one-time events in Canada, etc. If single-entry visa holders left Canada, they would usually require a new visa for re-entry.