Canada visa: Pending applications likely to be processed by 2022-end

The Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada has informed that they are hoping to complete going through the massive backlog of visa application which amounts to 2.7 million applicants. The backlog has also created delays in seeking visa for applicants from all over to the world. 

The administration in the maple country has taken steps to amend the delay in granting visa to applicants. They have prioritised student visa keeping in mind the fact that university terms are about to begin. There are more than 230,000 students from India enrolled in post-secondary institutions in Canada.

Canada's high commissioner to India Cameron MacKay has informed that Canada hopes to get back to normal visa processing times by end of 2022. “We process roughly 10,000 visas a week for Indian nationals and that is not fast enough,” he said.

The country saw a massive surge of 55% in visa application in the year 2022 as opposed to the number of visa application it got in 2019. Experts have cited the pandemic for the sudden surge in visa applications that has also cause the backlog. 

It has been made clear that Indian top the list in every category of Canadian visas that include student, tourist, business and work permits and permanent residence applications.

No Covid vaccination required to enter Canada

Canada will probably no longer follow vaccine mandates for visitors, a government official familiar with the situation told The Associated Press.

The removal of the vaccine requirement, according to infectious disease expert Dr. Andrew Morris, should have been done way back. According to him, there is no value to making sure individuals are immunised because it neither prevents cases nor variants from spreading. The Canadian Health Ministry has not issued any official comment.

Sixth round of Express Entry draws 

Canada immigration minister Sean Fraser has informed that the country is on track to exceed its immigration goal of granting permanent residency to more than 430,000 people in 2022. On 14 September Canada conducted the sixth draw issuing 3,250 invitations to apply for Express Entry visa. Canada resumed their all-program draws for immigration on 6 July this year.

The Immigration Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) informed that the minimum cut off Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS) score was 510.