Blue Bird Blog

Canada introducing visa-free travel to 13 countries

Sean Fraser, Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship, visited Winnipeg today for an announcement regarding visa-free travel. Passport holders from 13 countries will now be able to travel to Canada by air without requiring a Temporary Residence Visa. However, this applies only to travellers from these countries who have either held a Canadian visa in the last 10 years or who currently hold a valid United States non-immigrant visa

Eligible travellers include passport holders from:

- Philippines

- Morocco

- Panama

- Antigua and Barbuda

- St Kitts and Nevis

- St Lucia

- St Vincent and Grenadines

- Trinidad and Tobago

- Argentina

- Costa Rica

- Uruguay

- Seychelles

- Thailand

Fraser says Immigration Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) has been working to make the pretravel screening process easier, faster, and more affordable. He says this decision will divert thousands of applications from Canada’s visa caseload, allowing IRCC to process visa applications more efficiently.

A similar pilot program was introduced in Brazil in 2017. The minister says that the program was successful in increasing visitors from Brazil by 40% and reducing the caseload in IRCC’s Sao Paulo office by 60%, freeing IRCC officers to work on more complex applications.

Visa-free travel to Canada

There are more than 50 countries that can enter Canada without a visa, although most require an Electronic Travel Authorization (eTA) if they are arriving by air.

United States citizens do not require an eTA or a visa to enter Canada unless they are moving to Canada to work or study.

Nationals of countries that are not exempt from obtaining a visa, must apply for a Temporary Residence Visa (TRV), also known as a visitor visa.

A TRV allows an individual to visit Canada for a period of six months (although this may differ for some foreign nationals).

Arriving in Canada with a TRV does not give the holder permission to work or study in Canada and they may be asked to demonstrate that the purpose of their visit to Canada is only temporary (such as tourism or visiting family) at their port of entry.

IRCC is currently working through a backlog of TRV applications. The latest backlog data from IRCC shows that 50% of TRV applications are not being processed within service standards, which is 14 days.

Minister Fraser has said TRV applications were impacted by the recent strike by the Public Service Alliance of Canada. The 12-day strike lasted from April 19 until May 1 and Fraser told reporters that there were 100,000 applications not processed during that period that otherwise would have been. He also said that he expects IRCC will be able to catch up to pre-pandemic processing standards within the coming weeks, or a few months.

Canada

Visitors no longer allowed to apply for work permits from within Canada

As of August 28, temporary residents in Canada on a visitor visa are no longer permitted to apply for a job-supported work permit from within Canada.
The temporary policy allowing visitors to apply for these work permits was introduced in August 2020 to assist some visitors in Canada who were unable to return home because of border closures related to the COVID-19 pandemic—with the further aim of aiding employers to fill key labour gaps, by allowing some visitors who met certain conditions to apply for an job-supported work permit from inside Canada.

Is it worth applying for Express Entry after you turn 35?

Prospective Canadian immigrants are sometimes discouraged from applying for Express Entry after they turn 35 years of age.
This is largely due to points lost on their Comprehensive Ranking System (CRS) score.
The Express Entry application management system uses the CRS to rank and order eligible Express Entry candidates based on their human capital factors before they can receive an Invitation to Apply (ITA) for Canadian permanent residence from Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC).

The average cost of buying a home in Canada’s largest cities

Housing has become a key issue for Canadians in 2024, with much attention given to the impact that changing interest rates, population increases, natural emigration patterns, and other factors have had on housing costs.
After compiling a guide on rental costs across Canada in 2024, CIC News has prepared the following guide on the costs of buying a home in Canada, considering the largest cities and population centers in each of the country’s provinces.

Quebec announces suspension of LMIA processing for some low-wage temporary foreign workers

Starting September 3rd, the processing of Labour Market Impact Assessments (LMIAs) to applicants in Montréal will be suspended for job offers with hourly wages below $27.47 CAD (the Quebec median hourly wage). This measure is expected to be in place for the next six months and has been approved by the federal government of Canada.

Canada implements policies to increase affordability of housing and groceries

A new Leger poll conducted for OMNI news, illustrated the effect of an increasing cost of living on newcomers in Canada. According to the study, 83% of the 1522 newcomers surveyed felt that affordability issues were making settling in Canada more difficult.

Simultaneously, a recent study by Statistics Canada found that more than a third of newcomers who recently arrived in the country were in renting situations where they needed to spend more than a third of their pre-tax income on rent.

On February 6th the federal government announced new policies to help increase affordability for Canadians, and those living in Canada. Similar affordability policies were instituted by the government last year.

5 challenges newcomers face in Canada and how to deal with them

Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada’s (IRCC) Immigration Levels Plan 2023-2025 aims to welcome over 460,000 new immigrants each year, which is the highest level in Canadian history.
Upon arrival, newcomers must settle into their new homes and may experience some challenges adjusting to Canada and their new lives in the country.