What to know
- Canada approved only 41 per cent of roughly 17,000 visitor applications linked to the World Cup between November and March.
- Approval rates for visitor applications differed sharply by country, with Ghana, Pakistan, Nigeria and Haiti among those with the highest rejection rates.
- Several countries whose teams played in Canada — including Australia, Croatia, Germany, Belgium, Switzerland, Qatar and New Zealand — had all or nearly all of their visa applications approved.
- Colombia and Panama also saw relatively high approval rates despite submitting large numbers of applications.
Canada received thousands of visitor applications from those planning to visit the country for the World Cup, but less than half of them got approved.
Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) reportedly revealed data on visitor visa applications from Nov. 14 to Mar. 31. During this period, Canada processed 17,000 applications from over 160 countries, but only 41 per cent of them got approved.
Data also revealed that application rates varied significantly from one country to another, with some countries getting most or all of their requests approved, while others were mostly rejected.
Citizenship and entry requirements appeared to play a major role. Visitors to Canada may need either a temporary resident visa (TRV) or an electronic travel authorization (eTA), depending on where they are from and how they enter the country. While eTAs are typically completed through a faster online process, visitor visas can require more documentation, including travel plans and proof of funds.
For this year’s World Cup, applicants from several eTA-eligible countries, including Australia, Germany, Croatia and New Zealand, saw all of their requests approved. By contrast, some visa-required countries, including Syria, Uganda and Sri Lanka, had all applications denied.
Overall, citizens from eTA countries had a 96 per cent approval rate, compared to 32 per cent for those requiring a visa.
Lowest approval rates
According to reported data, Ghana was the country that submitted the most visa applications, but was also the country with the most rejections. Out of 1,725 applications submitted within that period, only 185 were approved, which represents an approval rate of less than 11 per cent.
Ghana played at the Toronto Stadium on June 17 against Panama.
Similarly, Pakistan came third on the list, with a total of 1,250 applications, but only 110 were approved, making for an 8.8 per cent approval rate. Following Pakistan, India came fourth on the list, with 1,225 applications and 335 approvals, representing a 27 per cent rate. Neither Pakistan nor India qualified for the World Cup.
Nigeria and Haiti also topped the list in sixth and eighth place, respectively. Nigeria received 785 applications with 110 approvals, while Haiti fans submitted 610 applications with only 35 approvals.
Although Haiti did not have any group stage matches in Canada, it did play two friendly matches at the Toronto Stadium back in March, one against Tunisia and the other against Iceland.
Highest approval rates
Meanwhile, other countries at the top of the list in number of applications got most of their requests approved.
Coming second only to Ghana on the list with 1,630 applications, Colombia had an approval rate of almost 70 per cent, with 1,130 approvals, even though the country’s national team did not have any matches in Canada.
Panama was the fifth on the list with 910 requests in total and 850 applications, representing a 93 per cent approval rate. The country faced Ghana at Toronto Stadium last week.
Coming in after Nigeria with 680 applications in total, China fans also got most of their applications approved. China did not qualify for the World Cup.
Other countries that played in Canada
In addition to those topping the list, the data revealed also included other countries that had their teams play in Canada.
As part of the same group as Canada, Qatar and Switzerland both had matches against the home country’s team at BC Stadium. Qatar is listed with 20 applications, with all being approved, and Switzerland with 40 applications, also approved.
Croatia also played against Panama in Toronto, with all 65 of its reported applications approved.
Also playing in Vancouver against Turkey, Australia had 345 applications, all of which were approved. Meanwhile, Turkey had 185 applications, with 90 approvals.
New Zealand and Belgium faced each other at BC Place, getting 40 and 60 applications in respectively, with all of them getting approved.
Last week, Germany played against Ivory Coast at the Toronto Stadium. The first got 170 approvals out of 170 applications, while the latter submitted 45 applications with only 15 approvals.
Finally, Iraq and Senegal are set to face each other at Toronto Stadium later on Friday. While Iraq got only 10 of its 65 applications approved, Senegal got 25 approvals out of 170 applications.
