A significant Canadian immigration and visa backlog is preventing many people from visiting the nation, from former Formula One racer Karun Chandhok to executives at public sector organizations to regular visitors.
According to monitor CIC News, the global backlog has reached roughly 2.4 million people. And India is one of the worst-affected countries, with almost a fifth of all outstanding cases (about 700,000).
Chandhok, who now works as a television racing pundit, was scheduled to visit Canada this weekend for the Montreal Grand Prix. His documentation has not yet been processed, despite the fact that he applied for a renewal of his 10-year guest visa, which expired in December of last year. “In the past, it’s never been an issue – you apply, three weeks later, you receive your visa, and away you go,” he told the Canadian source National Post from London, where he is currently stationed.
Since the start of the Covid-19 epidemic, the processing backlog has risen. Executives from PSUs such as Metals and Minerals Trading Corporation of India and National Aluminum Company were among those affected by the situation, since they were scheduled to visit Toronto for the Prospectors and Developers Association of Canada conference 2022 (PDAC) on June 13 and 14. They were part of a 10-person Indian delegation, but visa issues caused them to withdraw from the world’s leading mineral exploration and mining convention. While the actual number of people who were unable to obtain a visa is unknown, individuals involved in planning their visit acknowledged that this was the primary reason for their absence.
Others, like Gaurav, a Delhi-based financial expert, sought for a visitor visa to travel to Canada for a family wedding. Gaurav (who only wanted his first name published) told the reporters that the application was submitted in December. His case is being evaluated, according to the online update.
This is something that the Canadian government is fully aware of. It plans to invest 85 million Canadian dollars ($65.16 million) in order to minimize the application inventory and recruit additional people. In addition, a delegation from Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) is slated to visit to India soon to try to resolve difficulties with delays.
However, Manu Datta, director of the business ICC Immigration, situated in the Greater Toronto Area municipality of Mississauga, noted that the present scenario “has impacted a lot of individuals.” He doesn’t think processing will return to normal anytime soon. He predicted that “it will be felt for another year or two.”
Gaurav, on the other hand, is nearly certain to miss the wedding, but he posed the question, “What if someone has a family emergency?” What will their outcome be? “I believe there is a flaw in the system.”
