In 2024, Canada rejected more than 2.3 million visa applicants, including students, foreign workers, and tourists. It marks the highest rejection rate for temporary resident applications.
The statistics from the Toronto Star revealed that Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) rejected a total of 2,359,157 temporary resident applications in 2024, accounting for a significant increase compared to 1,846,180 registered in 2023, VisaGuide.World reports.
Sharpest Increase Noted in Visitor Visas
According to the statistics from the Toronto Star, the most significant increase in visa rejection rates was noted on visitor visas.
In 2024, 1.95 million visitor visa applications were denied, accounting for 54 per cent of all visitor visas, up from 40 per cent registered in 2023.
Study permit refusals stood at 290,317, or 52 per cent of study permits, up from 38 per cent registered in 2023.
Work permit rejections were 22 per cent, with a total of 115,549 work permit rejections, slightly lower than 23 per cent registered in 2023.
Reducing Temporary Immigration
The increase in the number of visa rejection rates comes amid ongoing pressure from Canada’s government to reduce immigration.
In October 2024, authorities in Canada unfolded plans to reduce the target for admission in the next three years.
Based on this plan Canada aims to reduce permanent residency targets to 350,000 from 500,000, this year, then to 380,000 from 500,000, in 2026 and 365,000 in 2027.
The 2025-2027 Immigration Levels Plan was introduced by the Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship, Marc Miller, and came amid concerns from citizens over housing shortages and the rising cost of living.
Immigration is essential to our country’s economic success and growth…We took decisive measures to attract some of the world’s best and brightest to study and work in Canada and to integrate them into the economy quickly. This meant a faster economic recovery. It also meant that robust immigration helped prevent a recession while contributing to Canada’s workforce.
In September last year, Immigration Minister, Marc Miller, highlighted the need for the federal government to intensify efforts to prevent the misuse of visitor visas for entry into this country.
He emphasized that the country implemented various measures to manage the increasing number of people attempting to cross the border. However, he said that Canada should introduce additional measures that would target those who go against visitor visa rules.