Sean Fraser, Canada’s Minister of Immigration, Refugees, and Citizenship, announced that the processing time for temporary resident visa (TRV) applications from Pakistan has been reduced from 802 days to 60 days, with a further reduction to 30 days possible soon.
The Minister stated on Twitter that the reason Canada’s official website shows 802 days is because they are still processing older applications submitted during coronavirus-related travel restrictions.
Attention Pakistani visa applicants 🚨
Visa processing times are not 802 days for new applications. Currently, a complete TRV application from Pakistan will be processed in 60 days, and we expect to hit 30 days in the near future.
— Sean Fraser (@SeanFraserMP) May 4, 2023
He revealed that the backlog for Pakistani TRV applications has been reduced from 55,000 to only 15,000 people. Furthermore, Fraser revealed that the Canadian government intends to open a new processing centre in Islamabad in order to increase processing and interview capacity in the Indo-Pacific region.
Canada to Expedite Visa Process for Businessmen
Leslie Scanlon, Canada’s High Commissioner to Pakistan, told Commerce Minister Syed Naveed Qamar last month that the Canadian government is working to expedite the visa process for the Pakistani business community.
The envoy met with the Commerce Minister to discuss ways to strengthen bilateral trade relations.
The Minister praised the upcoming Canadian General Preferential Tariff (GPT+) programme for developing countries, expressing hope that it will benefit Pakistan, particularly its newly proposed industries such as apparel and footwear.
