Applicants of all types of Canadian Visas whose applications have been approved need to send their passports to Visa Application Centers (VACs), and these centers send all the received passports to the embassy of Canada to be stamped with a label. This procedure is so time-consuming, and due to the pandemic of COVID-19, it has become much more complicated since some VACs do not accept passports in person.

So, applicants need to mail their passports by courier, which costs them extra fees. Furthermore, this procedure is an obstacle for applicants of student visas in close proximity to the beginning of semesters because it takes around one month for their passports to be picked up in some countries, and they may not be able to attend their classes on time.

The immigration, Refugee and Citizenship of Canada (IRCC) has taken effective steps in this area. For example, for the case of expired immigration visas, a Travel Authorization Letter is issued, and there is no need to stamp a new label on applicants’ passports. Moreover, visa exempt foreign nationals traveling to Canada by air are authorized to enter Canada by an electronic Travel Authorization (eTA), which is electronically linked to their passports. Noticeably, the Australian Government issues a Travel Authorization Letter instead of stamping a paper visa on applicants’ passports, especially for visitors and students.

Issues:

•  Moreover, due to some problems that recently occurred on the website of the IRCC, some visas were revoked, and it caused some applicants to restart the pick-up procedure again. However, if the procedure of Travel Authorization Letter will be held, this problem would be solved simply by sending an email.
• Since this procedure takes too long, some students cannot take their classes on time in Canada, and they have to defer their semesters.
•  According to the recent report by the government of Canada, Canada will aim to welcome over 400,000 immigrants per year. Given the increasing number of international students attending Canadian universities, the total number of immigrants will increase over the subsequent years. So, the alternative electronic visa procedure will surely accelerate and ease this way for both applicants and the IRCC.

Request:

Consequently, we all request the IRCC to replace the current visa procedure (Passport Request) with a Travel Authorization Letter to accelerate this process.

Sincerely yours,