Canada’s automatic issuance for 10-year multiple-entry visas will end effective immediately.
According to Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada, which outlined new changes last week, “multiple-entry visas issued to maximum validity are no longer considered to be the standard document.”
Visitors to Canada have previously been granted multiple-entry visas for up to 10 years, allowing them to leave and re-enter Canada as they pleased during that period, however, this will no longer be the default option.
The IRCC said that going forward, visa officers will now assess applicants individually regarding whether they will issue a single or multiple-entry visa for each applicant’s validity period.
Additionally, the applicant’s purpose of visit, funds, medical conditions, ties to their home country and other factors will all be considered when issuing visas.
Officers will determine the validity period for multiple-entry visas and may ultimately choose to grant applicants a timeframe under the maximum allowance of 10 years.
According to the IRCC, officers will consider if there is a short-term purpose for the visit as well as the applicants’ status in their current country of residence, including the country’s economic status and its political conditions.
News of the federal changes come on the heels of the Quebec government announcing a moratorium on two of its major immigration programs earlier this month, citing a need for the province to “better regulate” the arrival of newcomers.
Premier François Legault placed a temporary freeze on two key programs which offer a Quebec Selection Certificate, which allows immigrants to eventually apply for permanent residency in Canada.
Quebec Immigration Minister Jean-Francois Roberge said the province will no longer accept new applications for the Regular Skilled Workers Program.
The province also put a freeze on the Quebec Experience Program for recent graduates, effective Thursday.
Both programs will remain suspended until June 30, 2025.
“A scenario for reducing permanent immigration will also be seriously studied by the government,” wrote Roberge in a post to X. “Our objective is clear: we want to equip ourselves with the necessary means to better regulate immigration in Quebec.”
The Legault government said the new measures will also affect “the volume of admissions” for next year.
“We’re taking action for 2025 but we are also making sure we have all the room for the maneuver for planning,” Roberge told reporters at the National Assembly on Nov 1.