NDP to introduce two bills to fix visitor visas

OTTAWA – This morning in the House of Commons, NDP Immigration and Citizenship critic, Don Davies (Vancouver-Kingsway), introduced two bills to make Canada’s visitor visa system fairer and more transparent.
“The current Conservative government, and past Liberal governments, have refused to fix one of the primary sources of frustration for visa applicants – the arbitrary and random rejections for visas that had no reason or appeal process,” said Davies. “My two bills will change that and inject much-needed transparency into the system.”
The first bill requires the government to provide a detailed explanation when applicants are denied a temporary resident visa or visitor visa. The second bill provides a process to appeal a rejection if the applicant considers an error has been made.

“Twenty percent of visitor visa applications to Canada are denied with no justifiable reason,” said Davies. “In some visa offices, half of the applications are denied. I have seen cases where legitimate visitors had to miss a wedding or funeral. This is unacceptable and the system needs more transparency in order to fix the problem of random denials and rejections.” 

As it stands now, people are not given an adequate explanation for the denials, leading to confusion and frustration. The NDP firmly believes that providing a detailed report and an appeal process will go a long way toward restoring good will and ensuring a transparent and fair visa system.