“VISA CANCELLATION” POLICY

Canada seeks sweeping new powers to revoke visas amid fraud crisis

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lhe Canadian government is advancing new legislation that would grant its immigration authorities the unprecedented power to cancel entire classes of temporary visas (such as Temporary Resident Visas or TRVs) instead of handling revocations on a caseby-case basis. This policy shift, primarily driven by escalating concerns over application fraud, has sparked anxiety among temporary residents and criticism from civil rights groups.

New authority

The proposed mass cancellation power is contained within Bill C-12, a piece of border control legislation. While publicly, Immigration officials have cited scenarios like a global pandemic or war as reasons for needing such rapid, large-scale cancellation authority, internal government documents reveal a more targeted intent.