Travelling to Canada without a visa from Morocco? Reality check and Conditions to Know

Morocco is one of 13 countries benefiting from Canada's new visa-free travel policy. The conditions for these countries are to the advantage of only a few cases, details and reality on this news circulating in the web and social networks in this article.

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Canadian Immigration Minister's announcement

The Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship, Sean Fraserwas in Winnipeg today for a major announcement concerning visa-free travel. Most of us don't realize how time-consuming and expensive the process of obtaining a visa can be, especially for those who simply wish to travel for tourism or to visit family. In our ever-changing world, facilitating international travel has become a necessity.

Visa-free travel: 13 countries concerned and conditions to be aware of

In a move aimed at streamlining procedures, passport holders from 13 countries will now be able to travel by air to Canada without the need for a temporary residence visa. However, this only applies to travellers from these countries who have either obtained a Canadian visa within the last 10 yearswhich currently hold a valid non-immigrant visa for the United States. These countries include :

• Philippines
• Morocco
• Panama
• Antigua and Barbuda
• Saint Kitts and Nevis
• Saint Lucia
• Saint Vincent and the Grenadines
• Trinidad and Tobago
• Argentina
• Costa Rica
• Uruguay
• Seychelles
• Thailand

Towards a simplified pre-travel procedure

Fraser asserts that Immigration Refugees and Citizenship Canada (RCC) is working to make the pre-travel screening process simpler, faster and more affordable. As you can see, this decision will divert thousands of applications from Canada's visa workload, allowing IRCC to process visa applications more efficiently.

A similar pilot program was introduced in Brazil in 2017. The Minister claims that the program succeeded in increasing the number of visitors from Brazil by 40% and reducing the workload of the IRCC office in Sao Paulo by 60%, freeing up IRCC agents to work on more complex applications.

Details of visa-free entry to Canada

More than 50 countries can enter Canada without a visa, although most require an entry permit. Electronic Travel Authorization (AVE) if arriving by air. U.S. citizens do not need an AVE or visa to enter Canada, unless they are moving to Canada to work or study.

Nationals of non-exempt countries must apply for a Temporary Resident Visa (TRV), also known as a visitor's visa. A TRV allows a person to visit Canada for a period of six months (although this may vary for some foreign nationals).

Conditions of temporary residence

Arriving in Canada with a TRV does not authorize the holder to work or study in Canada, and they may be required to prove that the purpose of their visit to Canada is only temporary (such as tourism or visiting family) at the port of entry.

IRCC is currently processing a backlog of TRV applications. The latest IRCC data shows that 50% of TRV applications are not being processed within the 14-day service timeframe.