No Indian visitor applied for asylum during FIFA World Cup: Canada

Toronto: Just a quarter of visa applications from Indian nationals for the recent FIFA World Cup, were approved by Canada’s immigration department. However, as yet, not a single Indian to have arrived for that purpose in the country, has claimed asylum.Fans attend the 2026 World Cup round of 32 football match between Portugal and Croatia at the Toronto Stadium in Toronto, Canada on July 2. (AFP)According to updated data from Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) obtained by the outlet Globe and Mail, of the 2,660 applications from Indians, just 665 were approved.India, of course, had not qualified for the global tournament, which was co-hosted by the United States, Mexico and Canada in June and July. Canada staged a total of 13 fixtures, in Toronto and Vancouver.In total, Canada approved 26,000 visas and rejected 20,845, and, in addition, refused 205 electronic travel authorisations for visa-exempt foreign nationals, the outlet reported.While Ghana played Panama in Toronto on June 17, it also accounted for the largest number of visa rejections - 3,135. Just 470 applications from Ghanaians were okayed.Pakistan, Bangladesh and Nigeria also suffered large-scale rejections. Only 195 Pakistanis got the travel document while 2,245 were nixed. Those numbers were at 120 and 805 for Bangladeshis and 220 and 1,965 for Nigerians.Earlier, the Globe and Mail had reported that 175 of the visitors for the World Cup has submitted asylum claims. There are no Indians among them, so far. They claimants include 15 from Kenya, 10 from China, 10 each from Bangladesh and Nigeria, and five each from Burundi, Nepal and Pakistan.In January this year, the Canadian government stressed there was no special FIFA visa that would allow the holder to work or settle in the country. That statement came after a slew of misleading videos and posts emerged on social media promising such pathways to visitors obtaining a travel document for the football World Cup this summer.In a message, IRCC said, “Certain videos circulating on social media are sharing misleading information about travelling to Canada during the FIFA World Cup 26. Let’s be clear: there is no ‘FIFA visa’ or special visitor visa for the World Cup that allows you to work or settle in Canada.”Visitors to Canada for the tournament were “expected to respect the conditions of their stay and leave once their authorised period ends”.As the Hindustan Times reported earlier in January, some of the videos targeted Indians looking to travel to Canada either for employment or even to live in the country. IRCC warned against the use of third parties of obtaining tourist visas and asked potential travellers to apply through its own website. IRCC encouraged potential visitors for the tournament to use the words “FIFA World Cup 2026” in their application.Unscrupulous immigration agents attempted to leverage the opportunity provided by the tourney. In a post on Instagram, a travel agent based in Chandigarh stated in Punjabi, “This is a golden opportunity for those who have sought to settle in Canada for a long time.”Other posts pointed out that no sponsors were required for attending the matches, providing a clear purpose of travel.