McLeod Group blog by Betty Plewes, October 30, 2018
In July, I received a frantic email from a Ugandan colleague who was coming to Canada to present a paper at the International Conference of Agricultural Economists in Vancouver. Both of her research associates, one from Ethiopia and one from Nigeria, had been refused a Canadian visa needed to attend the conference. Could I help?
They had received identical rejection letters stating that the visa officer was not satisfied that they would leave Canada, based on the purpose of the visit (i.e., an academic meeting!) and their personal financial situation. Both held academic positions in African universities, and were continuing advanced studies at a Belgian university from which they had received funding to attend the conference.
This is not an unusual occurrence. The Canadian Association of African Studies (CAAS) reported that 10 of its invited African academics could not attend its 2018 conference because they were refused visas. There are similar accounts from others organizing international meetings with academics and civil society leaders – human rights conferences, international development meetings, NGO training programs. Alex Neve of Amnesty International Canada stated that every time they prepare a conference on human rights, gender equality or conflict prevention with indigenous and civil society leaders, they have to prepare for the inevitable visa refusals. The Coady International Institute says that about 40% of their student applicants are refused visas. They also note that it is becoming more difficult for men to get visas.
Academics who want to attend a conference in Canada must apply for a visitor visa (formally called Temporary Resident Visa). Geoffrey York, in a Globe and Mail article, underlines some worrying trends in Canadian provision of such visas. The rate of refusal has increased from 18% in 2012 to 26% in 2017 and the highest refusal rates are in countries in Africa and the Middle East. The article notes that, in a 2017 World Economic Forum report, Canada ranked 120th out 136 countries for the restrictiveness of its visitor visa requirements (scoring only 10 out of a possible 100 points).
The visa application process is cumbersome, costly and time consuming. Applicants must prepay their air ticket and accommodation before applying for the visa. Sometimes they have to travel to another country to visit a Visa Application Centre, especially if they need to provide biometrics. There is a lack of consistency, of response and of clarity in reasons for refusal. If they are refused, they can reapply, but need to pay the fees again.
There are costs to this kind of international censorship. Most of the people who are refused visas are from Southern countries. Many of these conferences are addressing global issues of hunger, poverty, climate change and gender equality, which benefit from the broadest range of participants and input from the Global South. There is reputational damage to Canada, which prides itself on being open and welcoming. It is inconsistent with international development goals where we are trying to build partnerships with groups and individuals in other countries to address global issues.
Not surprisingly, this is not solely a Canadian issue. Recently, the World Health Organization expressed alarm that 10 of its international experts were unable to attend the Global Symposium on Health Systems Research in Liverpool. This led one organizer to suggest that:
International events are better organised in countries where the invited participants can more easily attend. The tough immigration policies may have impact on academic cooperation, if specific measures are not put in place to facilitate scientists’ travel to and from various countries.
In September, representatives from CAAS, Amnesty International and the McLeod Group met with some Immigration, Refugee and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) political and departmental staff to share our concerns and better understand how they see the issues. While IRCC staff acknowledge there have been problems, they feel this is primarily due to increased demand and the major problems have already been addressed.
However, there is evidence from a wide range of people that the problems are more systemic. CAAS has suggested that IRCC convene a consultative working group of academics and nonprofit organizations to ensure the visa-granting process is fair, transparent and nondiscriminatory, and verify that the application of criteria across different embassies and consulates is standardized.
That seems like a good place to start.