Applicants come to visa application centres with pastors, large entourage – Canadian Visa operator

The National Officer of the International Organisation for Migration (IOM)-Canadian Visa Application Centre, Kojo Wilmot, has shared insights into the lengths at which some visa applicants go in hopes of securing visas to go to Canada.

In the past few years, immigration to Canada has surged among many youth in Africa, particularly in Ghana.

But before a person can secure a visa to the country, they have to contend with such things as long queues, thorough application processes, required documentation and fees.

For instance, at the Canadian Visa Application Centre at Abelemkpe in Accra, you will find scores of middle-aged and young Ghanaian men and women waiting to submit their visa application forms.

According to Kojo Wilmot, who is a national officer at the Centre, some applicants even come along with pastors for divine support, while others come with either friends or even family members.

He pointed that the situation has led to overcrowding which the Centre is seeking to address through the adoption of enhanced services.

“On numerous occasions, the person who made the booking and secured a date will now come with an entourage and when they come, they all want to enter the application centre and this, in numerous circumstances, results in the overcrowding you see because the security person will only allow the person who made the booking to come in for the biometric,” Wilmot told Accra-based Citi FM on February 22, 2024.

He continued, “Secondly, there are people who get an appointment time and then decide to show up early and once your time is not up, we would insist that you wait for your time to be granted entry on numerous occasions.

“We advise that there is no need to come to the centre with a pastor to help you submit your application or undertake the biometric because, at the end of the day, we have no say in the decision that is taken,” the National Officer stated.

MA/AE

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