FIFA World Cup is drawing thousands of visa applications to Canada. Here are the countries with the highest refusals

Of note:

…Ghana, whose national team will play at Toronto Stadium on Wednesday, topped the list of visa applicants, with 1,953 applications submitted between Nov. 14, 2025, when Ottawa first announced its special visa measures, and March 31, the latest data available. Ghana also had the most refusals.

The West African country was closely followed by the 1,793 applications received from Colombia, which is in the tourney but is not scheduled to play in Canada. India (1,393), Nigeria (1,293) and Pakistan (1,085) rounded out the top five source countries; none of these three qualified for the tournament.

Preliminary data from the Immigration Department suggested there were more visas refused than granted among applications with the “FIFA World Cup 26” flag. The countries with the highest refusal cases were: Ghana (1,423), Pakistan (797), India (687), Nigeria (557) and Colombia (461).

Concerns have swirled over travellers being scammed or taking advantage of the event to gain easy entry to Canada for asylum and work opportunities since social media posts emerged late last year, falsely advertising that visitors can work without work permits during the World Cup, and offering help with cover letters and coaching for visa applications to attend games.

Not only did Canadian officials step up their scrutiny, they also campaigned to combat misinformation and disinformation about Canada’s immigration system through public engagement and advisories.

Of the total 4,625 of visas approved, 1,076 were issued to Colombians, topping all countries. China, which did not qualify for the Cup, came a distant second, at 327. It’s followed by Ecuador (257), the U.S. (239) and India (188). (American citizens don’t need visas to come here, but U.S. permanent and temporary residents do.)…

Source: FIFA World Cup is drawing thousands of visa applications to Canada. Here are the countries with the highest refusals