Canada Rejects More Than Half of Nearly 17,000 World Cup Visitor Visa Applications

Fans of both teams cheer under a FIFA sign in the stands during group B World Cup soccer action between Canada and Bosnia and Herzegovina, in Toronto, on June 12, 2026. The Canadian Press/Sammy Kogan

Canada’s immigration department accepted around 41 percent of 16,985 World Cup visitor visa applications it received, with more than a dozen countries having no applications approved.

According to data from Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC), people from more than 160 countries submitted applications to come to Canada and view the FIFA World Cup 2026 between Nov. 14, 2025 to March 31, 2026. The department said it is working to ensure travel to Canada is as “simple and smooth as possible without compromising the safety and security of Canadians.”

IRCC data shared with The Epoch Times showed that acceptance rates for applications—whether they be temporary resident visas (TRVs) or electronic travel authorizations (eTAs)—varied significantly between countries, with many European nations seeing almost all of their requests approved, while many African and Middle Eastern countries saw low acceptance rates.

A total of 27 countries like Afghanistan, Liberia, Uganda, Syria, Sudan, Yemen, Libya, and Belarus had all of their applications rejected. Additionally, around 94 percent of Haitian applications were rejected, as were 91 percent of Pakistani and Kenyan applications, 90 percent of Iranian applications, and 71 percent of Indian applications.

By contrast, the IRCC approved 100 percent of the applications from European Union (EU) countries like Germany, France, Italy, and Switzerland. The countries of Australia, New Zealand, Argentina, Saudi Arabia, Qatar, and Bolivia also had all of their applications approved.

For the United Kingdom, which was a part of the EU until 2020, the IRCC said 94 percent of “British citizens” had their applications approved. For China, around 61 percent of applications were accepted.

The African country of Ghana had the largest number of total applications, with 1,725 being submitted and just 11 percent being approved. Second place was the South American nation of Colombia, with 1,630 applications submitted and 69 percent approved.

Ghanian midfielder Thomas Partey was denied entry into Canada ahead of his team’s opening game. He is currently facing rape charges in the United Kingdom, which he denies. The IRCC said in a statement that if its officers believe somebody could pose a security risk, “they may decide to deny them entry.”

The IRCC told The Epoch Times that the number of travel documents processed from November to March did not “reflect the total number of visitors expected to attend the tournament,” as many travellers already possessed travel documents that can be valid for up to 10 years.

The data also does not include visitors from the United States, as they do not require TRVs or eTAs to enter Canada. The department also said the data only included those who flagged “FIFA World Cup 26” in their applications, which they were not required to indicate.

This year’s World Cup includes matches in Toronto, Vancouver, and multiple cities across the United States and Mexico. A total of 13 out of the 104 soccer games will be played in Canada.

In May, Canada’s Parliamentary Budget Office released a report projecting that hosting the event in Canada would cost just over $1 billion, with around $473 million of that funding coming from the federal government and $593 million coming from other levels.