Canada Visa-Free Travel For Filipinos: Hoax Alert

In another case of hoax news going viral, the news about Filipino visitors to Canada no longer needing a visa started circulating this week. Originating from what looks like an online news site, it claims that no visa is required for visits up to 90 days.

The report cited that this was part of the third phase of Canada’s policy changes regarding the issuance of visas. The visa-free rule will reportedly take effect on May 1, 2017.

Visa-Free Stay For Filipino Tourist And Business Visitors

The report cited the 2016 Tourist Arrivals and Receipts report, which recommended that visa-free travel be given to Filipinos. Filipinos supposedly accounted for 12% of Canada’s revenue from tourism receipts, and are least likely to cause any immigration problems. It even claimed that the Philippines comes in third, after the United States and Germany.

It also quoted the Minister of Small Business and Tourism Bardish Chagger who said that allowing visa-free entry will attract more visitors and bring in more receipts. Growth in tourism receipts have been steadily growing since 1999, Chagger added.

Visa-Free Stay In Canada – Hoax News Since 2016

In Nov. 2016, a similar news article came out, referring to visa-free travel for Asian visitors to Canada. That same report also mentioned the 2016 Tourist Arrivals and Receipts report and Minister Bardish Chagger. In addition to this, it cited that this was based on a proposal to scrap visa requirements for Asians because they accounted for 80% of Canada’s tourism revenue.

According to an SBS.com.au report, the Canadian immigration department has denied this report as well as the existence of any proposal to scrap visa requirements. A staff member of Minister Chagger also said in an email: “The story you are asking about is false and the quote attributed to the Minister is fabricated. We are asking the website in question to remove this fake article.”

Visitors to Canada need to go through the proper immigration process, information on which is readily accessible via the official CIC website.