With less than two months before the 2026 men’s FIFA World Cup kicks off in North America, newly released data show that Canada has refused over 20,000 visitor-visa applications submitted by foreign fans hoping to attend matches in Toronto and Vancouver. Figures disclosed to The Globe and Mail under the Access to Information Act—and circulated widely on social media on August 1—indicate that between November 2025 and March 31 2026, IRCC processed roughly 46,000 World-Cup-flagged applications. Of these, 26,000 were approved while 20,000-plus were rejected, giving an overall refusal rate of 44 percent. The numbers vary dramatically by country. Applications from Ghana, whose national team opens the tournament in Toronto, were turned down 89 percent of the time (3,135 refusals out of 3,500 files). Nigeria, Colombia and Pakistan also posted refusal rates above 70 percent, whereas applicants from visa-waiver countries in Europe faced almost no denials because they travel on electronic travel authorisations (eTAs) rather than visas. IRCC officials told reporters the department used a “risk-based triage model” that considered past overstay data, asylum-claim statistics and the applicant’s financial profile. The crackdown reflects Ottawa’s determination to avoid a replay of the 2010 Vancouver Olympics, when several hundred spectators claimed refugee status after the Games. Already, 25 Ghanaian nationals who entered Canada on World-Cup visas have filed asylum claims, according to the Canada Border Services Agency. By demonstrating strict front-end screening, IRCC hopes to reassure the United States—Canada’s co-host and largest trading partner—that tournament-related migration will not fuel irregular crossings along the 49th-parallel land border. Event organisers and the hospitality sector have mixed reactions. Hotels in Greater Toronto had counted on a surge of African and South American supporters to fill mid-price and budget rooms. “We’ve revised our occupancy forecasts down by about eight percentage points,” said the regional vice-president of a major hotel chain. Ticket resellers, meanwhile, report that seats released from declined visa holders are being snapped up by domestic fans at premium prices, partially offsetting the dip in inbound tourism spend. Civil-society groups accuse Canada of discrimination. The Canadian Association of Refugee Lawyers notes that refusal rates broadly track the racialised hierarchies present in non-sport visa statistics and warn that mass denials can push genuine tourists into unsafe irregular routes. IRCC counters that each application receives individualised assessment by human officers and that the department has increased capacity at visa-application centres in Lagos and Accra to allow re-applications with stronger documentation. For businesses moving staff or clients into Canada during the World Cup, the lesson is planning and evidence. Travel managers should budget extra lead time for visitor-visa filing, ensure applicants can demonstrate strong home-country ties and, where possible, channel travel through the Visa-Exempt Business Visitor pathway for short corporate visits linked to the tournament.
