Recent data from the Government of Canada shows a significant financial outlay by Ghanaians seeking temporary resident visas. With a surge in applications from January to April 2024, Ghanaians have collectively spent a substantial amount on visa applications, despite a noticeable decline in approval rates.
For Ghanaians, the cost of a visitor visa to Canada, including biometric fees, is CAD 185. Assuming all 63,375 applications submitted between January and April 2024 were for visitor visas (cheaper in the category), the total amount spent on these applications can be calculated as follows:
- Total Applications: 63,375
- Cost per Application: CAD 185
- Total Cost in CAD: 63,375 applications X CAD 185 = CAD 11,497,935
The financial impact of these applications is substantial when converted into local and international currencies:
- In Ghanaian Cedis (GHS): With an exchange rate of 1 CAD = 1,086.25 GHS, the total expenditure amounts to GHS 126,897,562, or roughly GHS 126 million.
- In US Dollars (USD): At the current exchange rate, the total amount is approximately USD 8 million.
Despite the significant financial investment, the approval rates for these visas have shown a declining trend. In the first two months of 2024, approval rates were relatively high, with 6,241 and 5,826 approvals in January and February, respectively. However, March and April saw a significant drop, with approvals falling to 3,749 in March and further to 3,001 in April. This trend suggests that while interest in traveling to Canada remains high among Ghanaians, the likelihood of visa approval is decreasing, indicating either more stringent application processes or a shift in IRCC’s criteria.
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