Only 32% of Indian FIFA World Cup Visa Applications Approved by Canada

Canada approved only 32% of Indian World Cup visa applications, leaving thousands of football fans unable to attend.

By Pranjal Gupta

New Delhi, June 25: A huge number of Indian football fans were among those denied entry to Canada for the 2026 FIFA World Cup.

 Analysing figures released by Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC), CTV news revealed that nearly 17,000 visitor applications linked to the World Cup were processed between November 14, 2025 and March 31, 2026, but only 41 per cent received approval.

Indian applicants faced a particularly difficult process. As citizens of a visa-required country, they fell into a category that recorded an overall approval rate of just 32 per cent, significantly lower than the 96 per cent approval rate enjoyed by travellers from countries eligible for Canada's Electronic Travel Authorization (eTA) programme.

Football fans gather outside a FIFA World Cup venue. Indian applicants faced a low approval rate for Canada visitor visas linked to the tournament. (Representative Image, Source: Unsplash)

The highest number of World Cup-related applications came from Ghana. Canada processed at least 1,725 visitor visa applications from Ghanaian supporters, but approved fewer than 11 per cent. In contrast, around 69 per cent of applications from Colombian fans were approved, despite Colombia not playing any group-stage matches in Canada.

The FIFA World Cup is being jointly hosted by Canada, the United States and Mexico, with Canadian matches taking place in Toronto and Vancouver.

According to the IRCC, visitors from eTA-eligible countries such as Australia, Germany, Croatia and New Zealand saw all of their World Cup-related applications approved. Meanwhile, applicants from several visa-required countries, including Syria, Uganda and Sri Lanka, had all of their requests denied.

Canadian authorities said they are working with FIFA and government agencies to facilitate travel while maintaining security standards.

The figures only include applications that specifically mentioned “FIFA World Cup 26” and do not account for travellers using existing visas or authorisations. The data also excludes visitors from the United States, who do not require a visa or eTA to enter Canada.

As a result, the actual number of international supporters who attended the tournament is expected to be significantly higher than the official figures suggest.