We've applied for a temporary visitor visa for tourism in November from London. There's been no update to the application status since submitting biometrics (also November). Our trip is booked for in 4 days time and it seems likely now that no visa will be issued in time.
We've tried emailing and using the web form to ask about the application but not received anything more than the automated response to either. The estimated processing time online currently says 474 days (down from 532 last week).
The process seems totally impossible. It's not even possible to book flights 474 days ahead of time with any major airline. There doesn't appear to be any way to contact anyone, pay for faster processing or otherwise expedite a visa. The fact that they take £120 for the application under these circumstances seems frankly dishonest. No other country we've ever traveled to has ever taken more than a couple of weeks to process a visa or had so detailed an application.
Am I missing something, or is Canada essentially closed to tourists from non ETA approved countries?
We've tried emailing and using the web form to ask about the application but not received anything more than the automated response to either. The estimated processing time online currently says 474 days (down from 532 last week).
The process seems totally impossible. It's not even possible to book flights 474 days ahead of time with any major airline. There doesn't appear to be any way to contact anyone, pay for faster processing or otherwise expedite a visa. The fact that they take £120 for the application under these circumstances seems frankly dishonest. No other country we've ever traveled to has ever taken more than a couple of weeks to process a visa or had so detailed an application.
Am I missing something, or is Canada essentially closed to tourists from non ETA approved countries?