the CanadaVisa Team - 24 November, 2012
Approximately 150 new Canadian permanent residents were allowed to stay in Canada even though their visas had been issued by mistake.
A computer glitch resulted in the individuals receiving permanent resident visas even though their applications were scheduled to be terminated due to a new rule issued in the most recent budget.
Canadian Immigration Minister Jason Kenney announced that he would use his ministerial powers to allow the individuals to keep their permanent residency.
'It was an administrative error on the part of my ministry," Kenney said. “We make over 2 million decisions a year, about 7,000 a day. We are making a major IT change so I think it’s understandable that a small error of this nature would be made.”
All individuals who received visas have passed security screenings and been deemed admissible to the country. Among those who were caught up in the error was a Moroccan family who arrived in Canada on Friday, only to be informed at the airport that their visas were not valid. Despite the initial confusion, they and the other immigrants affected by the glitch can now move on to starting their new lives in Canada.
