Canada Visa Update: Medical Test Requirement Waived-off for 2 Lakh Canadian Visa Applicants

The revised policy will apply to new or pending applications from Canadian citizens for permanent or temporary residency or a permanent resident Canada visa. It will also apply to individuals who have passed an immigration medical examination during the previous five years.

When filing a new application, applicants must still include the specific medical identification number from their prior medical examination. The policy is valid through October 6, 2024.

Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) has implemented a temporary public policy that exempts certain low-risk, in-Canada, foreign nationals from submitting an immigration medical examination (IME) as part of their application when their previous IME has expired. This supports faster processing of applications to help eligible foreign nationals quickly obtain temporary or permanent resident status, the official statement read.

The government waived the medical requirement for people who meet specific criteria to reduce the wait time. 

• People who are applying for either permanent residence or temporary residence.
• People who are already living in Canada.
• People who completed their previous IME in the past five years.
• People whose medical exam was of no risk to public health and safety by an IRCC officer.

The candidates who are not eligible under this policy must give a medical for a Canada visa, Immigration Medical Exam (IME) as per usual health screening procedures.

You can fill out the form on Canada VFS global online portal. Here's a guide to filling Canada visa application form.

• First, the applicant needs to identify the visa type. Check whether you are eligible to apply for it.

• You will need to submit the required documents.

• You can easily download the visa application form and fill it out. You can also submit your online application directly to Immigration, Refugee and Citizenship Canada (IRCC). You'll have to complete the supporting documents section.

• If you can't provide all the documents, you can also fill out the waiver form and attach it to your application after filling it out.

• Once you have applied for your visa, you need to book an appointment to have your fingerprints and photo taken at a Visa Application Centre. This is known as 'biometric information.

• Next, you have to pay the fees.

• You will need to visit the visa centre if you have not submitted an online application.

• Keep tracking your application.

• After the visa application decision gets finalised, you can pick up your documents from the VFS centre. You can also get your records returned to you via courier. For this, you have to pay a fee to VFS Canada.

According to common law, your ability to enter Canada depends on your health. Here is a quick look at what every potential permanent residence candidate needs to know about Canadian health examinations to assist you in finding the answers to all of your questions.

All the permanent resident applicants must undergo a medical exam which includes accompanying partners, spouses and children.

To book an immigration medical examination (IME), the applicant must contact the panel physician of VFS Canada. The applicant must check if the officer is open and is performing exams. You can check out the official website of VFS Canada to know all the details.

The Canada visa application requires specific medical tests for the applicant to do. A series of medical tests will set you back by around 5000-9000 INR. These would include the X-rays and all major blood tests.

IRCC website reports roughly 2.4 million applications on July 2022. 1.3 million of these are beyond the service standard.

1.4 million of these applications are for temporary residence, less than 41 per cent of the service standard. There were 379,000 applications for Canadian citizenship.

IRCC spokesman Stuart Isherwood, in an e-mail to immigration.ca, stated that “IRCC is moving towards a more integrated, modernised and centralised working environment to help speed up application processing globally."

The IRCC is planning on hitting the target of around 432,000 new permanent residents as a part of the immigration level plan for 2022-2024.

The IRCC releases a new plan that outlines the number of immigrants Canada hopes to welcome in the coming three years. It further breaks it down into the class of immigration and its programs.

For 2022, Canada's immigration level plan targets 55,900 new permanent residents through express entry. Canada has admitted over 28,000 new permanent residents through express entry programs between January and August 31.

IRCC told CIC News that it expects the online application portal to be fully implemented in the summer or spring of 2022. It plans to have 100% digital applications for almost all the permanent resident programs starting September 23.

If you want to learn more about the Canada visa application process, you may contact our expert counsellors at any branch of Meridean Overseas Education Consultants (MOEC). Our expert counsellors will provide you with all the guidance and support you need to study in the country of your choice. For more information or any queries, you can mail us at application02@meridean.org or call us at our toll-free no. 1800-1230-00011.