Some immigration lawyers and consultants report visitors with valid visas were denied entry and pressured to seek asylum at Toronto and Montreal airports, despite having no intention to do so.
Pranjal Singh, an 18-year-old visitor from India, was held at Montreal airport for 12 hours and only released after agreeing to sign documents to seek asylum.
Pranjal Singh was looking forward to a summer in Canada to hang out with his older sister, whom he had not seen since she left India to study in Toronto in April 2021.
The last thing the 18-year-old from Delhi had anticipated was being made to file a refugee claim in Canada when he landed in Montreal en route to Toronto on June 23.