• Nigeria sees 86% rejection
•Egypt least with 59.1%
• 17,000 applications from 160 countries
• 41% approvals
Seven hundred and eighty-five (785) Nigerians were amongst unsuccessful African visitor visa applications to Canada for the ongoing FIFA 2026 World Cup.
Nigeria and eight other African countries recorded the highest visa rejection rates, according to data from Canada’s Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC).
The IRCC information indicates that the Canada visitor visa refusal rates for the African applicants ranged from 59.1 percent for Egypt to 96.1 percent for DRC (Democratic Republic of the Congo), which is currently facing Ebola virus disease attacks.
Countries most affected by the huge visitor visa rejections include Kenya (91.1%), Ghana (89.3%), Cameroon (87.0%), Nigeria (86.0%), Senegal (85.3%), Ethiopia (78.6), Algeria 73.5), and Egypt (59.1%). Overall, only 41 percent of all World Cup-related visitor visa and electronic travel authorisation (eTA) applications were approved during the reporting period.
For the thousands of football fans across the continent, their biggest hindrance to attending to watch the FIFA 2026 World Cup matches live inside the stadiums was not acquiring match tickets, but rather obtaining visa to travel.
The Canada’s IRCC data did not explain the reasons behind the individual visa refusals, but it is a classic pointer to visitor visa applications are generally assessed based on factors such as the applicant’s purpose of travel, financial resources, travel history, and evidence that they will leave Canada at the end of their authorized stay.
According to the IRCC data, DRC had 385 visa processed out of which 370 were refused, leaving 15 approved. Kenya had 225 visas processed, 205 refused and 20 approved. Ghana sent 1,725 visa entries, 1,540 recorded, 185 approved. Cameroon sent 115 visa applications, 100 rejected, with only 15 approved. Nigeria had 785 applications, 675 refused, 110 approved. Senegal 170 applied, 145 refused visa, 25 approved. Ethiopia sent 140 visa applications, 110 rejected, 30 approved. Algeria 245 visa applications, 180 rejected, with 65 approved. Egypt sent in 550 football-related visa applications, 325 were rejected, leaving 225 approved.
African nationals attending the FIFA 2026 World Cup finals being co-hosted by the USA, Canada and Mexico, mostly required a temporary resident visa, which demanded more documentation and stricter eligibility checks compared to visa-exempt countries.
The figures relate to temporary resident visa (TRV) and electronic travel authorization (eTA) applications that were identified as World Cup travel requests.
According to the IRCC, nearly 17,000 visa applications were processed from more than 160 countries and territories during the reporting period, with just 41 percent approved overall.
Canada is co-hosting the 2026 FIFA World Cup alongside the United States and Mexico, with a total of 13 matches taking place across exactly two Canadian cities: Toronto and Vancouver.
