Canada Still Among The Preferred Destinations For Indians

15 Apr 2014

According to a news release Citizenship and Immigration Canada, the minister for Canadian Citizenship and Immigration, Chris Alexander and the country’s Member of Parliament for Brampton-Springdale, Parm Gill have stated that Canada is still among the countries which are preferred destinations for students, visitors and business persons from India.

According to the news release, the country gave away (or, issued) 130,000 tourist and visitor visas. The country also issued about 14,000 students and welcomed more than 33,000 Indian citizens as permanent residents. The news release further stated that Canada has been a recipient of contributions of many newcomers from India who have brought and continue to bring with them their abilities, capabilities and also contribute with their hard work. These Indians constitute skilled workers, skilled migrants, etc. and they assist and aid in building the economy of the country and some of them also become permanent countries in their host country.   

In turn, the Canadian government has been introducing newer programs to benefit many categories of people coming into Canada. Thus, the ‘Business Express Program’ (BEP), which was started in 2008 was introduced to facilitate quicker processing of visa applications for businesspersons. Similarly, the Worker Express Program (WEP), which is meant for workers sponsored by businesses was initiated in June 2009. According to the news release, this has benefited more than 7,200 applicants.

Also, the government extended the time period of stay for multiple entry visas, which was changed from 5 years to 10 years allowing for a maximum stay period of 6 (six) months for/during every visit to the country. In recognition of the importance of family ties, CIC has also introduced a ‘Parent and Grandparent Super Visa’ which allows parents and grandparents to visit and stay with their children and grand children for a longer duration of time. Before the end of February 2014, more than 31,000 ‘super visas’ were given. Some interesting facts and statistics were also provided by the CIC, according to which in/by 2013,  there was a 17% increase in the number of permanent residents in Canada, an increase of 14% in the number of visitors, and a fourfold rise in the number of students, as compared to the base year of 2008.

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