05 March 2009

Canada may prioritise business visa applications

The Sun Media received a leaked report that the Canadian immigration department is considering fast tracking business visa applications over visitor visa applications.

According to the media report, the government wants to speed up the Canadian visa application process so that employees of established companies with business in Canada can have their application approved within 48 hours.

The scheme was discussed at an informal meeting more than a week ago, and according to the Sun Media it would be an expansion of the pilot programme Business Express, which has been running in India over the past year. 

"As we recognize that business is important to the economy of Canada, we're looking at streamlining the process for business visitors, where we can use the key links between companies that we know exist and are already well-known to the mission, to streamline those processes," Claudette Deschenes, assistant deputy minister, said in the informal committee meeting.

Deschenes said that because the planning for the expansion of the programme is still in its fledgling stages, it could take some time for implementation as a global scheme.

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 The Canadian Visa Bureau is an independent consulting company specialising in helping people apply for Canada visa and immigration services.