29 December 2009

Canadian Government opens online Canadian visa applications

Citizenship, Immigration and Multiculturalism Minister Jason Kenney has announced that temporary residents seeking work permits or an extension of their visit in Canada can now apply online.

The online Canadian immigration service is expected to significantly facilitate the application process and provide a fast and more accessible service.

Canadian Visa forms submitted by mail often need to be returned because they are incomplete, adding time to the process, but online applications can only be submitted if they are complete, which makes for faster processing times.

The service is currently open to all Canadian temporary residents, except for co-op program work permit applicants who wish to work in Canada.

Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC) intends to make all types of applications available online in the future.

The Canadian Government first offered Canadian Student Visas online in  June 2008, and since then international students have submitted close to 33,000 online applications.

Skilled workers wanting to emigrate to Canada are already able to take a free online assessment to determine eligibility, and receive information about their immigration options from a skilled migration consultant.

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The Canadian Visa Bureau is an independent consulting company specialising in helping people with their Canadian  Visa applications to the Canadian Embassy.