Indians get faster processing for Canada visit visa

Indian nationals who have travelled to Canada or the US in the last 10 years will be able to enjoy an express service when acquiring their visit visa for Canada.

The CAN+ programme for India was launched this month by Canadian Citizenship and Immigration Minister Chris Alexander with the purpose of increasing processing efficiency for visitors coming to Canada from India.

Among the programmes are three visa Express programmes for Indian businesspeople, tourists, and students in the form of the Business Express programme, Tourist Partner Programme and the Student Partners Programme.

Visitors that apply through these programmes will receive accelerated processing for the reduced fee of CA$100, explained the minister.

“Our government is committed to facilitating trade and travel for genuine visitors and business people from India who contribute positively to the Canadian economy. We are pleased to launch the CAN+ programme in India, making it faster and easier for Indians to come to Canada to do business, visit family or friends, or to bolster Canada’s tourism industry,” he commented.

In addition to the new programmes, 10 Visa Application Centres (VACs) will be opened in India.

According to the Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC) Indian nationals rank in the top 10 source countries of international visitors to Canada. Over 130,000 Indian citizens were issued Canadian visitor visas in 2013, and nearly 14,000 Indian citizens received Canadian student permits.

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