PremiumIn a bid to ease the whole process of getting a visa for Canada from India, the Canadian government has decided to boost the existing infrastructure of the whole visa process by including additional capacity in two cities of Delhi and Chandigarh under Canada’s Indo-Pacific Strategy.
Canada's Minister Sean Fraser said,"Canada’s Indo-Pacific Strategy will have an enormous impact on our economic potential, including through promoting immigration that will strengthen ties between people in Canada and the region through immigration." "We will also strengthen recruitment efforts through our international student program in order to attract the skills we need to support our economy and to strengthen ties with people across the region," the minister further said. "As we continue to meet our ambitious admission targets, this funding will play a crucial role in aiding our government’s efforts to reduce processing times and maintain Canada’s position as a destination of choice for newcomers," Sean Fraser said in a tweet.
In its engagement with India," Canada will grow economic ties, including through deeper trade and investment, as well as cooperate on building resilient supply chains
seek to expand market access by concluding an Early Progress Trade Agreement (EPTA) as a step toward a Comprehensive Economic Partnership Agreement create a Canada-India desk within the Trade Commissioner Service to promote implementation of the EPTA for businesses and investors looking to enter the Indian market, or for those partnering with Indian businesses invest in and connect people, including by bolstering Canada’s visa-processing capacity in New Delhi and Chandigarh," the government said in an official statement.
Meanwhile, Canada will do targeted draws for skilled immigrants for the first time starting next year, allowing it to cherry pick applicants with the most in-demand skills for the regions of the country that most need workers, the federal immigration minister told Reuters.
A key focus will be on recruiting more doctors and nurses, but only for provinces that make it easier for health workers to validate their foreign credentials and start practicing when they arrive, Minister Sean Fraser said.
"We can do a targeted draw beginning in 2023. That will allow us to select workers by the sector that they work in and the part of Canada that they are going to," said Fraser.
"This means we will be able to bring a greater focus to welcome more healthcare workers ... in jurisdictions that will allow them to practice."
In Canada, many economic immigrant candidates are ranked based on language, education and other skills, and those with the highest overall score are invited to apply for permanent residence status.
The change will allow Canada to filter for specific skills and sectors, or for people who will move to specific regions.
*With inputs from agencies