Canada to issue 11,000 visas

MORE than 11,000 Canadian visas are expected to be granted to Irish people this year. This news comes as figures show permanent visa applications are up 50% as Canada produced four times more jobs than expected in January.

Canadian employment rose for the second consecutive month in January, with a gain of 69,000 jobs. Manager with visafirst. com Edwina Shanahan said applicants for visas range from men and women in their mid-20s to 40s.

She said others are contacting VisaFirst.com in Canada to apply for further-stay visas to allow them to remain working there longer.

“With the depressed jobs market here in Ireland more and more people are recognising that Canada has one of the strongest economies of the G-8 countries and is world- renowned for having the best standard of living,” she said.

The visa experts advise that current legislation has made it possible for certain occupations to travel to Canada on permanent visas without having secured work but said that it has also placed a degree of time sensitivity around visa applications.

“The Canadian immigration authorities have put a cap on each of the occupation groups that are eligible to apply for the Canadian permanent resident visa, also known as the Federal Skilled Visa.

There is cap of 1,000 on each occupation, and once the cap is reached visa applicants will need a pre-arranged job offer to apply,” said Ms Shanahan.

“For this reason those who are considering applying should do so now,” she added.

Canada as a destination for emigration has soared in popularity over the last number of years.

In 2009, more than 500 Irish passport holders were granted permanent resident visas, 3,000 granted work permits and 4,000 were granted working holiday visas.

Official statistics for 2010 are not out yet but visafirst.com estimates in 2011 6,000 work permits and migration visas as well as 5,000 working holiday visas would be granted — totalling 11,000.

Canada’s Official Statistical Office revealed that the Irish were the fourth largest ethnic group with 4,354,000 Canadians with full or partial Irish descent or 14% of the country’s total population.