Canada Removes Passport Visa Requirement for Croations

The Canadian Minister of Citizenship, Immigration, and Multiculturalism has announced that the requirement of a passport visa has been removed for citizens of Croatia. This means that Croatians may now seek temporary resident status as a visitor to Canada for a period of up to six months by applying at a Canadian port of entry. A port of entry includes international airports and the majority of land based border crossings.

In making this decision, the Canadian government first conducted a review of Croatia's profile, including socio-economic factors, immigration issues, travel documents, safety and security issues, border management, human rights, and bilateral relations.

Canadian Immigrant Settlement Services Receive Funding

As part of its ongoing effort to improve the integration of new Canadians, federal and provincial governments have been funding programs which provide settlement services. Some recent programs which have received funding include the Library Settlement Partnerships Program (LSP) in Brampton, Ontario and the Abbotsford Community Services (ACS) project in British Columbia.

The LSP is a 3-way partnership with the Canadian government, the Brampton Multicultural Centre, and the Brampton Public Library. Its goal is to assist immigrants with everyday situations, such as searching for a new home, transportation and finding employment locally. Canadian immigrants can access its resources through the LSP employees at Brampton Public Library locations.

The ACS is an effort to help immigrant youth and young adults who are encountering language and settlement barriers following arrival in Canada. ACS will use its funding to develop programs for immigrant youth that connect them to education, training and employment locally. Its participants will benefit from support services; develop plans to achieve goals; language training and short-term employment programs.

Canadian Immigrants Receive Integration Support

Canada's Mnister of Immigration today announced a new resource which will help Canadian immigrants more quickly integrate into the labour force. Part of the Foreign Credential Referral Office (www.credentials.gc.ca) initiative, this new online resource is expected to help put the skills of new Canadians to work faster.

“Each year, thousands of skilled newcomers arrive in Canada. It is in their interest, and in Canada’s interest, to do everything we can to help them put their skills to work here as soon as possible once they arrive,” said the Minister. “This is one more tool to help them obtain the greatest benefit from their experience and education.”


Available online, the resource, entitled “Planning to work in Canada? An essential workbook for newcomers,” will be available to anyone who wishes to access it, within Canada or abroad. It includes general information about life in Canada, resources available to immigrants, language information, details about finding work, and more. This resource reflects the commitment that the government has made in the form of a $50 million investment to improve credential recognition.

Canada's Immigration Department Seeks to Facilitate Certain Business Visitors

The Edmonton Sun reports that meetings among immigration officials are taking place in an effort to find ways to fast-track the admission of certain business-persons to Canada.

"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," assistant deputy minister Claudette Deschenes told members of Parliament's immigration committee last week.

These provisions are expected to affect employees of companies that have divisions in both Canada and abroad. Ordinarily, for those who are not passport visa exempt, the application process to gain temporary resident status in Canada may take several weeks. The current effort is expected to reduce this to as little as a few days in order to facilitate international business.