There is an intention to expand the program to other countries in 2019 if it is successful, such as Kenya and Senegal. Expansion to Senegal is of particular interest, as it would be in line with Canada’s goal to attract more French-speaking students to Canada.

Applicants from these 4 designated countries are not automatically eligible for SDS; there are certain criteria that must be met by providing upfront proof of the items below:

• Accepted at a Canadian learning institution that is designated to host internationals students
• Tuition payment for the first year of study at a designated learning institution in Canada
• Purchase of a Guaranteed Investment Certificate (GIC) of $10,000
• Completion of an upfront medical examination
• Qualifying score of at least 6 for English (IELTS), or Niveaux de competence linguistique canadiens score of 7 for French (TEF), or graduation from a Canadian-curriculum high school

Of note is that the language levels are stricter than with a regular study permits. If an applicant applies under SDS and is found not to be eligible under the program, they will be transferred to the regular study permit processing stream and will not receiving the faster processing benefit.

For more information on applying under Student Direct Stream, please click here.

The post Welcome, Students! IRCC Announces New Program – Student Direct Stream first appeared on Bellissimo Law Group.

This amount that was spent is up 47 per cent in the past 5 years, while the number of visitors rose 17 per cent in the same period. Toronto saw the highest number of overnight visitors coming from the United States with 2,973,000 visitors and China with 319,000 visitors.

More than 70 per cent of American visitors arrived by plane, which is a dramatic shift from 50/50 back before the year 2000. This increase is important to Toronto’s economy as the visitors who fly here are staying longer, doing more and are spending more money.

Toronto’s biggest increase in regards to overnight visitors came from Mexico, as we saw a 72-per cent jump from 44,000 to 75,000 visitors. This is due to the fact that back in December 2016, Canada removed a 7-year-old requirement for Mexican travellers to obtain a visitor visa.

Domestic travellers continue to visit Toronto more than any other Canadian city. Toronto welcomed 10.4 million overnight domestic visitors, spending $2.6 billion dollars in 2017.

Clearly there is something special about Toronto that continues to draw in tourists from around the world and within Canada. Toronto is known for its tall skyscrapers, famous sport teams, music/film festivals, multicultural and delicious foods and is viewed as an ideal candidate for what a city can and should be.

Want to read more? Click here.

The post Toronto broke a new tourism record with 43.7 million visitors in 2017! first appeared on Bellissimo Law Group.

On the itinerary is a speaking engagement at Fudan University, and then on to Shanghai University of International Business and the Shanghai Redlead Women’s Hospital, both of which have joint programs with British Columbia’s Douglas College.  With China as the top source country for international students for the past 5 years consecutively, the focus will certainly be on education and Canada’s reputation for high quality universities and colleges.

The strong personal ties between China and Canada are evident. China was also the top source country for new Permanent Resident admissions, with 34,000 in 2013. Over 270,000 visitor visas to Canada were issued to Chinese travellers in 2013, a nod to both tourism and family ties with Chinese-Canadians.

The Minister was quoted as saying:

 “With the exciting—and indeed transformational—changes we are making to Canada’s immigration system, our government wants to ensure that Chinese applicants are aware of the many opportunities that exist for them in Canada, now and in the future.” – Chris Alexander, Canada’s Citizenship and Immigration Minister

This may go some way to smooth relations with the many wealthy Chinese who recently met in Beijing to air their grievances over the way visa applications to the Immigrant Investor Program were left unprocessed for years.

Sources

The post Minister Chris Alexander travels to China! first appeared on Bellissimo Law Group.