The Government of Canada has launched the CAN+ program, which will make it faster and easier for Mexican travellers to come to Canada.
The CAN+ program builds on a successful six-month pilot that streamlined visa processing for an expected 50 percent or more Mexican visitors travelling to Canada with visas issued within seven days and an approval rate of over 95 percent.
The program is open to Mexican citizens who can demonstrate that they have previously travelled to Canada or the United States in the last 10 years. As well, those eligible for CAN+ do not need to provide as many supporting documents when submitting their applications. Less paperwork is another way CAN+ makes it easier for eligible Mexican citizens to apply for a visa and come to Canada.
To benefit from the program, Mexican travellers can apply online or at one of three Visa Application Centres (VACs) in Mexico: Mexico City, Guadalajara and Monterrey. VAC staff will screen all applications for CAN+ eligibility, for example, by examining applicants’ passports for proof of previous travel to Canada or the United States. They will then automatically direct those applications that meet program requirements to the visa office for expedited processing under CAN+.
Mexicans who apply online for their visitor visa will also be assessed for CAN+ and those who meet the program requirements will be processed under the new program.
CAN+ is one of a number of facilitative programs available to Mexican applicants to make it easier and faster for them to apply for a visa and visit Canada.
For example, in February 2014, Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC) adopted the 10-year multiple-entry visa (MEV) as its standard visa and reduced the fee to CAD$100. As a result, 97 percent of visas issued to Mexicans today are 10-year MEVs, which are a fast, flexible and convenient options allowing qualified visitors to enter and exit Canada for six months at one time for up to 10 years.
CIC also offers three “Express” programs (Business Express, Travel Express and Student Pilot) to help Mexican business people, tourists and students to come to Canada faster.
As a result of these government initiatives, overall visa processing times for all Mexican citizens has significantly improved with visas issued within 10 days.
Improved service to Mexicans has meant that more than 34,000 visitor visas, study and work permits were issued to Mexican visitors, students and workers between January and April 2014; a 20 percent increase from the same period in 2013.