November 1, 2023: Advocacy Update: Business Visas to be Expedited + Register for the IRCC Visa Webinar

OTTAWA TO EXPEDITE BUSINESS VISITOR VISAS 

The Federal Government released a report yesterday (October 31) which promises to prioritize visa processing for international business visitors attending major trade shows, conferences, and events in Canada.

The report, An Immigration System for Canada’s Future – A plan to get us there, includes the following action item addressing a key business events industry issue:

Expedite visitor visas, with benefits for tourism, major conferences and events.
“As of June 6, 2023, 13 more countries have been added to a partial visa exempt countries list. Now, travellers from 67 countries can apply for an electronic travel authorization (eTA) instead of a visa with most eTA applications approved within minutes. 

We are also committed to ensuring priority visa processing so those from all over the world attending major conferences and events in Canada that are registered with IRCC, make it there on time.”

CAEM has been working in lock step with Meetings Mean Business Canada (MMBC) and the Tourism Industry Association of Canada (TIAC)  to advocate for the importance of this issue to Members of Parliament and government officials.  This is an excellent step forward and major win for the Canadian business events industry.

You may remember that CAEM, in partnership with MMBC and TIAC, hosted a webinar featuring officials from Immigration, Refugees & Citizenship Canada (IRCC) last June. [Recording available here].

CAEM, MMBC and TIAC have partnered once again to host a follow up webinar with IRCC to explore the following topics.

• An update on the current situation on visa processing
• An overview of IRCC's Special Events Services, including types of events that qualify and what it means to register an event with IRCC
• How organizers of international events hosted in Canada can support participants from visa required countries to ensure a successful event
• IRCC guidelines on timelines for visa approvals by country

This webinar will take place on December 5th at 1PM ET.  It is free for all to attend and you are encouraged to share the details with your network. 

Click here to register