In an effort to attract more traffic from India, Canada will now be granting 10-year multiple entry visas to Indian nationals who have visited Canada or the United States at least once in the past 10 years.

Unlike the UK and the US, which have been tightening immigration norms for Indians, Canada will be moving towards a liberalized visa regime (in all categories including work, education, business and leisure), Chris Alexander, Canada’s minister for citizenship and immigration said in New Delhi on July 7.

The new policy, called CAN+, was unveiled by Alexander in the presence of representatives from India’s business, tourism and education sectors.

“I am very proud to launch the CAN+ program in India which will make it easier for Indians to visit Canada as tourists or to do business,” said Alexander.

“Successful applicants will be grouped for bulk processing and put through our visa office on a priority basis…It’s being launched as a permanent program after a successful pilot program,” he said.

“We do know it will make us more competitive compared to our partners. We want to offer the same service or better than our peer group.”

Indian nationals rank in the top 10 source countries of international visitors to Canada. In 2013, more than 130,000 visitor visas were issued to Indian citizens and nearly 14,000 Indian citizens were issued student permits.

Between January and June 2014, almost 95 percent of visitor visas issued to Indian nationals were multiple-entry visas, allowing travelers to visit Canada as many times as they want for up to 10 years.

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