Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC) facilitates the entry of genuine travellers into Canada and screens potential travellers to protect the health, safety and security of Canadians. We require people from 143 countries to have visas to enter Canada. We have put in place processes to expedite the movement of legitimate travellers. We now have 40 visa application centres in 21 countries; 19 of these centres have been created in 15 countries since 2007.
In addition, the new 10-year multiple-entry visa introduced in July 2011 is now an option for low-risk travellers from countries whose citizens require a visa to enter Canada. Previously, multiple-entry visas were issued for a maximum of five years only, so this change will make the visa process more efficient for applicants and better use government resources.
We have also been working with international event organizers to make it easier for them to bring people into Canada for events. We provide information on visa and entry requirements and a point of contact at CIC to answer questions. In 2010, we helped the organizers of 170 events.