Expatriates in Canada who want to apply for permanent residency must do so through a new application form that has been introduced to improve processing speeds.
The new form, called the Generic Application Form for Canada, has officially replaced all previous forms for both people within Canada and outside of Canada, who wish to apply for residency.
This new form now creates one sole method to apply for residency and the Canadian authorities hope it will speed up procedure and create a smoother system. Accessible online, the electronic form assists with the applicant with prompts and drop-down menus, a spokesman from Canadian Immigration said: “This reduces the time it takes to fill out an application. It is expected that this will also increase the accuracy and consistency of responses.”
When the applicant completes the form they will be given a barcode that they can then print out along with the form itself. All in all it is hoped that the new system will reduce the amount of data entry as well as the amount of potential errors.
Physical forms will still be accepted up until March 13 2012, but all new applicants will be strongly advised to use the electronic form.