Ottawa, December 21, 2009 — Temporary residents seeking work permits or an extension of their visit in Canada can now apply online, Citizenship, Immigration and Multiculturalism Minister Jason Kenney announced today.

“Extending our online services to more temporary residents will significantly facilitate the application process by providing faster, more accessible and efficient services,” said Minister Kenney.

Forms submitted by mail often need to be returned because they are incomplete, adding additional time to the process. Applications online can only be submitted if they are complete, thereby contributing to faster processing. The service is open to all temporary residents except for co-op program work permit applicants.

Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC) intends to make all types of applications available online in the future.

CIC first began offering online applications in June 2008, international students studying in Canada being the first to have access. Since then, international students have submitted close to 33,000 online applications. International students at over 200 participating educational institutions have been able to apply online for an off-campus work permit, confirm their eligibility online and renew their study permit while in Canada. They can also use our online services to apply for or extend the status of their dependent family members currently living in Canada.

Source: cic.gc.ca