Canada visa application center may be opened in Tashkent

At the beginning of the conversation, the ambassador informed the Canadian side about the measures taken by the government of Uzbekistan to streamline external labor migration, improve the living conditions of compatriots abroad, and protect their labor rights, Dunyo IA reports.

In turn, Jason Hollmann said that the Canadian government is constantly increasing quotas for foreigners and expanding the immigration plan through provincial programs. According to him, in Canada, there are various programs of provincial immigration – Provincial Nominee Program (PNP), in which candidates are selected on a point system.

“The IRCC representative welcomed the efforts of the Uzbek embassy to organize separate meetings with representatives of each province of the country responsible for the immigration policy of their regions. Jason Hollmann said that 13 provinces and regions of Canada have their own provincial immigration program, in which immigrants with certain professional and linguistic, mainly English and French, skills and experience are selected by potential employers in the Canadian regions. Subsequently, this employer applies to the IRCC with a request to issue a nomination certificate, which is designed to speed up the overall immigration process, including the issuance of an entry visa to Canada,” the report reads.

In addition, during the conversation with the Canadian side, the issue of opening a “Canadian visa application center” in Tashkent was discussed. Jason Hollmann said that Uzbekistan is among the priority countries where it is planned to open this center, given the growing number of Uzbeks applying for permits to enter Canada.

Following the talks, the parties reached an agreement to organize a meeting of representatives of the Ministry of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship of Canada and the Agency for External Labor Migration under the Ministry of Employment and Labor Relations in order to establish direct interagency ties and establish cooperation on the participation of Uzbek citizens in provincial immigration programs.