Canada Immigration News

The Canadian Embassy in Budapest has moved and is re-opening to the public at its new location on 21 June.

The new address is:

The Canadian EmbassyGanz utca 12-141027 BudapestHungary

The telephone and fax numbers will stay the same:

Telephone: (36-1) 392-3360Fax: (36-1) 392-3390

Canadian immigration officials say a predicted wave of refugees from tsunami-ravaged South Asia never materialized, but representatives of those communities say it's because of Canadian government bureaucracy. Thousands of survivors were expected to flock to Canada following the Dec. 26 tsunami that killed more than 150,000 people in Sri Lanka, Indonesia, India and Thailand.

Only 278 of the 366 permanent resident visas issued were used by survivors to travel here -- well short of the 1,000 cases originally pegged for fast-tracking.

Most Canadians disagree with the Canadian government's May 2005 decision to allow people to regain the citizenship they lost as children without actually moving back to Canada, a newly released poll suggests.

Under legislation passed in 1947, tens of thousands of children lost their Canadian citizenship over the years when their parents moved abroad and became citizens of another country.

A new Immigration Agreement has been signed between Canada and Saskatchewan, central Canadian province.

The Agreement defines the respective roles and responsibilities of Canada and the Province of Saskatchewan related to immigrants, temporary workers, students and others who want to come to Saskatchewan under the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act.

Natalie Glebova, the newly-crowned Miss Universe, a Canadian from Russia, said she hopes to be a role model for immigrants all over the world.

The dark-haired, green-eyed 23-year-old beat four finalists from Latin America in an 81-woman pageant watched by as many as one billion people in more than 170 countries. Representing the North American nation on the world stage was the last thing on her mind 11 years ago when little Natalie and her family stepped off the plane in Toronto not knowing anyone.

As of 16 May Canada's post-graduation work program allows certain students to work for up to two years after their graduation. Previously, students were only allowed to work for one year.

Foreign students are eligible for a post-graduation work permit only for employment in their field of study. They must still have a valid study permit and apply for the work permit within 90 days of receiving written confirmation (transcript, letter, etc.) from their institution indicating that they have met the requirements of their program.