The Prime Minister of Canada Justin Trudeau, wearing a protective face mask, is attending a news conference as efforts continue to help slow the spread of coronavirus (COVID-19) in Ottawa, Ontario, Canada, March 5, 2021. REUTERS / Blair Gewel / file photo
Canadian Prime Minister Justin Trudeau’s special immigration initiative for Hong Kong residents has received more than 500 applications in the first three weeks, a Canadian immigration ministry spokesman said Friday.
In November, the Canadian government said it would make it easier for Hong Kong’s youth to study and work in Canada in response to new security rules imposed by China on the former British colony.
“In the first three weeks that the program opened (February 8 to February 28), the IRCC (Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada) received 503 applications for work permits and 10 applications for extension of work permits,” said Press Secretary Alexander Cohen. in an email statement.
“Canada shares the international community’s serious concern about China’s national security legislation and supports the right to peaceful protest, freedom of expression and freedom of assembly,” the statement said.
Canada said in February that Hong Kong graduates from Canadian universities could apply for a new category of three-year work permit from that month. read more
China has introduced a new law on national security in Hong Kong, aimed at anything Beijing views as undermining, secession or terrorism.
When China enacted the comprehensive law, city residents moved tens of billions of dollars around the world to Canada, where thousands of people hoped to create a new future. read more
Capital flows from Hong Kong banks reaching Canada rose to their highest levels last year, with approximately C $ 43.6 billion ($ 34.87 billion) in electronic funds transfers (EFT) recorded by FINTRAC, Canada’s agency for money laundering, which receives reports on transfers above C $ 10,000.
The Hong Kong government has said the city has not seen any significant capital outflows since the unrest against the government began in 2019.
Canada is a second home for many Hong Kong residents after their families moved to the Vancouver and Toronto areas before the British handover of its former colony in China in 1997. After obtaining Canadian citizenship, many returned to Hong Kong, which is now home to some 300,000 Canadians – one of the largest Canadian communities abroad.
Canadian visa applications from Hong Kong, excluding visitor visas, increased by 10% in 2020 to 8,121.
($ 1 = 1.2503 Canadian dollars)
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