Bengaluru: Minister for citizenship and Immigration of Canada, Chris Alexander was greeted by Karnataka Chief Minister Siddaramaiah in Bengaluru on January 13.

Earlier addressing the gathering, Chris Alexander said, “Indian citizens can soon become immigrants in Canada in just six months with the express entry visa system.”

Speaking to the media at the Canadian Consulate General office at the World Trade Centre (WTC) here on Tuesday, Alexandar said, “The time it took in the past to process immigration papers was nearly three to five years. But, now, we will not take more than six months to tell you whether you qualify for immigrant status in Canada.”

Also, with the introduction of the online application process, the time taken to process papers will be cut sharply to six months or even lesser, he added. “This is what we call express entry. Indians are a 1.2-million strong community in Canada and we would want them to come and  lead a life in Canada,” he said.

The Bengaluru Canadian consulate office has received 10,000 visa applications in just four months – between September and December-end 2014.This includes applications from outside Bengaluru and Karnataka – primarily south Indian states and a some from central India.

Alexandar said that so far, 1,85,000 visitor visas had been issued to Indian citizens to travel to Canada. Bengaluru’s information technology strength, apart from start-ups, would be a major route through which Canada will conduct economic and business ties with India.

The minister explained why the Bengaluru consulate office was important for Canada. “A burgeoning relationship between Canada and India with focus on economy, education, arts, culture and film and to take these domains forward we need a big team,” he said.