Immigration and Passport in Canada
Immigration and Passport in Canada
There are six centers for Immigration and Passport in Canada, who work with domestic and foreign agencies as well as the general community at large. The strategic priorities of the Royal Canadian Mounted Police (RCMP) working in tandem with the Immigration and Passport program (I&P) is to disrupt the organized crime of trafficking migrants and looking into the issue of illegal procurement of travel documents to support such activities.
It is a known fact that one in six Canadians is a national born on a foreign country. Canada has a tradition of welcoming immigrants and refugees to settle and integrate with the local population and authorities, considered to be the best in the world. The Immigration and Passport department works closely with the RCMP to ensure that all irregularities are held in control.
As mandated by the Canadian Passport order the Passport Canada is responsible for the issuance, revoking and use of the document. It provides guidance to missions issuing passports abroad and all matters related to Canadian travel documents.
Passport Canada had a major change in its functions in the year 1990 when it was designated as one of the Special Operating Agencies (SOA). Passport Canada was one of first five SOA’s to be set up by the government of Canada to improve services to Canadians. They have four regional operations and 33 passport issuing centers spread across the country. While the center in itself is fully owned by the government it has a distinction of operating as a private sector enterprise.
Passport Canada finances its operations entirely by the fees charged for the issuance of travel documents and must generate sufficient revenue through this source as it has no funding provided by the government. This clearly indicates that it is an independent organization that does not depend on the taxpayer’s money for its revenue.
As an SOA Passport Canada has a greater flexibility in its management to achieve the required results and in return of the same Passport Canada is required to meet the demanding standards that are set by the government.
