On Friday, Citizenship and Immigration Canada announced a special visa application program for business visitors from Mexico. Called the Business Express Program, this initiative will allow Mexican nationals employed by a pre-approved list of businesses to receive priority processing of their Canadian visa applications. Visas for qualified individuals are expected to be processed within 24 hours.

“Canada and Mexico are among each other’s largest trading partners. This program will help Canadian and Mexican companies do business together and continue to fuel our economic recovery” said Peter Van Loan, Canada's Minister of International Trade.

The program is intended for businesses in Mexico who have demonstrated a need for their employees to travel to Canada frequently, and whose employees have adhered to Canadian immigration regulations in the past. Businesses are identified and invited to take part in the program by visa and trade representatives at the Canadian embassy in Mexico city.

To date, twelve businesses in Mexico have registered for the program, and Canada has already invited a total of 113 Mexican businesses to enrol in the program.