UnionPay, the largest payment provider in China, has been added as a new payment option for Chinese travelers to apply for a Canada visa online.

"Canada and China enjoy a close and longstanding relationship that will only grow stronger as we work to increase the two-way flow of visitors between our nations," said Ahmed Hussen, Canada's minister of immigration, refugees and citizenship Canada (IRCC), announced last weekend in Toronto.

According to Hussen, the number of Chinese visitors continues to increase every year, and in 2017 alone, the number jumped by 18 percent. This increase in Chinese visitors contributed nearly $1.25 billion to Canada's economy, an amount expected to grow significantly over the next four years.

"UnionPay will make it even easier for more Chinese travelers to apply to visit Canada," he added.

Bardish Chagger, Canada's minister of small business and tourism, who led a tourism trade mission to China last week, echoed the announcement in China.

"Canada and China enjoy strong people-to-people ties. As we celebrate the Canada-China Year of Tourism, I am happy to see that IRCC has added this new payment option for Chinese travelers, making online applications for visas more convenient and accessible for them," said Chagger, adding that by taking steps to improve their services, Canada's strategy to double two-way trade by 2025 is starting to pay off.

2018 is the Canada-China Year of Tourism and follows a record year for the number of applications processed in China. Chinese citizens accounted for 23 percent of all temporary residence visa applications that IRCC received in 2017. The approval rate for Chinese citizens is averaging 88.5 percent since 2015.

According to IRCC, the new payment option is just one in a series of measures that Canada has undertaken recently to facilitate travel for Chinese. To support the growth in demand for visas from China, the department recently expanded its visa application centre (VAC) network by adding seven new VACs in China in late 2017, for a total of 12. Recent updates made by the department include the launch of the Student Direct Stream for faster study-permit processing.

IRCC and the Canada Border Services Agency also have added two Chinese airlines (China Eastern and Xiamen) and Montréal-Trudeau Airport (Air Canada flights only) to the China Transit Program, to offer visa-exempt transit through Canada for eligible Chinese travelers en route to and from the United States.

Contact the writer at renali@chinadailyusa.com