Visa consultant to open office in five countries

CEBU, Philippines -  The growing number of people, not just Filipinos, who want to migrate to Canada has spurred a Cebu-based visa consultancy firm to expand its operation across the globe.

 Pinoy Care Visa Center, Inc. is opening offices in China, Indonesia, Oman, Pakistan and India next year to bring its services closer to its target market.

The company has already a presence in United Arab Emirates (UAE), Kuwait, Singapore and Malaysia.

Prisca Niña Mabatid, president and chief executive officer (CEO) of Pinoy Care, said they noticed a growing number of nationalities who expressed interest in  migrating to Canada based on inquiries received by their offices here and abroad.

This and Canada’s need for almost 300,000 immigrants in the next seven years, have bolstered Pinoy Care’s confidence to invest at least P5 million, excluding the capitalization requirement of at least P30 million per country,  for each overseas office that it plans to open next year.

In the Philippines, Mabatid said Pinoy Care’s 15 offices nationwide  process an average of 500 applications a month.

She said  the migration consultancy business is not only dynamic in the Philippines but also in other countries like India and Pakistan. Thus  the company is  putting its foot ahead by opening offices in these countries, spending about P20 million in capital expenditure (capex).

Aside from medical professionals, Mabatid said Canada  also needs other skilled workers across industries.

In an earlier interview with Canadian Chamber of Commerce in the Philippines (CanCham) president Julian Payne, he said that Canada is not only attractive to immigrants looking for job opportunities but also to  entrepreneurs who want to take advantage of the country’s dynamic economy. 

Mabatid confirmed Payne’s statement saying her company has also observed a growing number of Filipino entrepreneurs from Cebu and other areas in the Philippines, and even in other countries signifying interest to establish businesses in Canada.

According to Mabatid, most Filipino entrepreneurs are  interested to open businesses in construction, real estate development, and even food processing and manufacturing in Canada.

At present, the Philippines is the number one supplier of immigrants to Canada with over 500,000 now residing and working there. (FREEMAN)