One in four Indo-Canadians send money to India
By India Abroad News Service   |   Saturday, 26 July 2008, 00:14 IST
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Toronto: About a quarter of Indian immigrants in Canada start money sending back home about two years after landing here, says Statistics Canada. More than 30,000 Indians immigrate to Canada each year. Though figures are not available, their remittances must constitute a substantial chunk of the $5 billion that goes out of Canada each year. In a study released Wednesday, Statistics Canada said one in four Indian immigrants started sending money back home two years after coming here. "We found out that 24 per cent Indians sent home $4,200 per person over the next two years," study co-author Grant Schellenberg told IANS. "During the same period (between 24 and 48 months of their arrival), the average money sent back home by all immigrants was about $2,900. This shows that Indians sent more money home than other immigrants," he said. The study picked up 7,700 immigrants who landed in Canada in 2000. They came from all categories and groups. "We quizzed them six months, two years and four years after their landing here to know about how much money they sent to their native countries," said Schellenberg. The study found that 41 per cent - roughly 4 in 10 - immigrants sent money to family or friends abroad at least once during their first four years in Canada. Within six to 24 months of landing, 23 percent of immigrants sent remittances to their home country. Within two to four years after landing, about 29 percent sent money home. The incidence of sending money varied considerably from country to country, according to the study. While the proportion was highest among immigrants from the Philippines and Haiti, it was the lowest among those from France, the UK and South Korea. India tops the world with $25billion in remittances from abroad , followed by Mexico ($24 billion), China ($21 billion), and the Philippines and Russia ($13.7 billion each).

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