Immigrants to Canada are sending a lifeline home to the countries of their birth.

Statistics Canada says roughly four in 10 immigrants who arrived in Canada during 2000-01 sent money to family or friends during their first four years in the country.

Over those four years, about 41 per cent of immigrants sent money home at least once. Within six to 24 months of landing, 23 per cent of immigrants had sent remittances to their home country; within two to four years after landing, about 29 per cent had done so.

The average was $2,500.

Khalid Khan is a self-employed Stoney Creek man who sends money to his parents and two dependent nephews in Pakistan every month. He and his wife both have to work to meet obligations here and abroad.

"Family members receiving money back home don't have an idea about the hardships we face here," he says.

Khan and his wife at one time were working two jobs to make ends meet until he was laid off and decided to settle down as a self-employed mortgage consultant.

Khan said it's common for immigrants to remit money to their families -- even years after arriving. Even relatively modest amounts make a difference. Just $400 converts to 35,000 rupees in Pakistan -- enough to pay modest rent, groceries or cover off a range of bills for an average family.

The incidence of sending money varied considerably with country of origin. It was highest among immigrants from the Philippines and Haiti, and lowest among those from France, the United Kingdom and South Korea.

The likelihood of immigrants remitting depended on three additional factors -- their income, family obligations in Canada and abroad, and demographics.

According to World Bank figures for 2004, remittances represent an important source of revenue for people in developing countries. They accounted for about 20 to 30 per cent of gross domestic product in countries such as Haiti, Lesotho and Jordan, and for about 10 to 19 per cent in several others, such as Jamaica, the Philippines and the Dominican Republic.

Luis Murillo from Colombia runs a money transfer operation from his Soccer Planet store on Upper James Street. He says most of the people who use his "Latin Envios" (send money in Spanish) are sending to Central and South America.

StatsCan says the practice of sending remittances varied widely by regions of the globe. Over half of immigrants from Southeast Asia and the Caribbean and Guyana sent remittances home two to four years after landing, compared with about 40 per cent of those from sub-Saharan Africa and eastern Europe.

About one-quarter of the respondents from South Asia and Central and South America sent remittances during this period. About one-fifth of those from East Asia or West Asia, the Middle East and North Africa did so.

Average amounts sent also differed. Two to four years after landing, immigrants from East Asia sent $3,900 while immigrants from the Caribbean and Guyana sent $1,600.

The incidence of remitting was highest among those from the poorest countries. Around 36 per cent of immigrants from countries with per capita GDP of less than $4,000 sent money home, compared with only 11 per cent from countries with per capita GDP of $15,000 or more.

The variation was particularly striking by country of birth. Some 60 per cent of immigrants from the Philippines and Haiti sent remittances two to four years after landing. About 40 to 50 per cent of immigrants from Jamaica, Nigeria, Romania, Guyana and Ukraine sent money. However, less than 10 per cent of immigrants from France, the United Kingdom and South Korea, all industrialized nations, did so.

trizvie@thespec.com

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