IRCC lists 23 VACs open with limited services around the world.
Some Visa Application Centres (VACs) around the world are starting to open with limited services to clients.
This means foreigners in these locations will be able to complete their biometrics, which are essential to their applications for visitor visas, work and study permits, and permanent residency.
There are now a total of 23 reported VACs open with limited services:
Vienna
Manama
Beijing
Chengdu
Chongqing
Guangzhou
Hangzhou
Jinan
Kunming
Nanjing
Shanghai
Shenyang
Düsseldorf
Athens
Erbil
Tel Aviv
Rome
Osaka
Tokyo
Kuala
The Hague
Abdu Dhabi
Dubai
Immigration, Refugees, and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) says they are taking measures to aid in the health and safety of staff and the people who use the services at VACs. Keeping social distancing and hand hygiene at the core of their efforts, the number of people allowed in a VAC may be limited, and staff will frequently clean the VAC. They will also use gloves, face masks, and face shields. Both staff and visitors may be subject to temperature checks, and of course, no list of safety measures would be complete without hand sanitizer.
Travel restrictions still in effect
Canada’s travel restrictions are still in place until June 30 for most foreign nationals. Currently, immediate family members of Canadians are exempt from this measure, as well as work permit holders who are coming to do an essential service in the country, and students whose study permits were approved before March 18. Everyone else who is not a Canadian resident must demonstrate that they are coming to Canada for an essential reason.
All travellers to Canada must quarantine for 14 days upon arrival, and be able to demonstrate to Canadian Border Services Agency (CBSA) officers that they have an adequate quarantine plan.
“While the travel restrictions are still in place, completing further steps in the application process, such as providing biometrics when possible, will help expedite processing once travel restrictions are lifted,” the government webpage says.
A surge of immigration applications are expected to cause processing delays after the travel restrictions are scaled back.