The Government of Canada will open new visa centers in various regions by December 31, when citizens from Asia, the Asia-Pacific region and the Americas will be required to provide their biometric information (fingerprints and photograph) when applying for a visit, job, training or receiving permanent resident status in Canada.
As part of the expansion of Canada’s biometrics program, new visa centers (VACs) have opened in the following regions:
Asia Pacific (Bali, Indonesia, Melbourne, Australia)
North and South America (Mendoza, Argentina, Porto Alegre and Recife, Brazil, Cali, Colombia, Santiago, Chile and Bridgetown, Barbados)
Europe (Lyon, France, Vienna, Austria)
VACs are private organizations authorized by the Canadian government to provide visa related services.
Canada began to expand its VAC network before the introduction of compulsory biometrics for citizens from Europe, Africa and the Middle East from July 31, 2018.
New VACs opened in:
Athens, Greece
Kigali, Rwanda
Stockholm, Sweden
Berlin, Germany
Tel Aviv, Israel
The government expects 152 VACs to be open in 103 countries by the end of 2018, including new ones in Antananarivo, Madagascar and Cape Town, South Africa.
IRCC says it also expanded the range of services in existing VACs located in key countries, including China, India and the Philippines.
In addition, Canada allows applicants to submit their biometrics to any country’s VAC.
