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Canada Visa Application Centers

The Visa Application Centers (VACs) allow individuals to apply their biometrics as part of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) requirements.

Several Visa Application Centers (VACs) around the world have reopened in recent weeks to provide facilities for those seeking to come to Canada.

As part of the biometrics collection process, individuals provide their fingerprints, photos and pay a fee. Canada is getting biometrics to make flying into the country more comfortable and safer.

The list of open VACs is continuously being updated on the website of IRCC so that the list below does not include every VAC currently opened:

Australia: Melbourne, Sydney
Austria: Vienna
Bahrain: Manama
Barbados: Bridgetown
China: Beijing, Chengdu, Chongqing, Guangzhou, Hangzhou, Jinan, Kunming, Nanjing, Shanghai Shenyang
Fiji: Suva
France: Paris
Germany: Berlin, Düsseldorf
Ghana: Accra
Greece: Athens
Iraq: Erbil
Israel: Tel Aviv
Italy: Rome
Japan: Osaka, Tokyo
Malaysia: Kuala Lumpur
New Zealand: Auckland
Romania: Bucharest
Serbia: Belgrade
Spain: Madrid
Sri Lanka: Colombo
Thailand: Bangkok
The Netherlands: The Hague
Trinidad and Tobago: Port of Spain
United Arab Emirates: Abu Dhabi, Dubai

If your local VAC is closed

IRCC continues to provide updates to those who are not actually in a position to send their biometrics.

It won’t deny the application of an individual who can’t provide their biometrics. IRCC will keep its applications open by offering automatic extensions on the deadlines for their biometrics.

Individuals do not need to provide their biometrics before VAC sites are reopened, and they do not need to contact IRCC to request an extension on time.

Temporary foreign workers (TFWs) are excluded from supplying their biometrics abroad if their local VAC is closed, and they are scheduled to work as truck drivers in Canada, or in the healthcare or agricultural sectors. If they have not previously given their biometrics to Canada, TFWs excluded may do so when they arrive in Canada.

IRCC has also stated that they are exploring more changes to help individuals more effectively complete the biometrics phase during the COVID-19 pandemic.

Amit Kumar

FreeEducator.com blog is managed by Amit Kumar. He and his team come from the Oxford, Stanford and Harvard. At FreeEducator, we strive to create the best admission platform so that international students can go to the best universities - regardless of financial circumstances. By applying with us, international students get unlimited support and unbiased advice to secure the best college offers overseas.