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Canadian visa offices

CIC list of Canadian visa offices. See also: Canadian Offices Abroad

Where to send your CIC application: List of countries and corresponding Canadian visa offices.

Please note: For immigration to Quebec the application must be mailed to one of  Immigration-Québec offices abroad that covers your territory (see the bottom of this page).

Asia and Pacific

 Country  Visa Office(s)
  Covering IMM Processing Mission  Web Site
 Australia Sydney Australia, Bora Bora, Cook Islands, Fiji, French Polynesia, Kiribati, Nauru, New Caledonia, New Zealand, Niue Island, Norfolk Island, Papua New Guinea, Pitcairn Island, Samoa (American), Samoa (Western), Solomon Islands, Tahiti, Tonga, Tuvalu, Vanuatu, Wallis   Internet Site
 Bangladesh Dhaka Bangladesh  Singapore Internet Site
 China Beijing Hong Kong
Shanghai 		BEIJING:China (People’s Republic of), Korea (Democratic People’s Republic of), Mongolia, HONG-KONG:Hong Kong, Macao and China (People’s Republic of), SHANGHAI: Anhui, Shanghai, Jiangsu and Zhejiang of China (People’s Republic of)  Beijing (students only) Beijing Hong Kong
Shanghai
 India Chandigarh
New Delhi 		CHANDIGARH: India (Chandigarh, Haryana and Punjab), NEW DELHI: Bhutan, India, Nepal  New Delhi Chandigarh
New Delhi
 Indonesia Jakarta East Timor, Indonesia  Singapore Internet Site
 Japan Tokyo Japan   Internet Site
 Korea Seoul Korea (South)   Internet Site
 Malaysia Kuala Lumpur Malaysia   Internet Site
 Pakistan Islamabad Pakistan*, Afghanistan  Islamabad, London Internet Site
 Philippines Manila Caroline Islands, Guam, Johnston Atoll, Kosrae, Marianas, Marshall Islands, Micronesia, Midway Island, Northern Mariana Island, Pacific Islands, Palau (Belau), Philippines, Ponape, Truk Island, Wake Island, Yap Island   Internet Site
 Singapore Singapore Bangladesh, Brunei, Cambodia, East Timor, Indonesia, Laos, Myanmar (Burma), Singapore, Thailand, Vietnam, Visitors: Brunei, Singapore   Internet Site
 Sri Lanka Colombo Maldives, Sri Lanka   Internet Site
 Taiwan Taipei Taiwan   Internet Site
 Thailand Bangkok Cambodia, Laos, Myanmar (Burma), Thailand  Singapore Internet Site
 Vietnam Ho Chi Minh City Vietnam  Singapore Internet Site


Africa and Middle East

 Country  Visa Office(s)
  Covering IMM Processing Mission  Web Site
 Algeria Algiers The Visa Section of the Embassy of Canada in Algiers is mandated only to receive applications for Temporary Resident (visitor) Visas, Study Permits, Temporary Work Permits and Travel Documents for permanent residents returning to Canada. The applications are then sent to the Visa Office of the Embassy of Canada in Paris for decision.

No information or application forms are available at the wickets.

Permanent Resident Visa applications cannot be submitted or sent to the Embassy of Canada in Algiers. See Paris
  Paris Internet Site
Internet Site
 Burkina Faso Ouagadougou
 Abidjan Internet Site
 Cameroon Yaounde Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad  Abidjan Internet Site
 Congo Kinshasa    Nairobi Internet Site
 Egypt Cairo Egypt, Sudan, and Palestinians resident in Gaza   Internet Site
Internet Site
 Eritrea    Nairobi Internet Site
 Ethiopia Addis Ababa    Nairobi
 Ghana Accra PR: Ascension, Benin, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea (refugees), Liberia, Nigeria, Sao Tome e Principe, Sierra Leone, St. Helena, Togo, Tristan da Cunha, VISITORS: Ascension, Benin, Gambia, Ghana, Liberia, Sao Tome e Principe, Sierra Leone, St. Helena, Togo, Tristan da Cunha   Internet Site
 Iran Tehran Iran  Damascus Internet Site
 Israel Tel Aviv Israel, West Bank (Palestinian Authority)   Internet Site
 Ivory Coast Abidjan The services of the Visa and Immigration Section have been temporarily suspended until further notice.   Dakar Internet Site
 Jordan Amman Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon, West Bank (Palestinian Authority) Damascus (Iraq, Jordan)
Tel Aviv [West Bank (Palestinian Authority)]		 Internet Site
 Kenya Nairobi  Burundi, Comoros, Congo (Brazzaville), Congo (Kinshasa), Djibouti, Eritrea, Ethiopia, French Southern Territories, Kenya, Madagascar, Mauritius, Mayotte, Reunion, Rwanda, Seychelles, Somalia, Tanzania, Uganda   Internet Site
 Lebanon Beirut Lebanon  Damascus Internet Site
 Libya Tripoli Libya

*Due to the temporary suspension of service of the Visa Section, temporary resident applications (for visitors, students and temporary workers) for nationals from the above country may submit their application in person to any other Canadian visa office.		  Paris Internet Site
 Madagascar Antananarivo    Nairobi Internet Site
 Mali Bamako    Abidjan Internet Site
 Morocco Rabat  Morocco, Western Sahara   Internet Site
 Nigeria Lagos  Nigeria  Accra Internet Site
 Rwanda Kigali    Nairobi Internet Site
 Saudi Arabia Riyadh  Saudi Arabia  Abu Dhabi Internet Site
 Senegal Dakar Due to the temporary closure of the visa office in Abidjan, Ivory Coast, the visa office in Dakar is currently responsible for applications from: Burkina-Faso, Cameroon, Cape Verde, Central African Republic, Chad, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, Guinea (except refugees), Guinea-Bissau, Ivory Coast, Mali, Mauritania, Niger, Senegal.

Exception for the following categories: applications from Federal Skilled Workers and Quebec-selected Skilled Workers must apply to the Centralized Intake Office in Sydney, Nova Scotia (Canada).
VISITORS: Cape Verde, Guinea-Bissau, Mauritania and Senegal

Due to the temporary closure of the visa office in Abidjan, Ivory Coast, the visa office in Dakar is also currently responsible for applications from: Burkina-Faso, Cameroon, Central African Republic, Chad, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, Guinea, Ivory Coast, Mali, and Niger.
   Internet Site
 South Africa Pretoria Angola, Botswana, Lesotho, Malawi, Mozambique, Namibia, South Africa, Swaziland, Zambia, Zimbabwe   Internet Site
 Syria Damascus PR: Cyprus, Iran, Iraq, Jordan, Lebanon, Syria, VISITORS: Cyprus, Lebanon, Syria   Internet Site
 Tunisia Tunis  Libya, Tunisia  Paris Internet Site
Internet Site
 United Arab Emirates Abu Dhabi (Business and Skilled Worker classes apply to London), PR: Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, United Arab Emirates, Yemen, VISITORS: Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, United Arab Emirates, Yemen   Internet Site
 Zimbabwe Harare Zimbabwe  Pretoria Internet Site


Europe

 Country  Visa Office(s)
  Covering IMM Processing Mission  Web Site
 Austria Vienna PR: Austria, Bosnia-Hercegovina, Croatia, Czech Republic, Hungary, Kosovo, Macedonia, Montenegro, Serbia, Slovak Republic, Slovenia, VISITORS: Austria, Bosnia-Hercegovina, Croatia, Czech Republic, Hungary, Kosovo, Macedonia, Slovak Republic, Slovenia   Internet Site
 Czech Republic Prague Czech Republic  Vienna Internet Site
 France Paris PR: Algeria, Andorra, Azores, Belgium, Canary Islands, France, Gibraltar, Libya, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Madeira, Monaco, Portugal, Spain, Switzerland, Tunisia, VISITORS: Algeria, Andorra, Azores, Belgium, Canary Islands, France, Gibraltar, Liechtenstein, Luxembourg, Madeira, Monaco, Portugal, Spain, Switzerland   Internet Site
 Germany Berlin Germany, Netherlands
Switzerland (study or work permits only)		   Internet Site
 Italy Rome Albania, Greece, Italy, Malta, San Marino, Vatican City   Internet Site
 Poland Warsaw Belarus, Estonia, Latvia, Lithuania, Poland   Internet Site
 Romania Bucharest Bulgaria, Moldova, Romania   Internet Site
 Russia Moscow Armenia, Belarus, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Russia, Tajikistan, Uzbekistan   Internet Site
 SerbiaBelgradeMontenegro, Serbia, Bosnia-Herzegovina ViennaInternet Site
 TurkeyAnkaraAzerbaijan, Georgia, Turkey, Turkmenistan Internet Site
 UkraineKyivUkraine Internet Site
 United KingdomLondonPR:Channel Islands, Denmark, England, Faroe Islands, Finland, Greenland, Iceland, Ireland, Isle of Man, Northern Ireland, Norway, Scotland, Sweden, Wales (and Skilled Worker and Business Class applications from Bahrain, Kuwait, Oman, Qatar, Saudi Arabia, UAE and Yemen)

Pakistan: Economic Class (Skilled Worker, Entrepreneur, Investor and Provincial Nominee) applications only
VISITORS: Channel Islands, Denmark, England, Faroe Islands, Finland, Greenland, Iceland, Ireland, Isle of Man, Northern Ireland, Norway, Scotland, Sweden, Wales		 Internet Site


Western Hemisphere

 Country  Visa Office(s)
  Covering Processing Mission  Web Site
 Argentina Buenos Aires Argentina, Paraguay, Uruguay   Internet Site
 Brazil Sao Paulo Brazil   Internet Site
 Chile Santiago Chile   Internet Site
 Colombia Bogota Colombia, Ecuador; Immigrants: Yes — except for Quebec-selected economic class (skilled worker, entrepreneur and investor) applications, processed in Mexico City.
Visitors: Yes
Workers: Yes
Students: Yes		   Internet Site
 Costa Rica San José Costa Rica (visitors)
  Guatemala Internet Site
 Cuba Havana  Cuba   Internet Site
 Dominican Republic Santo Domingo Note: Due to the recent earthquake in Haiti the visa office at the Embassy of Canada in Santo Domingo is responsible for immigrant applications, visitor visa, study permit and work permit applications from people in the Dominican Republic and Haiti.   Internet Site
 Ecuador Quito Ecuador  Bogota Internet Site
 El SalvadorSan SalvadorEl Salvador Guatemala City Internet Site
 GuatemalaGuatemala CityBelize, Costa Rica, El Salvador, Guatemala, Honduras, Nicaragu, Panama  Internet Site
 GuyanaGeorgetown
 Port of Spain Internet Site
 HaitiPort-au-PrinceImmigrant: Haiti – limited service – see Update: priority processing measures in Haiti
For Dominican Republic, see Santo Domingo
For French Guyana, Guadeloupe, Marie-Galante, Martinique, Saba, St. Barthélemy, St. Eustatius, St. Maarten, St. Martin, see Port of Spain; VISITORS:

Applications from Dominican Republic and Haiti should be sent to the Embassy of Canada in Santo Domingo

Applications from French Guyana, Guadeloupe, Marie-Galante, Martinique, Saba, St. Barthelémy, St. Eustatius, St. Maarten, St. Martin should be sent to the visa office at the Canadian High Commission in Port of Spain		  Internet Site
 JamaicaKingstonBahamas, Cayman Islands, Jamaica, Turks and Caicos Islands  Internet Site
 MexicoMexico CityImmigrant: Mexico
Colombia and Ecuador — Quebec-selected economic class (skilled worker, entrepreneur and investor) applications only; Visitors: Mexico
  Internet Site
 PanamaPanama CityPanama Guatemala City Internet Site
 PeruLimaBolivia, Peru  Internet Site
 Trinidad and TobagoPort of SpainAnguilla, Antigua and Barbuda, Barbados, British Virgin Islands, Dominica, Grenada, Guyana, Montserrat, St. Kitts and Nevis, St. Lucia, St. Vincent and the Grenadines, Suriname, Trinidad and Tobago, and, until further notice,  French Guyana, Guadeloupe, Marie-Galante, Martinique, Saba, St. Barthelémy, St. Eustatius, St. Maarten, St. Martin  Internet Site
 United StatesBuffalo
Detroit
Los Angeles
New York
Seattle
Washington, D.C.
Buffalo: Immigration: Bermuda, St. Pierre et Miquelon, United States (including Puerto Rico), Visitors: United States; DETROIT: Immigration: Buffalo, visitors: United States (including Puerto Rico); LOS ANGELES: Immigration: Buffalo, Visitors: United States (including Puerto Rico); NEW YORK: Immigration: Buffalo, Visitors: Bermuda, St. Pierre et Miquelon, United States (including Puerto Rico); SEATTLE: Immigration: Buffalo, Visitors: United States (including Puerto Rico); WASHINGTON D.C.: Immigration: Buffalo, Visitors: United States (including Puerto Rico)  Buffalo
 Detroit
 Los Angeles
 New York
 Seattle
 Washington,  D.C.
 VenezuelaCaracasAruba, Bonaire, Curacao, Venezuela  Internet Site






 Paris Hong-Kong Vienna Maghreb
 Mexico Sao Paulo
 Damascus New York





Working with lawyers and consultants

Guidelines on working with immigration representatives have now been consolidated in IP 9, Use  of Representatives Paid or Unpaid.

In accordance with the regulatory amendments and previous instructions to the field, CIC has not been dealing with unauthorized representatives in the context of applications submitted after April 13, 2004.

Responding to case status inquiries

Once the visa office is satisfied that an immigration representative has been designated by the  applicant the office may respond to straightforward case status inquiries verbally or in writing. If  there is any doubt as to a representative’s identity, information should not be given over the  telephone.

Any complex or in-depth inquiry or discussion related to an individual case should be accepted and responded to in writing only.

Any case-specific interchange of information should have a written record, including an annotation in the CAIPS/FOSS case notes to ensure that no misunderstandings occur.

Representatives in CAIPS/FOSS/GCMS

Offices should capture the names of representatives (including lawyers and consultants) in the
GCMS/CAIPS representative field and compile consistent lists.

Response to inquiries and representations – clients and representatives

The responsibility for responding to inquiries or representations varies depending on the issue.

Listed below are the various categories of inquiries/representations and to whom the issue should
be directed:

  A) Individual case inquiries related to the decision or decision-making process
  • Visa office e-mail address.
If there is no reply after 30 days or if there is a disagreement with the reply, you may contact Case
Management Branch, by e-mail at case-review-im-enquiry@cic.gc.ca and copy the responsible
Director for the geographic region by e-mail (preferred) or by fax to 613-957-5802.

B) Local office procedures
  • Immigration Program Manager via the visa office e-mail address.
  • If no reply after 30 days, you may contact the Director for the geographic region by e-mail (preferred) or by fax at 613-957-5802.
  C) Quality of service complaints, or situations involving possible professional misconduct  or malfeasance
  • Immigration Program Manager by e-mail.
E-mail address format: firstname.lastname@international.gc.ca.
  • If no reply after 30 days, Director for the geographic region by fax at 613-957-5802.
 
  D) General procedures, procedural consistency between offices, operational policy, global processing times and levels
  • Director, Operational Coordination, International Region Branch.
If a reply from an International Region Director under B, C, or D has not been received after 30 days, a follow up may be initiated to the Senior Director, Geographic Operations, by fax at 613-957-5802.
 
  E) Immigration (selection) policy

Write to the appropriate Director within Immigration Branch.
  • Family class: Director, Social Policy and Programs.
  • Skilled workers, provincial nominees, students, temporary workers: Director, Economic Policy and Programs.
  • Business class: Director, Business Immigration. 
  • Ministerial Instructions, Levels: Director, Horizontal Immigration Policy.
 At this time, all visa offices are equipped to receive enquiries via e-mail, including case-specific enquiries.

While many visa offices may now systematically also respond to e-mail enquiries by e-mail, other visa offices are still working to put e-mail management systems in place and are monitoring the reliability of e-mail delivery in their countries of responsibility. The protocol encourages visa offices to respond to e-mails via e-mail, but allows immigration program managers the flexibility to use operationally feasible and efficient channels for response (whether this is e-mail, fax, letter or other means) depending on the local environment and conditions.

The protocol requires that visa offices:
  • receive client enquiries via e-mail;
  • respond to e-mails (acceptable responses include automated replies, standard responses, and case-specific replies via e-mail or other channels);
  • have a dedicated e-mail enquiries mailbox and address; and handle e-mail enquiries in the same way as other enquiries are handled (e.g., have written consent to release personal information to third parties, ensure client is adequately “identified” before any personal information is released).
 
E-mail enquirers must therefore state:
  • the enquirer’s full name;
  • who they are (i.e., the applicant, the applicant’s designated individual, the applicant’s authorized representative, Canadian MP); and their e-mail address;
 and provide, as a minimum, the applicant’s:
  • given name;
  • family name; 
  • date of birth; and 
  • visa office file number.
Visa offices must also:
  • establish, publish and adhere to response times for e-mail enquiries;
  • have the client’s consent to communicate via e-mail;
  • respond to the client in the official language of the client’s choice;
  • provide cautions to clients using e-mail to protect their personal identifiers and to be aware that e-mail is not a secure channel;
  • protect the privacy of CIC staff;
  • provide CIC identifiers in e-mail replies: office name and address;
  • provide clear instructions to clients on what address to use and what information to include with an enquiry.
Enquiries and representation should be sent to these mailboxes, not to the mailboxes of individual
officers or program managers. Enquiries or representation should be sent either by e-mail or by
fax/mail, not both.

 Communication with lawyers, notaries, CSIC members and other representatives 

The following principles are to be observed.

  Written versus oral communication on files
  • A professional, non-adversarial relationship must be maintained in which the office’s fairness and objectivity cannot be called into question because of the appearance of conflict of interest or bias.
  • Immigration representatives may contribute to the design of policies at National Headquarters but they are not partners in the field, as they represent the interests of individual cases. It is important to provide all representatives and applicants with the same service standards and courtesies, whether they have hired a representative or not. This ensures a level playing field between applicants who are represented and those who are not and provides all applicants with equal access to our offices.
  • Once the office is satisfied that a representative has been designated by the applicant, the office may respond to straightforward case status inquiries verbally or in writing. If there is any doubt as to a representative's identity, information should not be given over the telephone. Any complex or in-depth inquiry or discussion related to an individual case should be accepted and responded to in writing only. 
Call Centre

Call Centre agents are mandated to only provide case-specific information on applicants being processed within Canada.

Case-specific information can be released to a representative or a designated individual on the telephone if that person has been permitted and appointed by the applicant in writing to receive
information on the case.

This individual will also be expected to answer specific client identifiers relating to the applicant. According to the Access to Information and Privacy Acts, if the information provided matches details in FOSS/CRS (GCMS), the Call Centre agent can release case-specific information to a third party in good faith. The applicant, and members of Parliament who are enquiring on behalf of the applicant, can also receive case-specific details about their file, on the condition that they provide the required client identifiers.

One of the biggest challenges for Call Centre agents lies not with the release of information, but the
amendment of information currently on file by a third party, specifically change of address.

Call Centre agents can allow a representative or designated individual to update a client’s address if the applicant has permitted this individual in writing to receive information on the case. This decision is based on CIC recognizing that the designated individual can change a client’s address electronically using CIC’s
Secure OnLine Services.

This also resolves the challenge for a number of clients who face language barriers and who require assistance with providing their new address in French or English.

Refugee protection claimants

In order for a paid representative to conduct business with the IRB, the representative must be authorized and must complete the Counsel Contact Information form. This form needs to be completed only once by each counsel, whether paid or unpaid.

If the representative is unpaid, both the person concerned and their representative must also complete
and sign the Notice of Representation without a Fee form. This form must be completed at each proceeding before the IRB where that representative is acting as counsel.

Both of these IRB forms are applicable to all three IRB divisions and their proceedings, that is, refugee
protection proceedings before the Refugee Protection Division, admissibility hearings and detention
reviews before the Immigration Division and appeals before the Immigration Appeal Division.

If the forms are required but are not provided to the IRB, the IRB will deal only with the person appearing before the IRB and treat them as unrepresented.

Pre-Removal Risk Assessment (PRRA) applicants

Pre-Removal Risk Assessment (PRRA) applicants who identify an unauthorized representative for the
processing of their applications will be sent letters similar to that in Appendix C. Applicants are given
the option of retaining an authorized representative or continuing their processing as unrepresented.

They will also be informed that no decision will be made on their application until 30 days following
their PRRA notification (this is the due date for their written submissions).

Should the applicant not respond in time to meet the deadline, they will be deemed to have indicated a wish to proceed as unrepresented and CIC will continue with the assessment of the application.

Should their application necessitate an oral hearing, they will not be permitted to be accompanied at
the hearing by the unauthorized representative.

The applicant has the option of submitting a new IMM 5476 at the time of the hearing or declaring a new individual as their authorized representative, as long as that representative meets the criteria set out in the Regulations. A new representative could be designated at a hearing if the original representative is on holiday, or cannot appear for various reasons, or if the original representative’s membership was suspended.

Refusal to deal with a representative (case in process)

If it is discovered through a complaint and/or investigation (see Section 9) that the applicant is paying
for the services of an unauthorized representative while the application is being processed, the
office must no longer conduct business with this individual until they become authorized and a new
IMM 5476 is submitted.

The office must send the applicant a letter informing them that their representative is not authorized
and that CIC will deal only with the applicant directly (Appendix F provides a sample letter). If the
application contains a home mailing address for the applicant, this address should be used. If the
office has no other way of contacting the applicant, the letter should be sent to the mailing address on
file.

If officers obtain proof of the use of a concealed representative during processing, they could consider
using their authority under A40 to refuse the applicant for misrepresentation.

Reference:


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