Visa Office
There has been an obsession of finding which visa office the application is at. Many threads on this forum start with explaining how to find your visa office. Let's get to the crux of it. Finding the visa office was very relevant pre- express entry. Even after the introduction of express entry in 2015, the same practice was followed which usually was for the paper based application, but that is no longer the case. Earlier all application followed the following trajectory:
Central Intake Office - Case Processing Centre - Local Visa Office
However, this has radically changed and for all express entry, all application follow the following:
1. Central Intake Office - The R10 (completeness check) is done at the Central Intake Office for all classes (FSW / PNP / CEC). Now even the criminality and medicals are done at CIO.
2. Case Processing Centre - There are 4 case processing offices of IRCC, which are as follows:
Sydney, Nova Scotia - Seals with the following:
- provincial Nominee Program (PNP) – Non-Express Entry applications
- Centralized Intake Office – Immigrant Investor Program (IIP)
- Centralized Intake Office – Quebec Skilled Workers (QSW)
- Centralized Intake Office – Start Up Business Class
- Centralized Intake Office – Self Employed (SE)
- Centralized Intake Office – Quebec Business Class (QBC)
- Centralized Intake Office – Atlantic Immigration Pilot Program
Now has started doing eligibility for EE applications in limited numbers.
Vegreville, Alberta
Deals with Specialized permanent resident application. Those following in the category of Medical needs, work permits, work permits for spouses, study permits, co-op permits. EE applications which have a downgraded category.
This is the place where you EE application will land if any of the members in the application have a medical condition. This is where determinations of refusal, monitoring etc are made.
Now has started doing eligibility for EE applications in limited numbers.
Mississauga, Ontario
Only deals with family class PR applications.
No EE applications are dealt here so far.
Ottawa, Ontario
This is the most important processing office for all EE, and it is also the Local Visa Office for in-land applicants and those applying from USA.