Just 2days before. Yes they are !
That's good to know. If there are no instructions in the passport request letter about where do you have to submit the passport then it should be fine to submit in a different country. I recently sent an email to Abu Dhabi VFS, New York VFS and they confirmed the same.
Does the passport request letter has any country specific instruction for submission?
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Thank you for contacting VFS Canada Visa Information Service Centre for United Arab Emirates.
With regards to your query, kindly note that once you receive a passport request letter from IRCC, it will mention a specific location in which you may submit your passport.
If that location is UAE, or if it mentions that you may submit the passport at the most convenient Visa Application Center, you may submit your passport to the VFS Global Visa Application Center in UAE.
Therefore, you may visit the
VFS Global Visa Application Center within our working hours to submit your passport as a walk-in without a prior appointment.
You are required to submit the original passport, the passport request letter,
VFS Global consent form and any documents mentioned by the IRCC within the request letter (if any).
Please note the outbreak of the coronavirus has affected IRCC operations and processing timelines. As such, we cannot provide an estimated time to complete the process.
"""