06 April 2009
BEIRUT: Lebanese citizens seeking to immigrate to Canada can now choose visa offices in Beirut or Damascus as their point of service, Canadian Citizenship, Immigration and Multicultural Minister Jason Kenney announced on Friday. "This change follows up on last year's announcement, which gave immigration applicants from Lebanon the option to have their interviews conducted in their own country rather than have to travel to Syria. That was a first step. We have now expanded the services offered in Beirut to provide citizens of Lebanon access to all visitor and immigration services," he said.
The Beirut visa office will process applications and fees, answer inquiries and issue visas, according to the website of Canada's Citizenship and Immigration (CIC) office. Two Lebanese staff members will be recruited to provide these new services. Applicants called for interviews can select to have them at either the Beirut or Damascus office. Before the change, which came into effect on March 31, Canada's visa office in Beirut only dealt with student and temporary residency and work visas.
"People in Canada wanting to sponsor relatives in Lebanon can rest assured that their family members will now be able to receive immigration services from the visa office in their home country," Kenney said.
But Canadian citizens and permanent residents wishing to sponsor their families will continue to send their applications to the Case Processing Center in Ontario. Federal Skilled Worker applicants are to send their applications to the Case Processing Center in Nova Scotia. Those seeking to immigrate to Quebec must adhere to the province's separate requirements.
"If you plan to apply as a skilled worker or business person and wish to establish yourself in the province of Quebec, you must first obtain a Certificat de s?lection du Qu?bec which can be obtained through the Quebec Immigration Office in Damascus, Syria," said the CIC website. - The Daily Star
Copyright The Daily Star 2009.
