Immigration.ca - Canada Immigration News - June 2008
The immigration application backlog has ballooned over the past few years and resulted in waiting times as long as six years in some places, forcing the Canadian government to outsource visa processing to private firms.
According to a recent article in The National Post, since 2005 the government has been “quietly” doing this in an attempt to reduce overloaded processing centres.
The government has made outsourcing arrangements at 17 processing locations internationally according to high demand in such countries as India, Vietnam, China Guinea and Indonesia. The practice is not unusual – both the United States and the United Kingdom use the same private firm as Canada for processing in India.
While most Canadians are unaware that this practice is even taking place, immigration advocates are expressing concern, in particular with regards to expectations of privacy, because of the difficulties involved in overseeing and regulating the procedures of private firms. Also of concern to advocates is the additional fees that some of these companies charge for processing, above and beyond the fees charged by the government.
Despite these criticisms, the government stands by its outsourcing strategy. Katherine Trim, a spokesperson for the Department of Citizenship and Immigration says that, in addition to easing the workload, private processing provides the applicant with a more convenient option.
“[These] visa application centres give applicants the option of applying at a location that may be closer to their home than the visa office,” Trim told the Post. She added that security and privacy are of great importance when these firms are selected for outsourcing.
Source: The National Post
http://www.nationalpost.com/story.html?id=577868
