Operational Bulletin 414 – May 09, 2012

Closure of the Visa Office in Belgrade and Transfer of Temporary Resident Services

Summary

This Operational Bulletin (OB) provides information regarding the closure of the visa office at Belgrade. It also provides details on temporary resident services.

Background

The authorities have decided to close to the public the Visa and Immigration Section of the Canadian Embassy in Belgrade. As a result, the authorities have also transferred the temporary resident services to the Canadian Embassy in Vienna. This closure becomes operational with immediate effect.

The Instructions

The instructions for the changes in procedure follow.

For Temporary Resident Processing

For New Applications 

Persons Residing in…	Applicants would need to submit applications to …
Montenegro, Serbia, Bosnia and Herzegovina	The Visa Office in Vienna (Austria) OR In person at a Visa Application Centre (VAC) or a visa office that serves another country, which has given the applicants the legal admission to enter the country

For Temporary Resident Applications in-Process

• The officers would transfer temporary resident applications currently in process in Belgrade to Vienna
• The visa office at Vienna would process these applications to completion
• The visa office at Vienna would contact applicants directly with regard to the status of their applications

For Permanent Resident Processing

For New Applications

• Applicants would need to continue sending the following applications to the Centralised Intake Office in Sydney, Nova Scotia, Canada (CIO-S) first:
• New Federal Skilled Worker applications
• New Quebec Skilled Worker applications
• New Provincial Nominee Program applications
• New Investor Program applications and,
• New Canadian Experience Class applications
• Similarly, applicants would need to continue submitting new Family Class applications to the Case Processing Centre in Mississauga, Ontario, Canada (CPC-M) first
• The officers would continue to send applications that receive positive eligibility to the visa office in Vienna for further processing

External Client Enquiries

Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC) would take all efforts to minimise processing delays. This is especially so during the transition period. During this time however, applicants and their representatives would need to avoid contacting the visa offices. The visa offices would contact the applicants directly as soon as they complete the processing of their applications.

Applicants could refer to the Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC) website for further details.

Returning Permanent Residents

The authorities encourage returning permanent residents to submit applications for a Permanent Resident Travel Document (PRTD). They would need to submit these applications to the visa office responsible for the country, in which the applicants are currently staying.

Applicants would need to refer to the list of visa offices abroad. This is available on the CIC website.

The Expiry of Directives

These directives would remain in force, until the authorities provide any other notice to the contrary. The authorities would also communicate any further instructions as and when needed. 

Source: Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC)