ARCHIVED – Operational Bulletin 311 - July 5, 2011

Economic Class Applications from Haiti – Transfer from Port-au-Prince to Mexico City

This Operational Bulletin has expired.

Summary

Effective July 5, 2011, economic class applications from residents and citizens of Haiti will be processed at the visa office in Mexico City instead of Port-au-Prince. Economic class applications submitted to Port-au-Prince before July 5 will be transferred to the visa office in Mexico for processing. Residents or citizens of Haiti applying in certain economic categories on or after July 5 will be required to submit their applications to the visa office in Mexico. Port-au-Prince will continue to provide its expertise and selected services to support processing of these applications in Mexico City.

Issue

This Operational Bulletin (OB) describes the transfer of new and pending economic class applications from Port-au-Prince to Mexico City, for residents and citizens of Haiti.

Background

The visa office in Port-au-Prince is a full-service office, delivering the permanent and temporary resident programs for Haiti. Although Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC) intends to maintain its presence in Port-au-Prince, transferring applications under the economic class to Mexico City will alleviate pressure on its staff and programs.

Processing Instructions

1) Applications under the Federal Skilled Worker program and the federal Immigrant Investor Program (IIP)

Federal skilled worker applicants will continue to apply to the Centralized Intake Office (CIO) in Sydney, Nova Scotia. However, the files for residents and citizens of Haiti that the CIO determines are eligible for processing will be sent directly to the Canadian Embassy in Mexico City.

As of July 1, 2011, new applications under the federal Immigrant Investor program (IIP) must be submitted to the CIO in Sydney, Nova Scotia. (See OB 320 for information about changes to the IIP)

2) Other Economic Class Applications

Starting on July 5, 2011, new applications for specified economic classes for residents and citizens of Haiti are to be submitted to the Canadian Embassy in Mexico City, instead of Port-au-Prince. This includes new applications under the Quebec skilled worker program, provincial nominee program, and the self-employed category.

Should an interview be required, applicants will have the option of travelling to Mexico City or will be provided with alternatives, including in Port-au-Prince.

As support to these operations in Mexico City, Port-au-Prince will conduct verifications and site visits, provide advice to officers, print visa counterfoils and Confirmation of Permanent Residence documents (Form IMM 5292), and conduct other testing as required (e.g. DNA testing).

3) Other categories

The visa office in Port-au-Prince will continue to process applications for the family class, dependants of protected persons (DR-2), live-in caregivers (LC2), adopted children, humanitarian and compassionate category and Quebec Special Measures with support from the Case Processing Pilot Office in Ottawa (as the Ottawa Haiti Processing Office no longer exists as a separate office).

Communications

The external websites for CIC and the Canadian Embassy in Port–au-Prince and Mexico City, as well as the relevant application kits and guides, will be updated to reflect this change in processing.

A notice will be posted on the CIC website advising those who submitted their applications to Port-au-Prince before the earthquake that their application will be transferred automatically to the Mexico visa office. The notice advises applicants that they do not need to contact the visa office unless they wish to update their contact information, in which case, they can send an e-mail to Mexico-im-enquiry@international.gc.ca.