05 December 2012

V.S.C. CLOSED FOR CHRISTMAS

Staff will be on hand on right up through Friday 22 December to assist with your last-minute visa questions.

VSC will be closed for the Christmas holidays from Monday 24 December through Friday 28 December 2012 inclusive. Everyone deserves a holiday.

Staff will be back in force on Monday 31 December to handle all visa processing on your behalf.

VSC will be closed on New Years Day, Tuesday 01 January 2013, but will re-open again on Wednesday 02 January.

CHINESE RULES FOR TOURISTS

The Chinese Embassy in Canada is strictly enforcing their new rules on tourist visa seekers.

Applicants must provide both of following documents:
1. ❒ - An airline ticket showing entry to and exit from China.
2. ❒ - A hotel booking confirmation letter from a hotel in China. This cannot be from a western booking company such as hotels.ca. Please contact your Chinese hotel to get a letter showing your names and booking dates.

Click here for updated Chinese requirements and forms.

SAUDI ARABIA GETTING FASTER

The great news on the Saudi front is that the old 45 day processing has dropped dramatically down to 14 days.

Visa Services Canada is pleased to partner with Al Rayan Travel to provide Saudi Arabian visas to all Canadians. Together we will expedite your visa processing to make your application experience as painless as possible.

Click here for Saudi Arabia visa forms.

KENYA CLOSED FOR CHRISTMAS

The High Commission of Kenya will be closing for an extended Christmas holiday. The visa section will be closed by 21 December and will not re-open until afetr 02 January next year.

The last day to make an application for a Kenyan visa this year is 12 December.

 Click here for Kenyan visa forms.

MYANMAR VISAS AVAILABLE AGAIN

The Embassy of the Union of the Republic of Myanmar has moved to a different location. They now have a full building as their official embassy in Ottawa.

Now that the move is over and the staff settled, visa processing has resumed. Visa processing is still taking ten plus (10+) days, so apply early. There is no fast service for Myanmar, and the government no longer allows visa-on-arrival. You MUST get your visa in Canada prior to travel.

 Click here for Myanamr visa forms.

BRAZIL SPEEDING UP AGAIN

The Consulate General of Brazil responsible for Canadians living in BC, Alberta and Saskatchewan has announced they have a supply of visas and are ramping up the processing speed.

Here is the official annoucement:
"We current have a backlog and our estimated processing time is 15 business days from the date of receipt of a complete application. The Consulate General of Brazil does not offer expedited / rush services. Applications are processed in order of receipt. Please do not insist. Due to the large number of applications that we receive daily, the Consulate neither confirms the receipt of documents nor checks the status of any process by phone or email.."

So it appears that visas can be acquired in less than a month at this point. Apply very early if you need a visa.

Click here for Brazil visa forms.