Canada visa applicants from India can now submit their biometrics at designated VACs

Those wishing to travel to Canada either to work, study, migrate or even for tourism must submit their biometrics as part of the visa application process.

In general, biometrics are required for foreign nationals applying for a visitor's visa, a study or work permit, refugee or asylum status, permanent residency, a visitor's record, or an extension of a study or work permit.

Such people submit their fingerprints, photograph and pay a fee. Canada collects biometrics to confirm the identity of foreign travelers quickly and accurately so that they can enter the country.

For visa applicants from India, VFS Global announced recently that from February 24, 2021, ‘’...Canada visa applicants who have submitted their visa application under Economic PR (E or EP), can enrol biometrics at Canada Visa Applications Centres in India.’’

VFS Global provides support services for Canadian visas to help visa applicants from India. It has a network of Canada Visa Application Centres (VACs) in different cities across India.

These VACs collect biometrics from visa applications and provide administrative support as well. However, a visa applicant has to book a prior appointment with the nearest VAC before going there to submit his biometrics. This appointment can be booked online.

Apart from collecting the biometrics of PR visa applicants under the economic programs, the VACs will collect the biometrics of the following categories of visa applicants as well:

• Family class priority (spouses, partners, children)
• Students
• Workers
• Returning students and workers

Applicants under the Returning students and workers categories are required to book a prior appointment using their existing study or work permit application number which will be given in the new permit document and upload the number which will start either with an S or W.

In order to prove their status as a Returning student or worker the applicant must take his valid permit document and their Biometric Instruction Letter (BIL) when he goes to the VAC to submit his biometrics.

Biometrics are integral to the Canada visa application process. One needs to follow this crucial step in order to get the required visa to the country.