Note: This article covers IRCC’s February 2018 announcement about expanding Canada’s Visa Application Centre (VAC) network. For the current VAC locations, see Find a visa application centre on Canada.ca.
Canada to take new steps to help the travelers coming to Canada
In 2018, then Minister of Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Ahmed Hussen said that the number of people applying to travel to Canada was increasing every year. People want to be in Canada for business, study, work, tourism and other activities which will results in boost in economy of Canada. So Canadian government wants to assist the visa applicants with faster response and easy accessible visa service centres.
Visa Application Centres (VACs) are very effective way for the Canadian government services to the people who want to travel to Canada. VF Worldwide Holdings Ltd. Is winning supplier for the new contract of visa application centres. There is already great network of visa application centres worldwide by the government of Canada to collect visa applications from the applicants and to collect biometrics (fingerprints and a photo). As of November 2017, there were 137 VACs in 95 countries. The network has since grown — IRCC’s Find-a-VAC directory (updated August 2026) lists 164 VAC entries around the world. These visa application centres have helped the visa applicants to ensure the visa application meet the visa criteria before visa applications go advance to visa officer.
Canada planned to widen its visa application centre network over the following two years to help people applying for Canadian visas, aiming for at least 149 VAC locations in 99 countries by November 2019. Canada was described as having one of the most extensive VAC networks in the world, with more than 96% of applicants able to access a VAC in their country of residence.
Third party service provider serve at VACs to the visa applicants. Normally, incomplete visa applications are rejected at visa office but VACs ensure that visa application is complete before it go to visa office. If there is no visa office or few visa office, visa application provides high quality service to the visa applicants. By ensuring that visa applications are completed properly, unnecessary delay and refusal due incomplete applications can be avoided.
Under the terms of that contract, the extended VAC network in Asia opened on November 2, 2018, and the extended network in Europe, Africa and the Middle East began opening on November 2, 2019.