Work permit applicants face long delays at consulate in New York

IMPACT – MEDIUM

What is the change? The Consulate General of Canada in New York is facing a backlog of work permit applications that is causing significant delays in processing.

What does the change mean? Work permit applications are taking three to four months to process.

• Implementation timeframe: Immediate and ongoing.
• Visas/permits affected: Work permits, study permits and visitor visas.
• Who is affected: Employers, foreign work permit applicants and business visitors requiring a visa.
• Impact on processing times: The backlog has slowed down normal work permit processing.
• Business impact: Businessesmay be temporarily affected by the long wait times to get permits for foreign employees.

Background: On Dec. 12, the Consulate General of Canada in New York announced that its Visa Application Centre (VAC) contractor was closed until further notice. The closing of the VAC has caused a slowdown in processing. Pending applications that were filed with the VAC continue to be processed, but the usual processing times of three to four weeks for a work permit have been extended to three to four months.

BAL Analysis: Employers and assignees should expect longer processing times and plan accordingly until the backlog is cleared.

This alert has been provided by the BAL Global Practice group and our network provider located in Canada. For additional information, please contact GlobalVisaGroup@bal.com.

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