published on 19 April 2023 @ 1:08 pm · COMMENT

Public Service Alliance of Canada Strike to Impact Immigration and Passport Services

Beginning today, April 19, 2023, the Public Service Alliance of Canada has voted to strike. Over 150,000 federal government employees are included in this strike included Immigration, Refugee and Citizenship Canada employees.

As a result, multiple immigration, citizenship, and passport services will be impacted:

• In-person citizenship events will be postponed;
• IRCC contact centre responses will be delayed, or unavailable;
• Immigration appointments inside of Canada will generally be postponed or cancelled;
• Domestic passport applications will generally not be processed, except in emergency situations;
• Passport applications for Canadians living outside of Canada may continue to be processed but will be delayed; and
• All other immigration applications may be delayed, including those applications currently being prioritized.

Visa application centres (outside of Canada) will continue to operate and the Canada Border Services Agency will continue to service travellers and businesses.

We recommend that individuals travelling to Canada postpone their travel until the strike is resolved, if the entry requires an immigration application.  Immigration services at ports of entry will be impacted by the strike.

filed under: IMMIGRATIONPERMANENT RESIDENCE