CIC Centralizes the Submission of Permanent Residency Applications in the Federal Self-employed Persons and Quebec Business Classes

Effective May 29, 2012, all applications for permanent residence in the Federal Self-employed Persons Class and the Quebec Business Class must be submitted to the Centralized Intake Office (CIO) of Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC) in Sydney, Nova Scotia.

This Office will examine each application for completeness. If the application is incomplete, the CIO will return the entire application package (including fee payment) to the applicant without any further processing.

To be considered complete, an application must include all of the forms and documents listed in the Document Checklist for Federal or Quebec Business Class. Applicants will no longer be able to submit the Simplified Application package.

Complete applications will be entered into the Global Case Management System and the CIO will allocate the processing fee. The CIO will then forward complete applications to the appropriate office for processing. Offices will process applications according to their existing procedures and processing priorities.

During a transition period, up to and including July 29, 2012, all visa offices will continue to accept any Federal Self-employed or Quebec business class applications submitted directly to their office, and to forward these applications directly to the CIO.

This move is aligned with the recent centralizing move by the CIC: Federal Skilled Workers (November 2008), Federal Immigrant Investors (July 2011), Provincial Nominee (December 2011), Quebec Skilled Workers (December 2011), and Canadian Experience Class (December 2011).

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Disclaimer: This information is not intended as legal advice and is for general information purposes only. This information may also be time sensitive. Always contact an Immigration Lawyer for information and advice specific to your situation.