Operational Bulletin 259 - December 21, 2010

Temporary Resident Visa Application Form Transition Date

Issue

This is a follow-up to Operational Bulletin 241 – New Temporary Resident Visa Application Form – published October 12, 2010, and Operational Bulletin 254 – Modified Temporary Resident Visa Application Form published November 30, 2010. The purpose of this bulletin is to advise when the previous Application for Temporary Resident Visa Made Outside of Canada form will no longer be accepted by Citizenship and Immigration Canada (CIC).

Background

On October 14, 2010, a new Application for Temporary Resident Visa Made Outside of Canada [IMM 5257] form, the corresponding Instruction Guide [IMM 5256], Family Information [IMM 5645] form, Schedule 1 [IMM 5257-Schedule 1] and Document Checklist [IMM 5484] were made available to all applicants. These new forms were intended to eliminate the need for country-specific screening forms. Following the launch, CIC sought feedback to ensure the questions posed to applicants were facilitating the processing of applications, while continuing to meet the health and safety priorities of Canada. Effective November 30, 2010, modifications were made to the Background Information section of the new Application for Temporary Resident Visa Made Outside of Canada form. The review regarding the acceptance of previous Temporary Resident Visa application form is now complete.

Transition Date

Effective January 15, 2011, the only Temporary Resident Visa (TRV) application form that will be accepted by CIC is the Application for Temporary Resident Visa Made Outside of Canada [IMM 5257] form. All previous Temporary Resident Visa application forms will no longer be accepted by CIC and instead will be returned to applicants. Should old applications be submitted prior to January 15, 2011 they will continue to be processed. To ensure that the most recent version of the Temporary Resident Visa application form is being utilized, applicants should refer to the CIC website.

Messaging regarding this transition date is available on the internet and has also been provided to the Call Centre. Information regarding the transition date has also been made available on WebCart.

Local contacts should also be made aware of the transition date. This may involve contacting honorary consuls, lawyers/consultants, host Ministry of Foreign Affairs offices, travel agents, etc.