Ottawa, June 26, 2008 — The Honourable Diane Finley, Minister of Citizenship and Immigration, announced today that the Department is enhancing the services offered by its visa office in Beirut, Lebanon. Effective immediately, permanent resident applicants from Lebanon can choose to be interviewed by immigration officers in Beirut.

“Citizens of Lebanon deserve to have their visa interviews conducted in their own country,” said Minister Finley. “We are upgrading our services at the visa office in Beirut in order to make it easier for people to complete their application process.”

Until now, permanent resident applicants were required to travel to Damascus, Syria, for an interview since immigrant applications from Lebanon are processed by the visa office in Damascus. The only exception applied to family class applicants who had the choice of being interviewed in either Beirut or Damascus. In such cases, immigration officers would travel from Damascus to Beirut to conduct the interviews.

This new change means that applicants requiring interviews will now have a choice between Beirut, Lebanon and Damascus, Syria.

The Government of Canada is continuously looking at ways to improve services to applicants.

For further information (media only), please contact:

Tim Vail
Press Secretary
Minister’s Office
Citizenship and Immigration Canada 
613-954-1064

Karen Shadd
Media Relations Spokesperson
Communications Branch
Citizenship and Immigration Canada 
613-952-1650

View the original news release here: 
http://news.gc.ca/web/view/en/index.jsp?articleid=407569&categoryid=16