Chiara Gaylard

Review of Consulate General of Canada in...

I applied for my tourist visa online, and despite ...

I applied for my tourist visa online, and despite the process being a little tricky, it still seemed efficient and relatively easy as far as visa applications go. The main problems had to do with the site logging me out several times and malfunctioning every now and then. The processing time for submitting my application, getting it approved, submitting my passport and receiving it, was also rather speedy. I received my passport within about 8 or so days of submitting it. So points for efficiency.

Only real complaints I encountered had to do with visiting the VAC office, and even that wasn't a big deal. I visited the VAC only to find that the office that deals with non-citizen Canadians was closed, with a sign redirecting enquiries to a location on Madison avenue, about a 20-minute walk away. This was only mildly inconvenient, but it would help if the Embassy alerted guests to this change of location either by updating the info on their website and/or google maps, or making a note of this when liaising with clients. The only information provided on their website about this says that the VAC in NYC has "reopened". It would be less ambiguous if the notice said that the VAC office had "changed location". "Re-opened" just suggests that it was at one stage previously closed. When one clicks on the notice, you are redirected to a page with instructions and then a picture of the map of the new VAC office location. Once again, it would be nice if the web page emphasised the change of location and said something like "Please note that the VAC office has changed to this location, and is no longer at the Canadian Consulate address". I tried phoning the consulate to confirm the location of the VAC office but unfortunately there was no human liasion only prompt messages, and the prompt message that specified location did not refer to the new location at Madison avenue. As for the new VAC office that was set up on Madison avenue - it was a bit chaotic and disorganised. Of course, some 'user-error' could be blamed for this misdirection, but I'm sure some steps could be taken to ensure this doesn't happen as frequently. Simply adding the additional location on Google maps would help, for one.