The Immigration, Refugees, and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) has issued a new public policy to temporarily suspend biometric requirement for temporary residence applicants in Canada due to the COVID-19 pandemic. This implies that applicants currently living in Canada and who want to apply to extend their visas or permits (study, visit, work) can do so without paying the biometric fee and presenting themselves for biometrics, and still have their application processed. More so, applicants who have already submitted their application and paid biometrics fees will be refunded. This is also true for out of status applicants who wish to restore their status.
Biometrics in Canada is usually collected at a Service Canada location. However, Service Canada has stopped processing biometrics due to the pandemic, hence the decision by IRCC to suspend biometrics in order to meet the demands of applicants in Canada who have submitted or wish to submit their application to maintain status in Canada.
Prior to this change, all applicants, except temporary resident applicants with valid biometrics were required to provide biometrics with their application and pay the fee. Unfortunately, the biometrics exemption does not apply all permanent resident applicants whether or not they reside in Canada. Read more.
