Getting Visas for Canada

This process will be extremely easy if you are willing to visit the Canadian Consulate in New York. It is located at 1251 Avenue Of The Americas, New York, NY. This is 6th Avenue between 50th and 51st street. The consulate is located in the mezzanine level of the building. You do not need to make an appointment with the consulate to visit – you just stop by on the day you wish to get your visas. Timing is critical however. During my research, I stumbled upon two websites:

1. Official site for everything Canadian
http://www.cic.gc.ca/english/information/offices/missions/new-york.asp

2. Official site for the Canadian Consulate in New York
http://geo.international.gc.ca/can-am/new_york/our_services-en.asp

The office hours for the New York consulate differ on both sites, which is very confusing. On 1) the office hours are stated as 8:00am – 10:30am and 1:30pm – 3:00pm. On 2) they are stated as 9:00am – 12:00pm and 1:00pm – 3:00pm. Even worse, none of their phone numbers have a personal response – they are all pre-recorded. So for whatever reason, I chose to go with the times stated on 2) – BIG MISTAKE. By the time I got there at 9:00AM, there were already people seated waiting to be called for their interview and others waiting in line to be screened. So to beat the “traffic” you want to get there by 7:30am – trust me you won’t be the first person in line but you’ll beat the rest of the herd.

An officer at the entrance will ask you what you’re there for and make sure you have all the required documents, photos and fees (I recommend a money order) before he even lets you in. I have created an application packet that you can download with all the necessary forms. Once you’re screened, another officer will give you a ticket number and a plastic folder. He will ask you to staple your photo on the left-bottom corner of your application and go to the cashier to submit your fees and documents. This is important – make sure you go to the cashier window first before sitting down. I saw people who came straight in and sat down – ignoring the officer’s instructions.

At the cashier’s desk, you will be greeted by a cute lady who clearly hates her job. She will ask you to turn in all documents that you need to be reviewed for your application. Turn those in and take a seat.

Once you’re seated, it can take anywhere from 45 – 60 minutes before your number pops up in the LED ticker that you’ve been starring at constantly. When your number pops up, go to the window and you’ll be interviewed for your application. Fortunately for me, the lady said that she did not have any questions for me and she will be approving my application for visas. She said it will take another 45 minutes or so of waiting. I was too impatient to wait so I told her that I will swing by in the afternoon to pick up my passport and left to get to work. I could not make it back the same afternoon so I swung by there the next morning thinking it will be a quick walk-in & walk-out; boy was I wrong. When I got there in the morning, I was told passport pickups are only allowed in the afternoon and to return at 1:00pm. I returned at 1:00pm and saw there was already a line outside at the 50th street entrance. Anyway, the entire pickup process took me an hour coz I had to get screened etc. etc. Morale of the story – patience is a virtue – WAIT for your passport if you got the visas and the visa officer tells you that it will be ready shortly.

1. You can download the application kit here.
2. A list of Canadian Consulates in the Unite States
3. A list of countries whose citizens require visas to visit Canada