ISLAMABAD: The Canadian government has decided to move its visa processing centre back to the Pakistani capital Islamabad from Abu Dhabi after a gap of of ten years. The move came after repeated requests by Islamabad to move its visa processing center back to Pakistan since security situation had improved in the country.
In 2019, then Pakistan’s high commissioner to Canada had urged the Canadian government to move the visa processing centre back to its high commission in Islamabad as other Western countries resumed the services in view of the improved security situation.
An official of Canada was quoted as having said that the Canadian government has set aside a whooping amount in this regard. He also had said that reopening of the visa office would enable the Canadian immigration officials to ascertain the credentials of applications within Pakistan.
The Canadian government had moved its visa office from Islamabad to Abu Dhabi and the United Kingdom due to security reasons around ten years ago.
As the Pakistan managed to improve the security situation by removing militant groups, several Western countries have shifted their visa offices back to their high commissions and embassies in Islamabad.