Regulation 152 — Applications for permanent residence — abroad
Text of provision
(1) The Minister may enter into a sponsorship agreement with a sponsor for the purpose of facilitating the processing of sponsorship applications.
(2) A sponsorship agreement shall include provisions relating to
(a) settlement plans;
(b) financial requirements;
(c) assistance to be provided by the Department;
(d) the standard of conduct expected of the sponsor;
(e) reporting requirements; and
(f) the grounds for suspending or cancelling the agreement.
Plain English
Regulation 152 requires that persons applying for permanent residence from outside Canada submit their applications at the relevant Canadian visa office responsible for their country of residence. Applications are not transferable between visa offices without IRCC approval.
The processing time and requirements may differ significantly between visa offices, depending on local staffing, volume, and country-specific documentation requirements.
Practical effect
The visa office routing rule means that applicants must apply to the office responsible for their country of residence — not their country of nationality, and not a more convenient office. Applicants who change their country of residence during processing may need to request a transfer, which can add delays. For Express Entry applicants, the application is managed centrally by IRCC in Canada regardless of the applicant's location, which has simplified some of the visa office routing issues.