Canada visa postdov application country to apply from

Question

I'm an Indian citizen currently employed in Singapore. I have received a Postdoc offer in Canada with LMIA exempted and falling within the category of faster processing of two weeks. I will be soon quitting my job in Singapore and move back to India. With this in context,

I need assistance for the two following questions:

1. Where are you applying from? Although I am currently in Singapore can I choose to apply from India (home country). The reason being, I will be moving back in a month, in case the procedure is not completed in this time frame, there might be some issues. I would like to point out that there is a separate question for country of current residence, there I will be entering Singapore only so I am not falsifying the information. My question is just if I can choose to apply from India when I am not in the country.

2. If not, and I choose to apply from Singapore, suppose I had to leave Singapore before work permit is approved, will there be any issues? In case of interview call, is it possible to give it in India although I applied from Singapore (as there would not be any valid way to enter Singapore for me at that point). In short, is it possible to apply from one country and give interview in another?

Just to add, the university has already paid the compliance fee and I have received the corresponding number, if that is relevant.

Thanks, appreciate the help.

Answer 1

A temporary resident visa will be issued to you once your work permit application receives the pre-approval from IRCC.

All Canadian work permit applications must in principal be submitted online. The work permit application is principally treated by inland offices (in Canada). It does not much where you submit the application from, as long as you answer the questions on the application forms honestly.

If needed, files can be transferred to the local office for investigation and interviews. You can and must update your current residential address with IRCC while your application is under processing so that the file is transferred to the correct office.

You may submit your biometric information at any approved collection centres, regardless your country of residence. Once your visa is approved, you are also allowed to collect your visa from a visa application centre located in a country other than the country of your residence, but you must inform IRCC so that your approval is directed to the correct local visa office.

falling within the category of faster processing of two weeks.

Do not rely on this timeline for any of your plans. The IRCC processing time has been far from guaranteed after the pandemic. You should plan for a minimum two-month processing time, even if sometimes you can obtain the approval earlier.