Canada has temporarily closed its visa application centres across China and cancelled appointments in the wake of the new coronavirus outbreak there.

According to Visa Facilitation Services, a private company tasked with processing Canadian visa applications, all 11 of its centres will be closed until at least Monday, pending further notification from Chinese authorities.

The centres are located in Beijing, Shenyang, Jinan, Shanghai, Nanjing, Hangzhou, Guangzhou, Chongqing, Chengdu, Kunming and Wuhan, the city in Hubei province at the heart of the new coronavirus outbreak. As of Wednesday, more than 6,000 cases have been confirmed in China, with at least 132 deaths. Wuhan has been in lockdown as a result of the virus since last Thursday.

The number of tourists from China who visit Canada has grown by 16 per cent a year, with more than 737,000 Chinese travellers coming here in 2018. They spend on average about $2,850 per trip, staying for about 30 nights, said Destination Canada, a Crown corporation that promotes international tourism to Canada.

China is also one of the main source countries of new immigrants to Canada, with 28,560 permanent residents settling in the country last year, behind India.

All existing in-person appointments for visas scheduled before the end of January have been cancelled and affected applicants are advised to reschedule once a reopening date is confirmed.

“For non-biometrics applications, customers are most welcome to submit mail-in applications. For passport collection, please expect certain delay under such circumstances,” Visa Facilitation Services said on its website. “We apologize for the inconvenience and appreciate your understanding and kind co-operation.”

Visa Facilitation Services began taking over Canada’s visa processing operations in China in 2008 and handles applications for visitors, students, workers and permanent residents.

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