Canada Closes Visa Section Of Tehran Embassy

Canada has announced the closure of the visa section at its embassy in the Iranian capital, Tehran, in a move likely to affect thousands of Iranian travelers.

In a statement on its website, the Canadian Embassy said visa services for Iran have been transferred to the Canadian Embassy in Ankara, capital of neighboring Turkey.

The statement said the Ankara embassy will now be responsible for processing all applications from Iran, as well as applications from Azerbaijan, Georgia, Turkey, and Turkmenistan.

The statement said the closure was decided by the Citizenship and Immigration Canada department, in a bid to conduct operations "more effectively and efficiently.”

The closure of the Canadian visa office further narrows options for Iranians seeking to travel west, after Britain closed its Tehran embassy in November.

Based on reporting by cic.gc.ca and AFP