A temporary Canadian visa service in Grand Cayman struggled to cope with demand this week, leaving applicants without appointments, and long queues forming under a hot sun.

The three-day ‘pop-up’ service offered a way to complete the required biometrics without applicants having to travel to Jamaica, location of the nearest High Commission of Canada.

It was held from August 18 to 20 at the prominent private office building in George Town known as The White House, where Regus Cayman Islands operates serviced office space.

The facility was advertised on social media by the High Commission of Canada in Jamaica. Applicants requiring fingerprints and photographs for Canadian visas, study permits and permanent-residence applications were invited to request appointments by email.

However, in a subsequent social-media update, the High Commission said appointments for the three-day visit were “FULLY BOOKED”, adding that submitting a request did not guarantee an appointment. The High Commission had not said how many applicants it could accommodate during the three-day visit.

For many of the applicants, Canada was not their destination.

Instead, those interviewed by TCJ were residents applying for transit visas to change planes in Canada as part of their travel plans home for holidays before returning to their jobs in Cayman.

Two Indian healthcare workers employed in Cayman - a nurse and an anaesthesia technician - were among dozens of expatriate workers gathered in the car park for a visa appointment. It was their second day waiting in the hot sun. They requested anonymity, worried that any negative comment might affect the outcome of their applications.

“It costs a lot of money and time off work to go to the consulates in Miami or Jamaica,” complained the nurse. “That’s why we came here yesterday and again today.”

I was shocked

Muhammad Ashraf, a Pakistani security guard working in Cayman, agreed that the local service was a much easier alternative to travelling overseas. He planned to return to Pakistan for a holiday, but had failed to obtain an appointment.

“Last year I went to Jamaica and did my biometrics,” he said. “It is really easy this way for the tourist and transit visa. But, when I saw the situation here, I was shocked,” he said. There are too many people here. I went away to return to my duty (work) and came back, and there were still too many people here and no possibility of an appointment,” he said.

Ashraf said some of his friends had submitted appointment requests on 10 August and had expected to receive slots.

“They assumed they'd have an appointment,” he said, but believes the Canadian team's stay was simply too short to meet the level of demand.

“They're not here long enough,” Ashraf said. “This time a lot of people applied, but they didn't all get appointments. There has been a lot of disappointment.”

A good opportunity for us

Two Nepali employees of Shopright were more fortunate and had managed to get an appointment. They planned to travel to Nepal and said they had no intention of seeking employment in Canada.

“We have to return to Cayman because we need our jobs,” they said. “The job is very important to look after a family. We don't want to spend money going to Jamaica and wasting our time, when we have the opportunity to apply here in Cayman” they said. “This is good for us.”

Canadian government guidance advises applicants to arrange biometrics appointments as soon as they receive their Biometric Instruction Letter to avoid processing delays.

While the biometrics appointment itself is free, applicants said the cost of travelling overseas to attend one can be significant.

TCJ contacted Canadian officials seeking confirmation of any extension, details on the number of appointments available and comment on the level of demand, but had not received a response by publication time.

A spokesperson for Regus, which provided the office space to the High Commission of Canada, said the company was “honoured to host the Canadian High Commission” and welcomed its presence as a valued client.

The spokesperson declined to comment on the specific use or occupancy arrangements of an individual client, but said the high level of demand and occupancy within the building had been maintained “in an orderly and professional manner”.

Canada has historically maintained a consular connection with the Cayman Islands through an honorary consul rather than a full diplomatic or immigration office.

Guylaine Pomerleau-Goldner, a Cayman-based real estate agent who had been associated with the honorary-consul role, said the position was not currently operating as a functioning appointment.

“No. It hasn't been appointed, from what I heard, because the final decision is in Canada,” she said when asked whether she was the honorary consul.

Pomerleau-Goldner said she would welcome a renewed Canadian honorary-consular presence but understood that the final approval rested with Canadian authorities.

“That’s with the High Commission of Canada in Jamaica,” she said.

She also stressed the distinction between an honorary consul and the immigration officials responsible for visa processing.

“The visa things that you talk about, it is for immigration,” she said. “So, it is the immigration department there who came here once in a while.”

Pomerleau-Goldner said she did not expect a permanent immigration office to be established in Cayman, noting that immigration services were generally handled through larger diplomatic facilities.

“If they do have a representative, it's going to be like the other honorary consul on the island,” she said, describing the role as representing Canadians who encounter difficulties or require consular assistance.

She said Canadians could process many documents, including passport and citizenship matters, online.

According to Pomerleau-Goldner, the interruption in the honorary-consul arrangement may have followed the previous representative's departure and the need for a new appointment to be approved.

The Caymanian Journal (TCJ) understands that due to high demand the temporary visa service has remained open in Grand Cayman until today, but this has not been officially verified.

For the workers who spent hours waiting in the Cayman heat, the message was clear: the demand for Canadian visa services is here, even if the service itself is not. The question now is whether Canadian authorities will treat this week's queues as a one-off rush - or evidence that Cayman needs more than an occasional pop-up.