Immigration Department beefing up resources in Beirut amid fears of larger conflict: government official

The federal Immigration Department has beefed up human resources in Beirut in order to prioritize immigration applications from Lebanon as fears of a larger conflict embroiling the Middle East loom, a senior government source told CBC News.

The official, who CBC News is not identifying because they have not been authorized to publicly comment on the matter, also said the department is mulling various policies, such as allowing Lebanese passport holders in Canada to freely extend their stays here should fighting in Lebanon escalate.

«Those kinds of measures are being prepared for Lebanese nationals in Canada right now,» the official said.

Speaking to journalists on Wednesday morning, Foreign Affairs Minister Mélanie Joly had alluded to more resources in Lebanon.

«We've increased the number of diplomatic staff and people working for Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada in order to make sure that we could offer the right service to Canadians that want to leave,» she said.

As for paperwork for foreign nationals trying to come to Canada, the official said the extra human resources are necessary for faster processing of security screenings like fingerprint tests, or to help answer questions from those who aren't Canadian citizens or permanent residents but still hope to claim one of the commercial flights out of Lebanon booked by the federal government.

«If you're a spouse who's not a citizen, get a Temporary Resident Visa, and those kinds of things,» the official said.

The flights to Canada are open to immediate family members of Canadian citizens or permanent residents, such as spouses or dependent children, but they're required to go through extra paperwork and documentation processes.

As for Lebanese citizens