Passport replacement in under an hour. First you must have your paperwork prepared and the ability…read moreto pay the fees. Basically, if you do your part they will carefully and efficiently do theirs. It was a smooth and easy process.

Came here for some notarial service for work. I must say the security is even tighter than the US…read moreterminal custom security. I am glad I arrived 30 mins early to go through the whole security process. You are only allowed into the facility if you have a passport. The security checks starts even before you enter the building. The guards downstairs will go through your bag, lock up your cell phone, usb, etc. Then you are brought to another floor for another bag check, xray check and metal detector check. Once the checks are completed, another guard will bring you to another floor via elevator and there you meet another guard who will bring you to where you need to go. It's a very unique experience. The whole process to get a form notarized do take longer than I would like. The staff are friendly and I guess you feel safe inside since there are so many security guards.

Pleasantly surprised…read more Went to the BLS Vancouver centre for a passport reprint query a few days ago. There was just one girl handling all the clients who were coming in (though to be fair, in total there were only a handful). Not only was she extremely kind and courteous, she even resolved my concern in a matter of minutes and I was on the way home. I'm not sure if the service would have been as quick on other days but if what I've read from the other reviews here, if all the staff is as kind and patient in dealing with clients like she was, I'm sure they'll have 5-star reviews in no time.

I had an extremely frustrating experience with BLS while applying for my PCC. My application was…read morereturned multiple times for reasons that were either unclear or later identified as errors on their end. In one instance, I was informed that my signature was not properly aligned, but after escalation, it was acknowledged that this issue was caused by their own agent. Despite repeated attempts to resolve the issue, customer service was unhelpful, and calls were frequently disconnected. Additionally, there appears to be limited access to regular appointments, with pressure to opt for paid premium appointments, which adds to the overall inconvenience and cost. Based on my experience, I strongly encourage others facing similar issues to formally report their concerns through the Ontario Consumer Protection website so that these practices can be reviewed and addressed. There is a clear need for improved transparency, accountability, and customer service. I hope appropriate action is taken to ensure a fair and reliable process for all applicants.

Gone is the free use of the printer and photocopier as mentioned by the reviewer before me. It is…read morenow 25 cents a page to print or copy. Just remember to bring a print out of your flight itinerary and a photocopy of the page in your passport with your picture in it. The people that work here (other than the security guard/greeter) have never heard of the phrase,"Service with a smile". They are rude and unfriendly, albeit efficient. I felt treated like a second class citizen because I don't speak Mandarin. $50 for a single entry, $75 for a double entry. There is a multi-entry for 6 months ($150) and 1 year ($100) listed also, but supposedly not available to tourists. I swear I had the option of signing a multi visa if you apply from Hong Kong. Wait time for me to pick up my visa was 3 days. Cash or debit only.

This somewhat subjective review (how do you review a consulate!?) is intended to give a bit of…read moreguidance for everyone who intends to either apply for a chinese visa or get his passport, documents etc (in the case of chinese citizens). Keep in mind that this office is exclusively the visa section of the Consulate General P.R.C. and should you as a chinese ciitzen require any further consular assistance you should contact the office at 3380 Granville St! So how does this process work. If you want to do it the easy way in terms of just getting a chinese visa you dont go here at all and use a visa agency like China Travel Service Canada who will process everything against a nominal fee. I usually have some time on my hands so I decided to give it a try by myself, save the $ for CTS and go by myself. This is a VERY busy office considering the rather large chinese (by descent) population in Vancouver so I can only encourage everyone to arrive early, the best is ~7 or 7:30am in the morning. At this time you might be one of the lucky ones in the first 25 meters of the lineup. Yes, you heard right: The lineup here is MASSIVE and getting up early certainly saves your whole morning. It could come even worse, that everything takes so long that they close before you even got inside to take care of business. So again: Get up early, grab a coffee, line up, get stuff done! The consular section opens at 9am (and not a second earlier). The doors open at 8am though in the winter you might be allowed to wait in the hallway starting at ~ 7:15p if you are lucky. It happened this way last January and it was brrrr freezing outside!! Be prepared to meet/see/get yelled at by the absolute 'mental' security guard (caucasian) who they seemingly recruited somewhere along E. Hastings. Terrible! Anyway, once inside have your documents prepared and wait until your number is called. Numbers are being distributed at the entrance from said guard or another staff member of the consulate. The visa fees are as of today (June 2011) 50$ for single entry 3 months validity & 75$ for dual entry valid for 6 months. The option for multiple entry is 100$ for 6 months and 150$ for 12 months however at this time the consulate generally does not grant multiple's anymore per directive. For U.S. citizens the fee is generally 130$. All fees are payable upon pick-up by Debit Card, money order or COMPANY check. No Credit Cards, Cash or personal checks are accepted. It is possible to get an Express Service, Same day for 50$ (has to be applied by 11am) or 2 business days for 35$. Otherwise it will take 3-4 Business Days. This pretty much sums it up. For further info please refer to their website with up to date data. Cheers S

This has to be the most friendly and helpful consulate (including my own country's) I've ever been…read morein anywhere in the world. I took my son's passport in for a visa. I did not have the visa paperwork in order, so they gave me the necessary forms and some instructions. I returned later in the morning with the completed paperwork. Everything was in order and in about three days, the visa was ready. When I went to pick up the visa, I was about 10 minutes early and was happy to wait in the elevator lobby checking email on my phone.The staff were still on lunch break but they saw me waiting in the elevator lobby so opened the door to let me in. I was greeted by two of the staff, one of whom had helped me complete the visa application, and we had a nice chat about Brazil, the food, and other highlights that my son might enjoy on his trip. I really can't say enough about how nice these consulate people were, if they are typical Brazilians, then Brazil must be the happiest country on the planet.

I was a little bit afraid about mailing my documentos to renew my passport but everything worked…read moreperfectly and, in just one week, I received back my documentos and my new passport. I am happy and grateful for the excellent service done by the Consulate Geral of Brazil in Vancouver. I will always contact you guys. Thank you very much!

This is BS of a company. They take advantage of the fact that the Chinese embassy had a really…read moreshitty site. So they created a site that seemed a lot more legit, and bill you for the process that doesn't get you anywhere. Complete BULLSH*T! do not fall for that!~

I wanted to apply for a Russian visa from Vancouver. I found the website www.russianvisacenter.com…read morethat mentioned the SAME location as Visa Center, but the website stated "Russian EMBASSY visa center", which I found suspicious. l called the Embassy of Russia to verify the legitimacy of this office and they confirmed that this website has nothing to do with the official Russian Embassy in Ottawa nor any relation to any Consulates of Russian Federation in Canada (Montreal, Toronto, Ottawa). Be aware that this misrepresentation can be a fraud, be careful with your money! I found that other visa processing companies exist in Vancouver and provide honest visa support services without illegal claims that they are an "Embassy"!

Needed to get a Visa for a trip I am taking with 3 friends and AnyVisa cut through the ponderous…read morered tape and got me the Visa within a week saving me a trip to the embassy in Ottawa and the hotel costs. They also got the Visa's for my travel companions. Friendly staff kept me in the loop the whole time. 100% recommend them and will use them again if the need arises

Wonderful company! Excellent service, professionalism and great attitude! Highly recommend!read more

We recently completed our 22 day tour Highlights ofJapan and China and wanted to say a thank you to…read morethe Laurus team. The arrangements were perfect, hotels amazing and the tour guides exceptional. Laurus has exceeded our expectations and we will be sure to recommend Laurus to any friends planning a vacation in Asia. A special thank you to Helen and Heather of the Vancouver office. Your patience during our planning stage was appreciated. Katie, our tour leader in Japan, was fantastic. Her enthusiasm and caring for our every need was amazing and she helped make our trip a success. Hiro; the local guide in Tokyo, provided valuable information that assisted our understanding of Japanese history. We also appreciate that Laurus honored our reservation in China and provided us with an individualized tour even though we had reserved a group tour. Jacob, our tour leader in Beijing, was exceptional. Full of knowledge and a great personality that welcomed us to China. Jacob has excellent people skills and over meals he provided us a glimpse into day to day life in China. Paul, in Xi'an, was warm and helpful. He is very kind and helped us to appreciate his hometown. Very energetic and enthusiastic with deep knowledge of his subject matter. Luna, in Chengdu, was also a great Laurus representative. You can tell she loves what she does and we will always remember her joy at seeing the pandas. Each member of the team contributed to making this the trip of our lifetime. Thank you! Scott and Sabina S.

17 Day China Golden Route Tour with Laurus Travel, Vancouver, BC…read moreWe just returned from a truly memorable trip made possible by the professional and caring staff of Laurus Travel. We are seasoned travellers with little experience on group travels. We had chosen Laurus from the flawless on-line reviews. We never regretted the choice. From start to finish, we felt coddled and never once anxious. The itinerary was well executed by their professional tour leader (Jacob Wei), the knowledgeable local guides in the respective cities, and the cautious drivers who navigated often congested traffic with skill and caution. The hotels were first class and the food plentiful. The trip exceeded our expectations. We would not hesitate to travel with Laurus again.