Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) has released important details for the department’s new temporary humanitarian permanent residence (PR) pathway dedicated to foreign nationals from Colombia, Haiti and Venezuela.
First announced on October 10 last year, IRCC determined that it would create a new temporary pathway for Colombian, Haitian and Venezuelan foreign nationals physically present in Central America, South America, Mexico or the Caribbean at the time of application.
To be eligible for PR in Canada through this new pathway, applicants must “have extended family connections in Canada.” Specifically, IRCC clarifies that “the principal applicant [to this new pathway] must be [the] child, grandchild, spouse, common-law partner, parent, grandparent or sibling of a Canadian citizen or permanent resident*.”
It is important to note that this public policy comes with a cap of 3,500 principal applicants, as Canada intends to aid 11,000 eligible applicants and their families, through this pathway. IRCC has also already indicated that, since it began this pathway on November 17 last year, this pathway will remain open for one year or until the application cap is reached.
Applicants admitted through this pathway will be eligible for pre-and post-arrival settlement services and resettlement assistance—including receiving a transportation loan to help ease travel fees for individuals and families arriving in Canada.
Note: For the remainder of this article, the Canadian citizen or permanent resident relative of the applicant will be referred to, as indicated by IRCC, as an “anchor”
Eligibility criteria
There are two sets of eligibility criteria for this temporary pathway: one for the anchor and one for the principal applicant seeking PR in Canada.
The principal applicant’s eligibility criteria
Principal applicants seeking PR in Canada must:
- Be a Colombian, Haitian or Venezuelan national present in Central America or South America, the Caribbean or Mexico at the time they apply for PR
- Be related to a Canadian citizen or permanent resident (see note below) who meets the requirements to act as an anchor (see below) and who was not granted permanent residence under this public policy
- Have submitted an application for PR by the electronic means made available on the website of the department (online) or with an alternate application format provided by the department if the foreign national or their representative indicated they are unable to apply online
- Intend to reside in any province or territory across Canada other than Quebec
- Hold a document enumerated in subsection 50(1) of the Regulations or provide a document described in subsection 178(1) and 178(2) of the Regulations (if they are unable to obtain a document enumerated in subsection 50(1))
- Have provided IRCC with a statutory declaration from their anchor that attests to the following:
- The anchor intends to provide the support set out in Annex B of the public policy for the principal applicant and their accompanying family members (as defined in section 1(3) of the Regulations) for one year; and
- The anchor has not accepted and understands they cannot accept any financial compensation from the foreign national or their family members.
Note: Eligible candidates for this pathway must be related to a Canadian citizen or permanent resident in one of the following ways: as a spouse or common-law partner, a child (regardless of age), a grandchild, a parent, a grandparent, or a sibling
Eligibility criteria for accompanying family members
IRCC has also outline eligibility criteria for family members under this stream. Family members must:
- Be included within the application for PR. Note that all family members (both in and out of Canada) must be listed, whether they are accompanying or not. Applicants will then have the option to define which family members will be accompanying;
- Meet the legal definition of a family member according to IRCC;
- Intend to reside in a province or territory in Canada, other than Quebec;
- Hold a document enumerated in subsection 50(1) of the Regulations or provide a document described in subsection 178(1) and 178(2) of the Regulations (if they are unable to obtain a document enumerated in subsection 50(1))
- Not be inadmissible to immigrate to Canada (with the exception of inadmissibility for financial reasons)
Acceptable proof of Canadian status
Citizenship: Proof of citizenship can include a photocopy of the anchor’s Canadian citizenship certificate or card (both sides of the card), their Canadian birth certificate issued by the relevant provincial or territorial authority or the bio-data page of their Canadian passport.
Permanent Residency: Anchors can prove their PR status using a photocopy of a permanent resident card (PR card), a Confirmation of Permanent Residence (COPR) or a record of landing.
Note about principal applicants with multiple permanent residence applications
According to IRCC, if an applicant already has an active application in the department’s Global Case Management System (GCMS) under another PR category, such as the family class, the application received under the new public policy will continue to be processed while coordinating finalisation with the office processing the other PR application.
Final Decisions
If an application is successful, an IRCC officer will confirm all medical and criminality checks have been completed, as well as confirm the validity of travel documents for the duration of time it will take to be admitted into Canada. From here a Permanent Residence visa and COPR will be generated for the principal applicant and all accompanying family members.
