On May 26, 2023, Sean Fraser, IRCC minister announces to strengthen family reunions. So, here we will tell you what measures IRCC minister Sean Fraser takes to achieve these goals and what the new and improved measures include. IRCC’s new program provides a better way to live their life to strengthen family reunions!
Make sure to Check: IRCC Approved 4 New English Language Tests for Students!
What Are The New Measures
To strengthen family reunions there are various new measures such as:
- Faster processing times for spousal applications for temporary residence visas (TRV)
- Newly developed processing methods specifically for spousal TRV candidates
- A new open work permit for applicants in the spousal and family classes
- Extensions for open work permit holders whose permits expire between August 1 and December 31, 2023
About Announcement
Fraser started the statement by noting that family members from visa-required countries who have applied for family class permanent residency (PR) can apply for Temporary Resident Visas (TRV) to join their sponsor in Canada.
He claims that far too many are turned down because they are unlikely to return home, despite the vast majority being granted permanent status when their applications are finally checked out.
Fraser went on to state that IRCC has successfully cleared the backlog of TRV applications for family members who already have a permanent residency application under consideration. The IRCC’s new approach to spousal TRV applications has accepted more than 98% of applications for wives and their children, allowing them to remain with their families while their PR applications are processed.
According to Fraser, this new technique for processing TRV applications will result in processing times of less than 30 days in the future. Family members will be able to fly to Canada more swiftly and spend more time with their loved ones.
Open Work Permit
IRCC is also introducing a new project that will grant open work permits to spouse applicants and their dependent children who have temporary residence status in Canada and live with their sponsor.
Spouses, partners, and dependents can apply for and acquire an open work permit after submitting an accurate permanent residence application under the spouse or common-law partner in Canada class (SPCLC) or other family class programs. These open work permits were previously only available for the inland spousal program, but are now available to people applying from outside Canada.
Finally, starting June 7th, open work permit holders whose current permission expires between August 1st and the end of 2023 can renew their permit for an additional 18 months through a free assisted process, affecting around 25,000 persons who are currently in Canada and working.
Family Class Sponsorship
Under Canada’s Immigration Levels Plan, family-class immigration is the second largest group. In 2023, Canada aims to welcome 106,500 newcomers under the family class category, including 78,000 spouses, partners, and children and 28,500 parents and grandparents. Canada hopes to accept 118,000 newcomers through family-class immigration by 2025.
Eligibility Criteria for Sponsor
If you want to be a sponsor, you must:
- You must be a Canadian citizen or permanent resident
- You must be at least 18 years old
- Not be a prisoner, bankrupt, subject to a removal order, or charged with a major crime
- Not been sponsor as a spouse in the last five years
Spouses, common-law and conjugal partners, children, parents, and grandparents can all be sponsored if they match the qualifying requirements.
Don’t forget to check: Immigration to Australia will be like Canada’s Point Based System
