Temporary resident visas for certain extended family affected by the crisis in Gaza

These instructions provide operational guidance for the temporary resident pathway that was created as a family-based temporary safe haven for Palestinians directly affected by the crisis in the Gaza Strip who have Canadian citizen or permanent resident family members in Canada willing to support them for at least the first year of their stay.

These temporary measures facilitate the issuance of a temporary resident visa (TRV) to Palestinians directly affected by the crisis in the Gaza Strip, who reside in Gaza when the application under this public policy is submitted and who have a family anchor in Canada, and the Palestinian’s immediate family members as defined in subsection 1(3) of the Immigration and Refugee Protection Regulations (IRPR), whether residing in Gaza or not. Officers are encouraged to issue the visa for 3 years or until passport or biometric expiry.

Applications submitted under this temporary resident pathway are subject to the standard TRV application processing fee and the biometrics fee (if applicable). These fees must be paid upfront. As per the recently approved remission order, processing and biometrics fees will be refunded for applications received under the public policy.

Once in Canada, Palestinians will be eligible to apply for a fee-exempt study permit or open work permit under the Facilitative measures to support Israelis and Palestinians in Canada. Applicants granted temporary residence under the public policy will have access to the Interim Federal Health Program (IFHP) for 3 months, as well as settlement services.

All applicable eligibility and admissibility requirements not exempt under these measures must be met; applicants who do not meet these requirements may have their applications refused and clients may opt to apply under the regular TRV stream.

The public policy came into effect on April 22, 2024.

The exemptions for TRV applicants under the public policy expired on March 6, 2025 when the application cap was reached and 5,000 applications (individuals) were accepted into processing. Exemptions under the public policy for foreign nationals seeking to enter Canada at a port of entry will expire on April 23, 2026.

On this page

• Eligibility for special measures
  • Eligible family of a Canadian citizen or permanent resident
  • Anchor in Canada
• Application process – Specific measures
  • Step 1: Web form submission
  • Step 2: Application for temporary resident visa (TRV)
  • Eligibility and admissibility
• Medical examination
• Interim Federal Health Program (IFHP) coverage
• Port of entry processing
• In-Canada facilitation
• Arrivals in Canada and access to settlement services

Eligibility for special measures

Eligible family of a Canadian citizen or permanent resident

Group 1: Palestinians are eligible for this pathway if they are related to a Canadian citizen or permanent resident anchor in any of the following ways:

• spouse, common law partner
• child (regardless of age)
• parent or grandparent
• grandchild
• sibling (half-siblings and adopted siblings included)

They must also be in the Gaza Strip at the time the application is submitted, and must hold a passport issued by the Palestinian Authority.

Group 2: Immediate family members of eligible extended family members described in group 1 who apply under these measures, are also eligible. The term “immediate family member” is defined under subsection R1(3) as

1. the spouse or common-law partner of the person
2. a dependent child of the person or of the person’s spouse or common-law partner
3. a dependent child of a dependent child referred to in paragraph b.

An immediate family member may be of any nationality and does not need to be in the Gaza Strip at the time of application.

Anchor in Canada

A Canadian anchor must be a Canadian citizen or permanent resident who is 18 years of age or older and who resides in Canada or intends to reside in Canada. They must be willing to support the applicant and their accompanying family members for 1 year after the arrival in Canada. An eligible Canadian citizen or permanent resident can be the anchor for more than 1 person described in group 1, as long as they agree to support that person and their eligible family members who apply under these measures. See Eligibility requirements for the Canadian citizen or permanent resident (anchor) section below for full eligibility criteria.

See Eligibility requirements for the Canadian citizen or permanent resident (anchor) section below for full eligibility criteria.

Application process – Specific measures

Processing for these measures will take place in 2 steps.

Step 1: Web form submission

Applicants who apply for a TRV under these special measures, or their authorized representative (such as an anchor) will initiate the application by submitting a web form.

The following documents must be attached to the web form:

• the completed and signed Statutory Declaration form [IMM 5992] for each family unit (extended family member and their spouse or common-law partner and children)
  • information on the anchor: name, date of birth, contact information and status in Canada
  • information on each family member who will be applying for a TRV: name, date of birth, place of residence, relationship to the anchor and email address
  • declaration must be signed in the presence of an authorized official (commissioner for oaths, justice of the peace, notary public, lawyer or consular officer of the Government of Canada). This can be done in person or remotely.
    • A seal or stamp is not required for lawyers signing the statutory declaration as the authorized official.
• a copy of a government-issued ID for the anchor
• a copy of the anchor’s proof of status in Canada
• a copy of the anchor’s proof of residence in Canada or their intent to reside in Canada

If any of the documents listed above are missing or if the Statutory Declaration is incomplete, the web form will be considered incomplete and the submission will be rejected. Upon rejection, the Centralized Network (CN) will notify the applicant, the anchor acting on behalf of the applicant as their authorized representative in Canada, or an otherwise authorized representative, that their submission has been rejected.

The IOB should screen web forms and supporting documents for completeness before sending any correspondence to the applicant, the anchor acting on behalf of the applicant as their authorized representative in Canada, or an otherwise authorized representative. The IOB’s review includes confirming the anchor’s status in Canada and checking the Global Case Management System (GCMS) for any adverse information on the anchor.

Officers may refer to Applications under family classes: Assessing the sponsor for information on assessing intent to reside in Canada.

Assessing completeness of anchor information

To be eligible, the anchor must provide proof that they are 18 years of age or older, and either a permanent resident of Canada or a Canadian citizen.

Acceptable proof of permanent residence is 1 of the following:

• a photocopy of a permanent resident card (PR card)
• a confirmation of permanent residence
• a record of landing [IMM 1000]

Acceptable proof of Canadian citizenship is a photocopy of 1 of the following:

• a Canadian citizenship certificate or card (both sides of the card)
• a Canadian birth certificate issued by the relevant provincial or territorial authority
• the biographical data page of a Canadian passport

Acceptable proof of government-issued ID is a photocopy of any identity document that is valid and verifiable such as the biographical data page of a Canadian passport or a PR card.

Anchor meets the completeness requirements

• The CN will assign a unique reference code to each individual applicant and update the master tracking document containing the unique codes to keep track of intake for monitoring against the cap, and for processing applications submitted using the IRCC Portal.
  • This includes indicating the date the unique reference code was sent to the applicant or their representative.
• The CN will send a letter with a unique reference code for each applicant (1 code per person) along with instructions on how to submit a TRV application using the IRCC Portal.
  • Anchors may submit TRV applications in the IRCC Portal on behalf of applicants, but they must identify themselves as representatives. They can also select another unpaid or paid representative, in accordance with the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act (IRPA) and the IRPR.

Anchor does not meet the requirements

• A negative response to the web form will be sent.

Step 2: Application for a temporary resident visa (TRV)

To apply for these measures, the applicant, the anchor acting on behalf of the applicant as their authorized representative in Canada, or an otherwise authorized representative, identifying as such, may submit the remaining portion of the TRV application through the IRCC Portal, and will enter the unique reference code provided into the required field: “Tell us more about what you’ll do in Canada. Include dates.”

The Additional Background Information form [IMM 0706] must be included with the application to be considered a complete application.

An official must verify the unique reference code in the application against the list of unique reference codes assigned to each applicant in the master tracking document. If the code is a match, the official will continue assessing the application under these special measures.

If there is no unique code provided in the application, the official should do an integrated search to verify if there is an existing TRV application in GCMS. If there is an existing TRV application, the code can be added along with the time stamp the unique reference code was issued under the travel itinerary field in GCMS.

If the code does not match, the application should be refused under this public policy.

The official will verify that all required documents are present, that the applicant holds a passport issued by the Palestinian Authority and that the biometric and application fees are paid. If all of these requirements are met, the official will associate special program code GZ23 in GCMS to track applications processed under these special measures, as well as update the master tracking document.

Consent and representative

In all cases, Situation A, B or C of the Consent to Disclose Personal Information [IMM 0707] must be completed with the application in order to be considered a complete application.

If an anchor or authorized representative is submitting the application on behalf of the applicant, the IMM 5476 form must be provided with the TRV application. However, the applicant’s signature in Section D of the use of representative form does not need to be provided, as long as Situation B or C of the Consent to Disclose Personal Information [IMM 0707] is completed and included with the application.

Eligibility and admissibility

If the web form submission is complete and the TRV application is accepted for processing under the second stage of the application, the International Platform Branch (IPB) will complete a GCMS check to confirm that IRCC has no adverse information on the anchor and that the eligibility requirements below are met.

Persons eligible under these measures remain subject to all eligibility and admissibility requirements, except section A39 (the requirement for a foreign national to not be inadmissible for financial reasons) and section R179(b) (the requirement that a client must satisfy the officer that they will leave at the end of their authorized period of stay), which are waived under the public policy.

Eligibility requirements for the Canadian citizen or permanent resident (anchor)

To be eligible, an anchor must meet the following conditions:

1. be a Canadian citizen or permanent resident
2. be 18 years of age or older
3. reside or intend to reside in Canada
4. not be subject to a removal order
5. not be detained in any penitentiary, jail, reformatory or prison
6. not be convicted in Canada of the offence of murder or an offence set out in Schedule I or II to the Corrections and Conditional Release Act (CCRA), regardless of whether it was prosecuted by indictment, if a period of 5 years has not elapsed since the completion of the person’s sentence
7. not be convicted outside Canada of an offence that, if committed in Canada, would constitute an offence referred to in condition 6, if a period of 5 years has not elapsed since the completion of the person’s sentence imposed under a foreign law
8. not be in default of any sponsorship undertaking or any support payment obligations ordered by or registered with a court
9. not be in default in respect of the repayment of any debt referred to in subsection 145(1) of the CCRA payable to His Majesty in right of Canada
10. not be an undischarged bankrupt under the Bankruptcy and Insolvency Act
11. not be in receipt of social assistance for a reason other than disability
12. not have accepted, and understand they are not to accept, any financial compensation from the foreign national and their accompanying family members

Requirements 4 to 12 above will be assessed primarily using the statutory declaration.

Eligibility requirements for the family members

Eligible family members include the spouse, common-law partner, child (regardless of age), grandchild, sibling, parent or grandparent of a Canadian anchor, as well as their immediate family members (spouse, common-law partner, dependent child, and dependent child of a dependent child).

The applicant from Group 1 must be in Gaza at the time when Step 1 of the process (the crisis web form) is submitted. The applicant’s address can be confirmed through the address declared by the applicant under “Clients and parties” in GCMS.

If an applicant from Group 1 declares they are outside of Gaza when completing Step 2 of the application process, officers will need to validate that the applicant was in Gaza at the time of their web form submission (step 1) by

• requesting documentation from the applicant to demonstrate when they were in Gaza
• contacting the CN to validate the date stamp of the applicant’s web form submission

Medical examination

Clients residing in Gaza or another non-TB designated country for 6 consecutive months within the year prior to application submission do not require an immigration medical exam (IME).

If they have not already done so, clients who wish to obtain an open unrestricted work permit once they have arrived in Canada are required to undergo an IME that can be completed post arrival. Officers should complete an integrated search to determine if clients have already completed an IME before issuing new medical instructions.

Interim Federal Health Program (IFHP) coverage

Individuals granted temporary residence under this temporary resident pathway will have access to in-Canada IFHP for 3 months from the date of their arrival.

IFHP coverage will be initiated by the International Platform Branch (IPB) and clients will receive their printed IFHP certificates prior to their arrival in Canada.

Port of entry processing

On arrival to Canada, a border services officer at the port of entry will examine the client for admission as a temporary resident, as per the public policy.

Once the border services officer has determined that a client meets the applicable admissibility requirements, officers are encouraged to issue a visitor record with a 3‑year validity (or until passport or biometric validity, whichever comes first). Officers are reminded to ensure that special program code GZ23 is included in the GCMS visitor record application and to include the visible remark “MOME2023” on the visitor record to allow these clients to gain access to settlement services.

In-Canada facilitation

Eligible Palestinians admitted under these measures are also eligible to apply for fee‑exempt study permits, open work permits and status extensions through the facilitative measures to support Palestinians in Canada.

For additional guidance, officers should refer to Facilitative measures to support Israelis and Palestinians in Canada.

Arrivals in Canada and access to settlement services

Federally funded settlement services are available through the Settlement Program to individuals who are granted a TRV under this public policy.

Changes to the Settlement Program Terms and Conditions also expanded settlement service eligibility to a broader cohort of temporary residents beyond the scope of the public policies.

Foreign nationals and their family members, as defined in section 1(3) of the IRPR, who left Gaza and hold a passport or travel document that was issued by the Palestinian Authority are also eligible for settlement support once they arrive in Canada, if they do not meet the eligibility requirements of the public policy and are issued 1 of the following:

1. a temporary resident visa (TRV) based on exemptions from the IRPA or the IRPR granted by a delegated officer on humanitarian and compassionate (H&C) grounds
2. a temporary resident permit (TRP) by a designated officer where justified in the circumstances.

Eligible clients arriving in Canada should be issued a visitor record upon arrival at the port of entry by the Canada Border Services Agency that includes the visible remark “MOME2023” on the visitor record, or on the client’s temporary resident permit. This remark is used by service provider organizations (SPOs) to determine whether a client is eligible to access federally-funded settlement services. IRCC may also use this notation in determining eligibility for transitional financial assistance.

Officers who approve a temporary resident permit for clients who do not meet the eligibility requirements of the public policy should add the “MOME2023” remark under the User Remarks field in GCMS after approval of the temporary resident permit application.

For clients who have valid temporary resident status in Canada, officers should refer to Facilitative measures to support Israeli and Palestinian nationals in Canada to determine eligibility for settlement services.