CACN - Family Reunification and Compassionate Exemptions - Nov 16, 2020

Key Messages

• To better support families in Canada, the Government updated its rules to make it easier for immediate family members of Canadian citizens, persons registered under the Indian Act and Canadian permanent residents to travel to Canada, while respecting all public health protocols and measures.
• Immediate family members of Canadian citizens, persons registered under the Indian Act and Canadian permanent residents no longer have to prove they are coming for an essential (non-discretionary) purpose, provided they are admissible, coming to join their immediate family members, can prove they are staying in the country for at least 15 days, and have a valid passport and travel document.
• Extended family members of Canadian citizens, persons registered under the Indian Act, and permanent residents are eligible to travel to Canada, as long as they meet the criteria and get authorization from IRCC.
• All family members are subject to mandatory quarantine rules.
• We will continue to search for innovative and compassionate ways to reunite families that is informed by the advice of our public health experts, who remind us that COVID-19 is still very much a risk to the health and safety of Canadians.

Spousal Processing

• IRCC has introduced several measures to support the processing of permanent resident applications in general, including spouse or common-law partner sponsorship applications, such as providing additional time to provide documents.
• Government has recently introduced a pilot to digitize spousal applications which will streamline the review of applications, allowing officers in Canada and abroad to process them remotely.
• The Government has also significantly increased the number of decision makers on spousal applications in Canada.
• With these initiatives, IRCC aims to process approximately 6,000 spousal applications each month from October through December 2020. Combined with processing to date, this will lead to approximately 49,000 decisions by the end of this year.
• IRCC has also taken the position that no in progress spousal or common-law permanent residence application will be closed or refused because of documents missing due to COVID-19.

Parents and Grandparents

• Due to COVID-19, the launch of the 2020 Parents and Grandparents program was delayed to allow the Government of Canada to prioritize its efforts respond to the global pandemic. However, IRCC remains committed to family reunification and opened the 2020 intake process on October 13, 2020 to accept online submissions of the interest to sponsor form. The intake period closed on November 3, 2020, after being open for 3 weeks.
• Family reunification continues to be a priority for this Government as it is key to Canada’s future as we work to recover from COVID-19. However, any easing of travel restrictions must be balanced, and done in a phased manner, to ensure that the health and safety of Canadians are protected.

If pressed on the fairness of the PGP lottery system:

• The demand for the program is much higher than the available levels space.
• The first-in-model used last year was highly criticized as unfair, especially for persons with disability.
• For the 2020 intake process, IRCC engaged with stakeholders/ disability organization and based on consultations explored options to redesign the program intake. A random selection model was chosen as it ensures that the process is fair and transparent, and that all interested sponsors, including those with accessibility issues, have an equal opportunity to submit an interest to sponsor form and receive an invitation to apply.
• The randomization process is now cryptographically secure, mostly automated, witnessed live by auditors, visually recorded and fully logged for auditability including what code was run, on what data and how it produced the randomized list for which applicants would be selected to be invited. The process cannot be manipulated from inside or outside IRCC and ensures true randomization occurs giving each entry the exact same chance of being selected.

Background

• Two Orders in Council under the Quarantine Act currently set out the parameters of the travel restrictions.
• The Order in Council for those entering from the United States, and the Order in Council for those entering from countries other than the United States recognize that Canadian citizens, persons registered under the Indian Act, Canadian permanent residents, and protected persons are entitled to enter Canada and are therefore exempt from the travel restrictions. It has been announced that the measures for persons entering from the US will be extended to November 21, 2020 and measures restricting entry from any country other than the US have been extended to November 30, 2020.
• The Order in Council for travellers entering Canada from the United States restricts all foreign nationals from entering Canada if it is for a discretionary or optional purpose.
• The Order in Council for travellers entering Canada from a country other than the United States, restricts all foreign nationals from entering if they do not meet one of the listed exemptions and are traveling for a discretionary or optional purpose.

Family Reunification

• In June, the Government of Canada amended the Orders in Council as they relate to foreign national immediate family members - such as spouses, partners, parents or dependent children – of Canadian citizens, persons registered under the Indian Act, and permanent residents, to facilitate their travel to Canada, while respecting all public health protocols and measures.
• To further facilitate family reunification in Canada, the Orders were updated on October 8, 2020 to include a new exemption provision for extended family members of Canadian citizens, persons registered under the Indian Act, and permanent residents. Now, exclusive dating partners and their dependent children, adult children and their children, siblings and grandparents are exempt from the prohibition on entry.

If pressed on process for clients in an exclusive dating relationship:

• Regardless of where they are travelling from, extended family members such as those in an exclusive dating relationship, must request and obtain written authorization from IRCC. An exclusive dating relationship means the person is in a romantic relationship with a Canadian citizen, person registered under the Indian Act, or permanent resident, have been in the relationship for at least 1 year and have spent time in the physical presence of that person at some point during the relationship. Examples of an exclusive dating relationship include:
  • fiancé(e)
  • committed romantic partners for at least 1 year who lived together but don’t meet the definition of common-law
  • boyfriends, girlfriends or any other couple in an intimate, loving relationship
• How to request written authorization depends on whether or not they already have a valid travel document (visitor visa or eTA) as there are separate designated channels, but they will nevertheless need to provide a completed statutory declaration that their family member has solemnly declared before a Canadian authorized official attesting to their relationship.
• The Department strives to respond to requests within 14 business days of getting a complete request. However, if multiple requests with different information is submitted, the processing of the authorization may be delayed. In addition to meeting all regular eligibility and admissibility requirements for travel and entry to Canada, extended family members will need to travel with both this authorization, as well as the statutory declaration, to be permitted to travel to and enter Canada.
• Immediate and extended family members of Canadian citizens, persons registered under the Indian Act, and permanent residents no longer have to demonstrate they are coming to Canada for a non-discretionary purpose, provided they are admissible, do not have COVID-19 or symptoms of COVID-19, are coming to join their family members, and can demonstrate that they are intending to stay in the country for at least 15 days. If an individual is seeking entry to Canada for fewer than 15 days, they must demonstrate that travel is for a non-discretionary purpose.
• Foreign nationals who wish to reunite with immediate family members in Canada may qualify for an exemption if they are travelling to Canada for a non-discretionary purpose. If travelling from outside the U.S. the foreign national must also obtain a written authorization from IRCC.
• Since October 8, 2020 individuals may now seek an exemption for compassionate grounds, as well as an exemption (also known as a limited release) from the quarantine period, which is solely administered by PHAC, to provide care for critically ill relatives and loved ones, be present for the final moments of life for a loved one, or attend a funeral or end-of-life ceremony.

Parents and Grandparents Program

• After carefully considering all safety precautions due to the global pandemic and its impact on the Department’s capacity to process applications over the past several months, IRCC opened the 2020 Parents and Grandparent (PGP) Program in October 2020.
• The PGP intake will use a random selection model to ensure that the process is fair and transparent, and that all interested sponsors, including those with accessibility issues, have an equal opportunity to submit an interest to sponsor form and receive an invitation to apply.
• Given that the opening is later in the calendar year than usual, a maximum of 10,000 applications will be accepted for processing in an effort to limit capacity constraints on the Department. As part of the 2020 PGP announcement, IRCC also announced that it will open a new intake of interest to sponsor forms to accept a total of 30,000 new applications in 2021.
• IRCC has also made temporary adjustments to the income requirement to sponsor parents and grandparents, and to certain other members of the Family Class whose sponsors must meet an income requirement for 2020, in response to the fact that many potential sponsors may have experienced negative financial impacts due to the exceptional circumstances surrounding the COVID-19 pandemic. The main changes are:
  • a reduction in the income requirement for the 2020 tax year to the ‘minimum necessary income’ (instead of the minimum necessary income plus 30%) for sponsors of parents and grandparents, and
  • allowing all Family Class sponsors who need to meet an income requirement to include all payments made under the Employment Insurance Act in the 2020 income calculation. This includes any temporary COVID-19 benefits issued by the Government of Canada or issued by provincial or territorial governments so long as they have not been deemed as social assistance by the provincial jurisdiction
• While the Government has continued to accept and process family sponsorship applications, requirements for immigration and sponsorship applications, such as in-person interviews, paper-based documentation and security screening, all face steep challenges in a constantly evolving pandemic situation, with different workplace requirements regionally in Canada and internationally.
• The Government is consequently moving forward with new and innovative measures to help address processing issues and will communicate these changes to clients as they become available.
• The Government has introduced a pilot to digitize spousal applications which will facilitate the review of applications, allowing officers in Canada and abroad to process them remotely.
• IRCC continues to review the PGP Program to identify opportunities for improvement to meet the needs of our clients while advancing the Government of Canada’s family reunification priorities.
• For the 2020 intake process, IRCC engaged with stakeholders/ disability organization and based on consultations explored options to redesign the program intake. A random selection model was chosen as it ensures that the process is fair and transparent, and that all interested sponsors, including those with accessibility issues, have an equal opportunity to submit an interest to sponsor form and receive an invitation to apply.
• For the 2020 program, the Department has worked on reviewing and improving the randomization methodology, including the tool by which the randomization is applied (which is a Statistical Analysis System (SAS)). Given these improvements, the Department anticipates a positive public and academic perception of performing the randomization process.

TRV Issuance to Spousal applications

• IRCC is aware that there has been public campaigns and advocacy groups that have flagged issues around the issuance of temporary resident visas to those with spousal applications in progress, namely high refusal rates. Given processing delays on spousal applications, this issue has become more acute.
• That said, analysis has shown that the refusal rate from 2019 to 2020 has remained almost unchanged. In 2019, top refusal grounds for a temporary resident visa for spousal sponsorship applicants were due to the inability to establish that the person would leave at the end of their authorized stay (R179(b)) and related to either purpose of travel, family ties, assets, travel history or current employment.
• To address this, the Department has updated guidance and instructions to officers around assessing dual intent – the notion that having a permanent resident application in progress does not preclude someone from meeting the requirements of temporary residence in Canada, namely that they will leave Canada at the end of their authorized stay (R179).
• While the creation of a special TRV for spouses and partners has been requested, IRCC does not recommend this approach. The Department is taking efforts to address processing delays for spousal applications, looking to finalize approximately 6,000 spousal application decision each month from October to December 2020. Combined with processing to date, this rate will lead to about 49,000 decisions by the end of this year. These efforts, coupled with updated guidance, should help to reunite more spouses during these challenging times.

Immediate Vs extended family definitions

The definition of immediate family members set out in the Orders is broader than the definition of family members in subsection 1(3) of the IRPR. These are the OIC definitions which are broader than the definition of family members in IRPR.

Immediate family members in respect of a person are:

• the spouse or common-law partner
• the dependent children of the person or of the person’s spouse or common-law partner
• any dependent children of a dependent child
• parents or step-parents
• parents or step-parents of the spouse or common-law partner
• guardians or tutors
  • Guardians and tutors are individuals who are responsible for caring for a foreign national minor who is living apart from a parent for an extended period of time, for example to attend a secondary school in Canada. The guardian or tutor should be able to demonstrate that they habitually reside at the same address as the minor. Officers should be flexible in accepting documentary evidence.

In contrast to the immediate family member definition, the extended family member definition does not apply to familial relations of temporary residents in Canada.

Extended family members in respect of a Canadian citizen, person registered as an Indian under the Indian Act or permanent resident are:

• an individual who is in an exclusive dating relationship with the person, has been in such a relationship for at least 1 year and has spent time in the physical presence of the person during the course of the relationship
• a dependent child of the person in the exclusive dating relationship
• a child of the person, of their spouse or common-law partner or of the person in the exclusive dating relationship
• a dependent child of a child (that is, a grandchild)
• a sibling, half-sibling or step-sibling of the person or of the person’s spouse or common-law partner
• a grandparent of the person or of the person’s spouse or common-law partner