CIMM – Immigration Pathways, Eligibility Criteria and Program Caps– February 8, 2023
Implicated Recommendations:
Recommendation #17 – Waive biometrics and other documentation requirements
Recommendation #24 – Expand vulnerable groups
Recommendation #26 – Waive RSD requirement for Afghans
Recommendation #27 – Waive refugee requirement to be outside country of origin
Recommendation #29 – Expand extended family program to other Afghans
Recommendation #31 – Remove caps on SAHs
Recommendation #32 – Extend income support for EFPP to be year-long
Recommendation #34 – Provide EFPP with accommodation in third countries
Key Messages
- The Government of Canada recognized that unique solutions were needed to assist vulnerable Afghans. Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) developed multiple pathways and processing measures to enable Canada to resettle Afghans who had closely supported the Government of Canada during our two decades in Afghanistan, as well as other at-risk Afghans.
- The three Afghan resettlement streams include: (1) Special Immigration Measures (SIM) for Afghan nationals who supported the Government of Canada; (2) the family reunification program for extended family members of former Afghan interpreters; and (3) the humanitarian program for other vulnerable groups.
- The humanitarian program focuses on individuals from vulnerable groups, including women leaders, LGBTQI+ people, human rights defenders, journalists, and members of religious and ethnic minorities, and leverages Canada’s successful privately sponsored refugee (PSR) program.
- Over half of the commitment to 40,000 (23,000 spaces) is focused on individuals who assisted Canada during its time in Afghanistan, and their families.
- IRCC has also introduced multiple measures to provide a maximum level of flexibility for vulnerable Afghans and to adapt to the situation in Afghanistan, including document requirements and security screening.
- Since the report’s release in June 2022, we launched a new temporary public policy to facilitate sponsorship by Groups of Five and Community Sponsors by waiving the requirement for Refugee Status Determination for 3,000 privately sponsored refugees (noted in Government Response). We have already begun processing these applications and expect arrivals in 2023.
Supplementary Messages
Waiving Documentation Requirements (#17):
- Given the unique challenges of the crisis in Afghanistan where many clients have limited or no documentation, the Government of Canada has adjusted its practices to make the processing of applications from Afghan clients as efficient as possible.
- For example, in the case of the extended family members of former Afghan interpreters, the document checklist includes flexibility and enables clients to provide an explanation if any required document is not obtainable at the time of application.
Expansion of Humanitarian Program to Other Vulnerable Groups (#24):
- The Government is working with multiple referral partners to identify individuals from priority vulnerable groups for resettlement as part of the humanitarian program.
- Under this program, the PSR pathway is open to any vulnerable Afghan women fearing gender-based persecution and LGBTQI+ individuals, in addition to other priority groups.
- Women who were judges, human rights defenders, journalists, community organizers and Members of Parliament in Afghanistan are among the nearly 30,000 who have already been resettled to Canada.
Expansion of the Extended Family Members of Former Afghan Interpreters (EFPP) Program to Other Afghans (#29):
- The public policy for the extended family members of the approximately 800 former interpreters who were resettled in Canada under public policies in 2009 and 2012 was designed for those who are at risk based on their family’s relationship to the Government of Canada.
- This is a unique family reunification pathway that has a unique and broad definition of family.
Waive Requirement to be Outside Country of Origin (#27):
- IRCC recognizes the unique nature of the Afghanistan crisis, and has waived this requirement for many Afghans.
- Under the SIM program, applicants are exempt from the Immigration and Refugee Protection Act requirement that refugees be outside their country of origin to be eligible for resettlement to Canada.
- In some cases, a similar exemption was also applied to applicants referred under the humanitarian program.
- Additionally, the EFPP program was designed in recognition of the unique challenges faced by the extended family of former Afghan interpreters, including those still in Afghanistan. Family members who apply for this program will not be required to be outside their country of origin in order to be eligible.
Refugee Status Determination (RSD) Requirement Waiver (#26):
- The Government of Canada recognizes that Afghan refugees face obstacles in obtaining an RSD document quickly, which is a requirement of the PSR program for Group of Five and Community Sponsors. This is why this requirement for 3,000 privately sponsored refugee applications has been waived.
- Responsive: IRCC has received complete applications for 3,000 Afghan refugees under this public policy and the program is now full.
- Responsive: As a result, we are no longer accepting new applications. Those who submitted an application after the program cap was reached will be notified and their application returned.
- Responsive: The public policy was created as an exceptional measure to enable more Afghans to be sponsored quickly without the requirement for a refugee status determination under the PSR Program – specifically the Groups of Five and Community Sponsors streams. The program was full as of December 2022 once applications for 3,000 individuals (principal applicants and their family members) were accepted into processing by IRCC.
- Responsive: The public policy is based on 3,000 complete applications, and incomplete applications do not count towards the 3,000 total.
Program Caps:
- Canada’s commitment to resettling at least 40,000 vulnerable Afghans is one of the highest in the world.
- As with any crisis of this magnitude, demand for the programs exceeds the number of Afghans that the Government of Canada is able to bring to Canada at this time.
- The 40,000 target takes into account the need to balance the commitment to resettle Afghan nationals with its commitments to non-Afghan immigrants and refugees.
- Afghans may also be eligible for regular immigration programs, including economic and family reunification programs.
Caps on Sponsorship Agreement Holders (Sahs) (Recommendation #31):
- As part of the commitment to Afghans, IRCC has allocated 3,000 extra spaces to SAHs specifically for Afghan refugees. These 3,000 spaces are in addition to regular allocations. Based on the 2021-2023 Levels Plan, PSR targets are 22,500 per year for the three years.
- The broader cap on SAHs exists to balance application intake against sponsor capacity. This ensures that refugees are well supported in Canada. The cap also aligns with established immigration levels to prevent the accumulation of applications, which would lengthen wait times for all applicants.
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