CIMM – Narrative on Canada’s Gaza and Sudan initiatives – March 20, 2024

Gaza

The ongoing conflict between Israel and Hamas remains volatile and unpredictable. Canada remains deeply concerned for the safety of people in the region.

Beginning in October 2023, the Government of Canada’s initial focus was to support Global Affairs Canada’s (GAC) assisted departure of Canadian citizens and permanent residents, and their eligible family members from the region.

In-Canada measures

We implemented several in-Canada measures to support individuals affected by the conflict in Israel and the Palestinian Territories:

• the ability to apply inland for fee-exempt study and open work permits for:
  • immediate family members of Canadian citizens and permanent residents, provided they are currently in Canada and they and their Canadian citizen or permanent resident relative left Israel or Palestine on or after October 7, 2023;
  • those who came to Canada through the special measures for extended family in Gaza;
  • Israelis and Palestinians already in Canada who feel unsafe returning to the region;
• access to the Interim Federal Health Program for a period of three months for permanent residents and family members of permanent residents and Canadian citizens who came to Canada as temporary residents following their assisted departure from Israel or the Palestinian Territories, including those who arrived via special measures for extended family in Gaza;
• access to federally funded settlement services, which are typically only available to permanent residents,
  • Services include access to language training and support connecting with the labour market and local community. Approved applicants will be able to access these services for up to three years.

As we continue to be as facilitative as possible, we recently established fee waivers for those who need to extend their temporary resident status in Canada for up to three years.

Special measures for extended family members in Gaza

We understand many Canadians are concerned about the safety of their loved ones in Gaza. That is why we launched special measures on January 9, 2024, to support temporary residence for people in Gaza who are the extended family members of Canadian citizens and permanent residents.

To be eligible, applicants must be the spouse, common-law partner, child (regardless of age), grandchild, sibling, parent or grandparent of a Canadian anchor (the extended family member already in Canada). They must also be in Gaza when they apply for a temporary resident visa, they must hold a Palestinian passport, and they must have an anchor in Canada who will support them once in Canada for one year. The immediate family members of eligible applicants are also eligible (spouse/partner, dependent child, and dependent child of a dependent child).

This public policy expires once 1,000 applications have been accepted into processing or until January 9, 2025, one year after the public policy comes into effect, whichever comes first. However, Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) continues to assess the situation, including the volumes of applications received and the ability to facilitate eligible family members’ departure from Gaza and their arrival in a safe third country.

Program intake caps and expiry dates are a standard practice in public policies. They take into account a number of considerations, including the evolving situation on the ground, resources available to process applications and provide settlement supports, and other immigration pathways available for the target population.

Movement out of Gaza

To support the movement of Palestinians out of Gaza and to protect the health and safety of Canadians, a multi-stage security screening approach has been developed. This is part of a standard practice in crisis response situations where IRCC does not have a presence on the ground to initiate initial screening and collection of biometrics, as we did with Afghanistan. By using the enhanced biographic information applicants provide, we are able to conduct preliminary security screening while people are still in Gaza. As a result, we will be able to finalize most applications faster once people leave Gaza.

IRCC understands that people may not have access to all the required documents. Where possible, we are flexible in our approach and assess each situation individually.

A key consideration is the fact that movement out of Gaza remains extremely challenging and may not be possible at this time, as countries and other actors set their own entry and exit requirements. The Government of Canada has put forward the names of people who passed preliminary eligibility and admissibility reviews to local authorities for approval, but does not ultimately decide who can exit Gaza.

Facilitative measures

Once applicants have left Gaza, the Government of Canada will provide transportation from Rafah to Cairo, where we will collect a person’s biometric information (fingerprints and photo) to complete the final step in the assessment process and work to provide a final decision on the temporary resident visa application as quickly as possible. While in the applicant is in Cairo, the Government of Canada will provide food and accommodation to them for two days.

As of March 11, 2024, 14 people who exited Gaza on their own and had temporary resident visa applications in process were able to submit biometrics and complete their application, and have been approved to come to Canada. As of March 11, 2024, we have 986 applications accepted into processing, meaning that applicants have used their unique reference code to submit a complete application through the IRCC Portal.

Canada is reaching out to local authorities at all levels to advocate for the approval of the names put forward by the Government of Canada for crossing. We will continue to monitor the situation and work with partners to support those affected by the crisis who have a connection to Canada.

Priority processing of certain family-based applications

We are priority processing all existing and new permanent residence applications for Israelis and Palestinians within family-based streams, for example, family class (with the exception of the parents and grandparents program) and overseas dependents of protected persons in Canada.

Sudan

The security situation in Sudan has been very dangerous since fighting broke out between the Sudanese Armed Forces and the Rapid Support Forces on April 15, 2023.

Assisted departure efforts and supports

The Government of Canada’s initial focus was on evacuation efforts. IRCC worked with GAC, the Canadian Armed Forces, the Canada Border Services Agency and security partners to support the assisted departure of Canadian citizens, permanent residents, locally engaged staff and their immediate family members.

IRCC deployed additional officers to the region to help those already on the ground with immigration-related operations. For timely assistance and support, IRCC provided 24/7 coverage to support clients and officers on the ground.

We also waived temporary resident visa and permit application fees, as well as fees associated with biometrics collection, for eligible immediate family members of Canadian citizens and permanent residents to help keep families together.

The Embassy of Canada in Sudan temporarily suspended its operations due to the ongoing security situation. In addition, the visa application centre in Khartoum remains closed until further notice, which does impact applicants’ ability to submit applications in Sudan.

That said, IRCC is processing applications with the assistance of migration officers who work across our global integrated network. As a result, we continue to prioritize all completed overseas temporary and permanent resident applications, including refugee applications from those in Sudan.

In-Canada special measures

In response to the crisis, IRCC put in place measures for family members who fled conflict in Sudan, for temporary residents in Canada who wished to extend their stay, and for permanent resident applicants in specific circumstances.

Family members of Canadian citizens or permanent residents who arrived in Canada by July 15, 2023, following assisted departures out of Sudan can apply for an open work permit or a study permit, free of charge. They can also apply for permanent residence under the family class as a sponsored spouse, partner or child, free of charge (measures expire April 30, 2024).

Additional special measures (now extended until October 27, 2024) help Sudanese nationals already in Canada who have valid temporary resident status by waiving fees to extend or change their temporary status.

In addition, fees related to certain passports (temporary passports, limited validity passports, emergency travel documents) and citizenship documents (Canadian citizenship certificates), certain administrative services, and permanent resident travel documents are waived for Canadian citizens and Canadian permanent residents in Sudan who wish to leave.

New humanitarian pathway

To build on our efforts to support those affected by the conflict, we also introduced a new humanitarian pathway to permanent residence for Sudanese and non-Sudanese nationals with family in Canada who are Canadian citizens or permanent residents. The pathway opened on February 27, 2024, and will close one year after opening or once 3,250 applications have been accepted for processing by Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada, whichever comes first.

To apply, people must have been residing in Sudan when the conflict began on April 15, 2023, and have an eligible Canadian citizen or permanent resident relative residing in Canada who agrees to support them and help them build their new life here.

Under this pathway, the Canadian anchor must have the financial means to support the applicant and their family members upon arrival in Canada by demonstrating that they exceed the minimum necessary income or have the minimum necessary funds, or a combination of income and funds.

This new public policy specifies that only accompanying family members must be included in the calculation of the family size. This is to make sure that the anchor relative in Canada can accurately meet their financial requirement.

In recognition of the vulnerable populations that were already displaced and residing in Sudan when the war broke out on April 15, 2023, non-Sudanese nationals who were forced to flee the country are also eligible to apply for this humanitarian pathway.

Canada has a proud and long-standing tradition of providing protection to the most vulnerable people, and Canada currently accepts many refugees from Sudan. We’re continuing to work with partners to facilitate processing of these refugees as quickly as possible.

Canada remains deeply concerned about the ongoing conflict in Sudan. We will continue to monitor the situation closely.