An online web form must first be submitted under the Temporary Public Policy to facilitate temporary resident visas for certain extended family affected by the crisis in Gaza. At this stage, no eligibility assessment is conducted. Once the application is deemed complete, applicants will receive a unique reference code to use when completing their application for a temporary resident visa (TRV) in the Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) portal.
Complete TRV applications will be accepted into processing, provided there is space available within the program.
Once applicants are able to leave Gaza and biometrics are collected, a final admissibility decision is rendered and the application is finalized with the issuance of a TRV if approved.
Key Messages
IRCC introduced a process for this program to streamline intake and quickly identify eligible applications.
IRCC is focused on processing applications under the public policy as quickly as possible.
Supplementary Information
If pressed on reports that some individuals opted not to leave Gaza due to concerns about their eligibility for the temporary resident pathway, and reports of inconsistent messaging regarding code eligibility:
The Government of Canada recognizes the situation in Gaza and we are being as flexible as possible to help as many extended family members of Canadians affected by the conflict.
Under the public policy, applicants must be in Gaza on the day their application is submitted to be eligible. People who submitted a web form while still in Gaza, and have since left, may still be eligible for the public policy. They may receive a unique code to apply for a TRV depending on spaces left under these special measures.
Similarly, people who submitted a TRV application under these measures and have since left Gaza will also continue to have their application processed pending available space under the intake cap.
People who already have existing TRV applications, who meet the eligibility requirements under the public policy, can ask for their applications to be processed under the special measures.
Those already outside Gaza who need to finalize their TRV application may also contact us to advise they have left Gaza. In light of the situation and to help as many people as possible, Canada is taking into account the special circumstances of people, whether they have submitted a regular TRV application or one associated with the Temporary public policy to facilitate temporary resident visas for certain extended family affected by the crisis in Gaza when processing applications.
IRCC will confirm their information and provide it to the Embassy of Canada in Cairo. People will be able to make an appointment with the Embassy to complete the final processing steps of their application.
If pressed on processing times:
IRCC officers are assessing applications as quickly as possible. Processing times will vary based on the details of each application. Many factors are outside of IRCC’s control, particularly the situation in Gaza and decisions regarding who can exit Gaza.
If pressed on why Canada is using web codes:
The issuance of a unique reference code was a new initiative for this public policy and it allows the department to streamline intake and quickly identify eligible applications submitted under this specific public policy.
If pressed on duplicative web codes:
In any program, IRCC puts in place measures to review processes for quality assurance. Although they can sometimes occur, duplications should be very rare given the level of scrutiny being undertaken. They can also occur if an applicant sends multiple web forms for the same family member with alternate spellings, date of births or other information.
If pressed on security screening process:
The completion of security screening is a standard part of the review process and biometric checks are used to ensure safety to Canadians by identifying people who may be inadmissible or pose a threat to Canada.
To support the movement of Palestinians out of Gaza and to protect the safety and security of Canadians, a multi-stage security screening approach is being used. This process allows IRCC and our public safety partners to initiate security screening in advance of applicants’ exit from Gaza.
Enhanced biographic forms have been used in the past, most recently in Afghanistan, to start the screening process in advance of exiting a country or situation where IRCC and the Government of Canada would not have ready access to applicants to complete all admissibility assessments.
Biometric and full admissibility screening are required before applicants can travel onward to Canada. It is important that we finalize applications before people arrive in Canada.
If pressed on why Parents and Grandparents Program applications are not included in the priority processing of existing and new permanent resident applications for Palestinians:
As per the program requirements, permanent resident applications in the Parents and Grandparents stream of the family class must be processed in the order in which they have been received.
