Justin Trudeau’s government will waive the requirement for biometrics for certain Ukrainians wishing to settle temporarily in the country under its new Canada-Ukraine Emergency Travel Authorization (AVUCU) program.
“There will be certain individuals who no longer have [cette] requirement so that we can facilitate the entry of more people into Canada as quickly as possible,” Immigration Minister Sean Fraser said during question period on Tuesday.
He said this relief will apply for “certain cohorts” deemed “low risk”. His office later clarified that these are, for example, people aged 60 and over as well as Ukrainians who have already obtained a visa to stay in Canada in the past.
AVUCU was officially launched on March 17 and nearly 60,000 Ukrainians and their family members have signed up.
Ottawa has pledged to process applications within 14 days “for regular, non-complex cases.”
The objective of AVUCU is to enable Ukrainians and their immediate family members to settle in Canada for a period of three years. Those who would like to stay in Canada for the longer term can try to do so by applying for permanent residence.
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