Processing times for sponsorship files family are twice as long in Quebec as in the rest of Canada, denounce specialized lawyers, who point fingers the immigration thresholds imposed by the CAQ.
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As of May 2, 2023, nearly 37,000 sponsorship application files for family reunification – which have been approved beforehand by Quebec – were awaiting processing, while the admission target is around 10,600 for the present year.
Me Maxime Lapointe, an immigration lawyer, was bowled over by these data, which are not specified in Quebec’s immigration plans.
“A real bomb, he reacts. Quebec asks Canada to process this number [10 600], but there are three times as many folders in the machine. This is what creates the processing times.
Me Maxime Lapointe, lawyer specializing in immigration law.
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This lawyer, who has accumulated around thirty files for which the wait is over a year, even has a client who has died in the meantime.
Up to 24 months of waiting
Recently, Immigration, Refugees and Citizenship Canada (IRCC) presents the processing times for Quebec separately from the rest of the country, as the difference is significant.
The deadline for bringing a spouse or de facto spouse living abroad to Québec is 24 months. Outside Quebec, it’s 14 months.
“With 8.8 million inhabitants in Quebec and a target of 10,600 for family reunification, it is certain that there are files that will accumulate at the federal office,” laments Ms.e Ismaël Boudissa, from the Association of Immigration Lawyers (AQAADI).
Me Ismaël Boudissa, from the Association of Immigration Lawyers.
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Immigration thresholds in general are of great concern to AQAADI, but family reunification is a more sensitive aspect.
“It is certain that for sponsorship, it has another more emotional dimension, because we are far from loved ones, he argues. [Le gouvernement] considers it a privilege, rather than a right, to be with our loved ones.”
The association is following this file very closely and is preparing interventions, in connection with the consultation on the planning of permanent immigration 2024-2027 scheduled for next September.
In the office of the Minister of Immigration, Francisation and Integration, Christine Fréchette, they say they are “sensitive to the stress experienced by families in connection with the processing times in the family reunification program”.
“We are working closely with Ottawa on possible solutions that would quickly reduce these delays. That said, Quebec sets its immigration thresholds in such a way as to maintain a balance between the need to meet labor needs in several strategic sectors and humanitarian considerations, while contributing to reversing the trend of French in Quebec. and in Montreal in particular.”
Lengthy processing times
– Sponsorship of a spouse or common-law partner living abroad:
Quebec: 24 months
Outside Quebec: 14 months
– Sponsorship of a spouse or common-law partner living in Canada:
Quebec: 26 months
Outside Quebec: 11 months
– Sponsorship of a parent or grandparent:
Quebec: 45 months
Outside Quebec: 23 months
Source: Immigration and Citizenship Canada
Processing times: ready to leave Quebec
Exasperated by the processing times for sponsorship files, a Montreal man is thinking of leaving Quebec with his partner of Peruvian origin, so that she can obtain her permanent residence visa more quickly.
Evelyn Bustamante has lived in Montreal with her partner, Mathieu Olivier, since December 2020. They met in Peru in 2018, when Mrs.me Bustamante was a tourist guide.
Mme Bustamante, 42, currently has a temporary residence visa and a work permit. She has a job in a supermarket and is fluent in Spanish, French and English. The couple also meet the sponsorship criteria.
Exasperated by the processing times for sponsorship applications, a couple from Montreal considers leaving Quebec in order to speed up the issuance of a permanent residence. Photo: Courtesy Filed July 7, 2023
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But despite her perfect immigrant profile, the permanent residence visa has been waiting for more than a year and a half. This is an enormous stress for the couple who waits after that to pursue their project of living together in peace.
Obtaining this status would regularize the situation of Mme Bustamante and she would, in particular, be entitled to the RAMQ and also to go back to school, in order to obtain an equivalence in her field of profession in tourism.
“We are no longer in our twenties. We are limited for joint life plans, like having a child, ”laments Mr. Olivier, 44 years old.
Exasperated by the processing times for sponsorship applications, a couple from Montreal considers leaving Quebec in order to speed up the issuance of a permanent residence.
Courtesy
Perfectly integrated
The couple is ready to leave the province, to speed up the process.
“The deadline will come to renew her temporary resident status and again, it takes several months. I advised my lawyer that I was open to going elsewhere in Canada,” he continues.
But Quebec, which is experiencing a labor shortage, would do without an exemplary immigrant, according to Mr. Olivier.
“Legault says it takes people who speak French. She is perfectly trilingual, reiterates Mr. Olivier. She is an asset for Quebec. Go elsewhere in Canada, I am ready to do it, but I find that it is ordinary on the part of the government.
Mme Bustamante is already very well integrated into Quebec culture, he continues.
“At her work, she even helps Spanish-speaking immigrants to integrate and speak French,” concludes Mr. Olivier.