Federal Immigration Minister Sean Fraser says the government is using a new system to bring spouses, children and parents of recent immigrants to Canada faster.
Family members wishing to move to Canada may apply to join their “sponsor” while awaiting approval for permanent residency. But they are often denied the necessary visa because authorities fear they will not leave once that visa expires.
The new family reunification system uses advanced analytics to identify people who have an application for permanent residence in the system and approve their visa to visit Canada faster.
The Minister hopes that the turnaround time will now be as short as 30 days. He claims that the approval rate for applications under the new system is over 98%.
Minister Fraser said at a press conference in Vancouver on Friday that spouses and dependent children on temporary visas will also receive an open work permit, whether they apply before or after arriving in Canada.
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